Page 31 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls

He rubbed at the scruff on his jaw. ‘There’s not much I can say.’

‘Can you at least tell me if she’s going to be okay? The whole town is going to want to know. If I get out in front of this, you won’t get bombarded by every single person in Ivy Falls.’

‘Huh. You’re doing me favors now?’ The tease in his voice made heat rush to my cheeks.

‘This is not a favor,’ I sputtered. ‘It’s more like a keeping-you-from-getting-accosted-on-the-street-by-half-the-town situation.’

He relaxed against the bench, giving me the same even-tempered look he’d used with Dex.

How did he do it? Act so calm? Take everything in stride? My personality was more chaotic, like hitting a patch of ice in your car on a January morning and careening across the highway with no way to stop it.

‘If I offer up some non-confidential intel, what do I get in return?’ He actually wiggled his eyebrows like he knew I needed to laugh. To let go of the piercing ache that crowded my chest.

‘You get peace, because I don’t think you understand how intrusive people can be in this town when they’re worried. One time Barb and Susan closed the café for two days. No one could get a hold of them. They had a damn town meeting about it. For over an hour, people spewed all sorts of theories about where they were. If they were closing for good. Did we need to alert the sheriff? When the ladies roared back into town on their motorcycles the next day, they were shocked by people’s attention. Turns out the two of them just wanted a short getaway together.’

He chewed on his lower lip, like he was trying not to smirk at the ridiculousness of this town. ‘I would just explain to people what she said. That she needs more tests.’

‘That’s it?’

His casual shrug said I wasn’t getting another word.

‘I should be getting back to work. Barb and Susan can’t take care of the breakfast rush on their own.’

I glanced down at the bench, recalling the way his voice had encouraged me to feel its weight beneath me. How his soothing words wrested me from the dark tentacles of my PTSD that enjoyed dragging me down into a deep, dark hole.

‘Thank you for helping me.’ I moved to stand and he followed.

‘Try not to worry about Mrs Vanderpool. They’ll take good care of her at the hospital.’

‘Yeah, right, don’t worry. Try telling that to my overactive brain.’

‘She’ll be all right, Bird.’

The warmth of his voice sent a streak of lightning down my back.

‘Did you just call me Bird?’

‘Yes, you have that tattoo.’ He pointed to my wrist. ‘And isn’t a piper a kind of bird?’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Do you mean a sandpiper?’

His bashful grin was too much.

‘Okay, weirdo. I’m gonna go now.’ I tried to look perturbed but my traitorous mouth was fighting a smile.

I started in the direction of the café and he was next to me in a few seconds.

‘Considering you’re good friends with Mrs Vanderpool, can you encourage her to slow down? While I was taking her blood pressure, she rattled off all the committees and groups she’s involved in and it’s a lot.’

‘Slow down?’ I laughed. ‘That’s like telling her to stop meddling in other people’s business. She’d rather gnaw off her right arm than agree to change anything about her life.’

He nodded, his toned arms swinging evenly at his side. His running shorts showed off the firm muscles in his legs. I hated to admit that I liked the way he purposefully positioned himself on the outside of me as if I needed protection from the street. How he didn’t feel the need to ask me how I was feeling again.

He rubbed nervously at his jaw before he said, ‘Is there any way we could agree to be friends? I like that café and would prefer not to be banned because you work there.’

That raw honesty in his voice returned and it shook me to my core. I was so used to men’s bullshit. The way they delivered slick lines as if it was second nature to them. But this guy, he was so genuine. That was rare. I had absolutely no clue how to react to him.

‘If it’s too much, I get it,’ he said soothingly. ‘I guess I don’t need the Sugar Rush.’