Page 36 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

“Don’t you break that girl’s heart. If you think there’s even a chance you’ll hurt her, you walk away.”

Did she really have no faith in me?

“I’m not going to break her heart,” I snapped. “But I appreciate you thinking so highly of me that I’d go into this without thinking it through.”

“Watch your attitude.” She gave me the scowl she’d invented just for me. “I’m just making sure you know what you’re doing.”

“I do.” I sighed. “I know she’s something special.”

“Then I’ll say no more.”

My eyes went back to the firepit, where Willa was reading from a clipboard. She had the kids’ undivided attention as she spoke. They smiled up at her from their benches with complete adoration.

“She’s good with them,” I told Hazel.

“One of the best. She should have been a teacher like her dad. She’s got the patience and a way of explaining things to kids that just clicks.”

“I wish I would have had a teacher like that.”

I couldn’t remember a single one of my teachers’ names because none of them had been memorable. The person who’d coached me through algebra and geography and made sure I graduated was Hazel.

“But I had you.” I hugged Hazel tighter. “You made sure I didn’t flunk. And that I knew exactly where Lark Cove, Montana, was on a map.”

She laughed. “Brainwashing. I had to make sure either you or Thea came out here to keep me company. I lucked out and got you both.”

“We’re the lucky ones.” I planted a kiss on the top of her hair.

The stress of those last few years mixing drinks and managing a small-town bar had turned her once-brown hair to a silvery white. Though she blamed the color on me instead of the long nights. I also got credit for the deep worry lines on her tanned and leathery skin. The puckering around her mouth was thanks to Virginia Slims.

Despite it all, she was still a beautiful woman. To me, she always would be, inside and out.

“Don’t waste your sweet on me,” Hazel said. “Save it for Willa.” She swung an arm toward the firepit, then used her hand on my back to shove me forward.

I shot her a grin and walked toward the pit.

The kids were all huddled in groups of three, each team inspecting a sheet of paper as Willa watched on.

“Ready. Set. Go!” Willa called and the kids went dashing in all different directions.

Willa smiled, then steered one group of kids in the opposite direction. When she turned to watch them leave, she spotted me coming her way. Her face flushed, her cheeks not quite as red as her shirt. She tugged at her hem with one hand and held her clipboard against her chest with the other.

She was undoubtedly shy, but Willa had a fire inside her too. She’d given me a glimpse of her spirit these past few nights and damn if it wasn’t sexy as hell.

I waved as I approached. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Her eyes raked down my green shirt to my jeans. Then she blushed deeper, her gaze darting to her clipboard.

Oh, yeah. She just checked me out.

Maybe my note had actually worked.

I stopped in front of her and leaned in close, dragging in a long breath of her hair. She smelled so delicious, like coconut and vanilla. Her head lifted up and I dropped my eyes to her clipboard, pretending she hadn’t just busted me for sniffing her hair.

“Is that a scavenger hunt?” I pointed to the checklist on her clipboard.

She nodded. “Yeah. Good old-fashioned camp fun.”

“Hmm. Let me see.” I took the clipboard from her arm. “Pine cone. Green leaf. Wildflower. Feather.” I read the rest of the list without narrating, then handed it back. “Cool. What do the winners get?”