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“What else do you know about Franco?” Lyric asked the girls when the movie had finished. Worry had gotten the best of her.
“Not much.” Skye hopped up from her mat and threw away her cup. “He plays basketball. Lives on a ranch about ten miles outside of town.”
“He’s gotten into a few fights at school,” Tallie offered.
Her heart took a sharp drop. So he was violent?
“Anyway, thanks for the movie and the food.” Cheyenne rolled up her mat and stashed it on the shelf with the others following.
“I’m glad you all stayed.” She walked them out of the studio and through the clinic’s hallway and reception area. “We could do it again sometime, if you’d like.” Maybe she could even get Elina to join them next time. If the girl was in an unhealthy relationship, Lyric could help. She’d been through that too.
“Maybe.” Tallie was the first out the door.
“See ya.” Cheyenne left next, and right away another car pulled up to collect Skye.
“Thanks again,” the girl called as she ran down the sidewalk.
“Anytime.” Lyric shut the door, her worries still focusedon Elina. What if this Franco guy was really bad news? All the signs of a seriously unhealthy relationship were there. She knew them better than anyone. But she didn’t know much about Franco and she had no way to find out about him.
Unless…
Thatch. He’d offered her a favor in exchange for yoga sessions. Now she knew exactly how he could help her.
Lyric hurried back to the studio and quickly swept the floor before grabbing her purse and turning off the lights on the way out.
Thatch’s house sat on a few acres just on the outskirts of town. For years, the place had been a dilapidated boxy structure, but the man had flipped it completely and now even the outside had a lovely stone facade with log beams as accents. Thankfully, the lights were on, so she didn’t have to get him out of bed.
Lyric followed the stone path to his front door, a strange sensation humming through her. Nerves? She tried to shake them off. This was Thatch. She couldn’t be nervous to see him. She saw him all the time. Or at least she used to see him all the time. She wasn’t sure if she’d been avoiding him or he’d been avoiding her up until they’d seen each other at happy hour.
Clearing her throat, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and knocked. It took a few minutes for him to open the door.
“Lyric?” He started to smooth his hair down and moved aside. “Come in.”
“Thanks. I, uh, won’t stay long.” She stepped onto the slate-tiled foyer of his home. She’d been here before for game nights along with their other friends, but nowit was just her. And him. Did he have to look so hot? Slightly disheveled in joggers and a ripped long-sleeved T-shirt. Even though he’d run his fingers through it, his dusty-blond hair was still slightly mussed. Maybe she’d interrupted a workout or something. It didn’t matter. She would be leaving soon. “I, um, just came to tell you that I’ll help you. With the yoga. We can meet for a few sessions every week.” Why were the words rushing out? Shesoundednervous. “But I need your help with something too.”
“Sure. Yeah. Like I said, I’m happy to trade.” He walked away and waved her into his living room, which smelled nice. Similar to her eucalyptus essential oil. Not surprisingly, everything in this space was orderly, from the uniform black leather furniture to the naval magazines positioned on the coffee table.
“You want something to drink?” he asked. “A beer?”
“No.” She stood at the very edge of the room, maintaining a clear path to the front door. Her heart was thrumming and her body was heating—not good signs for keeping a neutral distance from him. “I need you to help me keep an eye on a kid in town. Franco Vaughn. He’s a senior at the high school.”
“Uh…” Thatch’s head tilted while he studied her. “You want me to spy on some kid for you?”
When he said it that way, the request sounded completely irrational. “He’s dating one of my sixteen-year-old students,” she rushed to explain. “I have some concerns.” Every time she looked into Thatch’s eyes, her brain stalled. “So I just want to keep an eye on him. I figure maybe you could even, like, reach out to him or something? Mentor him? Offer him a job?” Thatch, Silas, and Aiden werealways looking for labor help with their various projects in town.
“Maybe.” Confusion still pinched at his mouth. “I guess that’s a possibility. What’re your concerns about him?”
“He seems a little controlling.” She knew from personal experience that was how abuse started. But she couldn’t tell Thatch that. She couldn’t tell anyone. Her friends all knew she’d been divorced a long time ago, but she’d always been too humiliated to give them the details. Except for Kyra. But they were stepsisters. “He’s gotten into some trouble at school. I just don’t want her to end up in a bad situation.” Like she had. “Please, Thatch? This is really important to me.”
“Okay. Yeah. Of course I’m willing to help.” His tone gentled. “I’ll figure something out. Maybe I can call the school and see if he’d be interested in becoming an intern for Cowboy Construction or something.”
“Great.” She could’ve hugged the man, but she held back. She’d already made up her mind about dating him… even if he was a pretty wonderful guy. She quickly headed for the door. “Why don’t you come to the studio on Friday night? My last class is over at seven. We can do your first session after that.”
Thatch opened the door and stepped out onto the porch with her. “Sounds good. I’ll be there.”
She told him goodbye and hurried to her car before he could tell that her heart was racing. That he’dmadeher heart race. Would her heart do this every time she was with him?
She’d have to figure out how to deal with that problem later.
