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Mel looks away. Her expression turns sad. “I used to get panic attacks too. They can be very scary.”
“Panic attacks?”
“You know, kind of like flashbacks.”
“No,” I shake my head, and then I pat my stomach. “Just bad food is all.”
I start toward the door. This isn’t good. Beth will be all over this. She’ll dissect my actions with a fine tooth comb. I’ll be shifted off to another job. Back to meal duty. At least this way all I have to do is talk. New Hope is big enough now that typically we leave the other hospitality stuff to the others. Unless we’re being punished.
“I hope you feel better,” she calls from the entryway.
“Me too,” I say over my shoulder. My stomach turns. Like the others, I came prepared to hate her.
I guess I half- expected that she would be some evil husband thief, but that isn't what she is at all.
She's just a young girl in over her head, with one big reason to stay. I know that reason. I know it well.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Izzy
I awake to the scent of bacon. Grant isn’t in bed beside me. I pull the sheet in tighter. I could get used to this. I get used to waking up with nowhere I have to be and nothing I have to do. I search the floor for my clothes. There’s a chill in the air that tells me better than to venture out unprotected. It makes me want to stay put. Bacon and Grant Dunn are sirens though, calling me, beckoning me toward them. Finally, I spot the lingerie from last night laid out at the end of the bed. I’d rather go naked than prance out wearing that in the daylight, looking like this. I don’t think Grant Dunn has seen me fully sans clothing in the daylight. It’s still too early for that. I stand, pull the sheet from the bed, and wrap it around me.
In the kitchen, Grant sits at the bar scrolling through his phone. “Good morning,” I say.
He nods in response. He’s immersed.
I scan the cabin. “Have you seen my suitcase?”
He looks up then. “Yes, but you won’t be needing it.”
“You might like me a little if I brush my teeth,” I snort.
He frowns. “I’m a physician, Isobel. We don’t do things willy-nilly. We don’t go without basic necessities…” He scoffs. “There’s an extra toothbrush on the counter.”
“Thanks,” I say. He motions for me to sit down and I take the seat opposite him at the table.
He searches my face. “Eat.”
Breakfast is all laid out. There’s a small portion of eggs, one slice of bacon and a tiny flute of orange juice. I laugh because it looks like one of those fancy restaurant meals where there’s nothing really on the plate. Like it’s been made just for looks.
His jaw tightens. “You don’t like eggs?”
“No, I love eggs.” I glance over at his empty plate wondering why he asks.
“I hope you don’t mind I’ve eaten.”
“Not at all,” I say. I search the cabin for a clock. “What time is it?”
“A quarter ‘til seven,” he tells me, moving his phone aside. “I let you sleep in. Wanted to assess your sleeping patterns.”
“Sounds very doctorly.”
He studies me for a moment. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. “I would like it if you put the corset back on, please.”
I take a stab at my eggs and then I shrug. “Okay.”
It isn’t exactly comfortable but the fabric is like nothing I’ve ever felt. I want to make him happy. There are worse things one can be asked to wear, that’s for sure. Like the apron that says I’m here to serve across the chest and proudly displays the Lucky’s logo. I’ll take pretty lingerie over that any day.
