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He tucked his SUV right next to the barn. She would have opened the barn doors for him, but there wasn’t any room left inside. He got out and looked up at the eerily flickering sky, then around the backyard. If he was worried about trees, he was safe. The giant oak that had once shaded the parking area had come down in a storm ten years ago. Other than that, the largest “trees” back here were lilacs and rose of Sharons.
“Mike, what are you doing here?”
“Checking on you.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THOSETHREESIMPLEwords did something very complicated to Zoey’s heart. She could be offended that he thought sheneededchecking on.Instead, she felt flattered and...cared for.Couldshe take care of herself? Of course. But it was nice to know someone else cared enough to show up. The fact that it was Mike McKinnon added a layer of warmth to her complicated feelings, softening the edges and making her skin tingle. The man who’d been showing up in her dreams lately—andnotas just a pal—had come through for her without being asked.
The first giant drop of rain that splatted on her cheek felt like someone had thrown a tiny water balloon at her face. And another. Andanother.
Mike walked by her, sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her with him toward the house. “Inside seems like a really good idea right now.”
She went along without saying a word until they were safe and dry in the kitchen.
“Mike, you should get home before it gets bad—”
A huge crash of thunder overhead made the pictures on the kitchen wall rattle. The lights flickered briefly.
“Too late for that. I ran into Logan at the grocery store—the place was nuts with people grabbing milk and bread—and Iris told him you’d hurt your wrist. I wanted to make sure you were able to batten down the hatches here.” A flash of lightning lit up the windows in blue light, followed by thunder that sounded like dynamite being set off outside the walls. Her shoulders tensed, and Mike moved closer. “But I guess I’m too late for that, too. You were able to get everything put away?”
She nodded. “I would have opened the barn door for you to park inside, but it’s full of patio furniture and vehicles.”
“My car will be fine where it—”
The wind slammed into the western corner of the house so hard the timbers groaned from it. It wasn’t just a single gust—it stayed at the same intensity, whistling at a high pitch as it roared past the windows and doors and wrapped around the house.
“Jesus,” Mike muttered. “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but...basement?”
“Good idea.” Zoey opened the door and headed down ahead of him. They were near the bottom of the wooden stairs when the power went out abruptly, throwing them into pitch darkness. Mike pulled out his phone and had the flashlight on within seconds, lighting the way. She reached up on a nearby shelf and found an LED lantern. There were half a dozen of the things scattered around the house for emergencies. She didn’t mind storms, but she hated being stuck in the dark.
She turned it on and held it high. “I guess they weren’t kidding about this storm being bad, huh?”
The wind was still pushing hard against the house. She was confident the place was solid enough to take it, but for how long? Even with the lantern on, dark shadows made the old basement look scarier than usual. She was glad she wasn’t hiding down here alone. “Thanks for coming, Mike.”
His eyebrows lowered, sending angled shadows across his cheeks. “That’s what friends do.”
She couldn’t help thinking that she had plenty of friends, but Mike was the only one who’d shown up in the face of hurricane-strength winds.
“You’re hiding in my basement with me, which kinda goes above and beyond the call of friend duty.”
Mike was looking up, listening to the groans of the old house in the wind. “Well, maybe we’re beyond being just friends.”
He went still, as if realizing what he’d said. Their eyes met, and Zoey cleared her throat. “Umm...maybe you’re right. You’re already the best friend I have, so... I mean, we’re more than casual friends...” She was babbling.
“We’re definitely more than casual,” Mike agreed. “And yeah, I guess you could say we’rebesties. I can talk to you about anything. You make me laugh like no one else can. And we...”
“We show up for each other?” She took a step forward and rested her hand on his arm. Was it the shadows from the lantern light, or did his eyes just go dark with intensity?
“We show up for each other.” He rested his hand over hers, still on his forearm. “And lately, it feels like something else might be happening, but Zoey...”
“It scares you?” She rushed on. “I know, it scares me, too.”
There was a long pause where the only sound was that of the wind whistling past the basement windows.
“What if...” Mike hesitated again. “What if we’re making this more than it is? You know what they say—people always want what they can’t have. Maybe this...obsession we have is just that. One of those things that feels bigger the more we try to ignore it.”
“So...” she started. “If we gave in to temptation, the feeling might just...go away?” She seriously doubted it, but temptation was just that—tempting. Powerful. Hard to ignore.
