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“Avery, girl, what thedevilis going on here?” Laz’s tone sounded angry, but Avery could see the concern in his eyes. He shook his head in disbelief. “Good Lord, girl, I leave you alone for an hour, and I come back from lunch to see some punk flyin’ out of the parkin’ lot and then I gets up here and finds you pretty darn well passed out.”
The mention of Brian was enough to summon the sobs again. “I—I—” Her lungs were stretched too full, as though her chest might burst.
“Avery!” Laz’s voice sent vibrations through the rafters. He gave her a single hard shake. “Pull yerself together and tell me what’s goin’ on.” His eyes frantically scanned her body. “Are you hurt?”
Avery sucked in her first full breath. She gently pushed away from Laz and pressed her fingers to her eyes.Great.She hadn’t meant to break down like this, certainly not in front of anyone else. And she didn’t want to unveil the details necessary to explain why Brian’s presence had been enough to rip open all her old scars.
Maybe she could give the general version. “I’m just upset.”
Laz made an exasperated sound in his throat. “Good Lord, Avery, I got eyes. I can see that!”
She hesitated, teetering on the verge of all she couldn’t reveal. “It’s the man who was here.”
“He hurt you? Steal anything?” Every muscle in Laz’s face was taut.
“No, no.” Avery gingerly stood up. Amazing how an episode lasting less than ten minutes could make every bone hurt. She felt more exhausted than she did after a long day’s hike.
“He’s—someone I knew. From New York.” She paused. “We weren’t, uh, on good terms. He managed to find me here, and he wanted some information from me. I did not give it to him, and he left.” She made a “the-end” motion with her hands.
Laz was still kneeling on the floor, staring up at her. Clearly this was far too much to process.
“You used to live in New York? Like, New York City?”
More questions. Wonderful. “Yes. Didn’t I tell you that?”
“You told me you was from back east.”
Avery smiled nervously. “Well, New York is back east.”
“I don’t see you as a city gal.”
“Because I’m not.”
“But you lived in the Big Apple?” Confusion marked his every word. “It don’t get any more big-city than that, girl.”
Avery walked behind the counter and straightened a few papers. She noticed her hands were still trembling. Her fingertips felt icy cold. “It was a—a matter of circumstance. There was a specific reason I lived in New York. I left after—I left as soon as I could.”
Laz shook his head, obviously still bewildered. “And this guy—just what kind of dope was he tryin’ to get from you?”
Avery hesitated. She respected Laz, even trusted him—well, as much as she ever trusted anyone. He’d stood by her side during these last few months. But did she trust him that much? With the dark secrets of her past?
“He was looking for a mutual friend. He lost track of their whereabouts and wanted my help. I don’t know where they are either, so I had nothing to tell him.”
Laz still had questions. She could tell. She grabbed the door handle to the stock room and intercepted his next statement.
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather not discuss this anymore.” Her hands had stopped shaking and just felt a little weak. She opened the door, and Mercy hurtled out. “We have a store to run.”
IT WAS ANOTHERtypical afternoon at iClimb Whistler. Terry Morris absentmindedly took another bite of his deli sandwich while scrolling through his email. There was a lot involved in running this business, most of which he hadn’t considered when he’d bought it from the previous owner six years ago. Seemed there wasn’t even time enough these days to enjoy a bite to eat away from the laptop.
He had a full inbox today, as always, but at least most of the messages were positive. A+ reports from employees, community announcements, and the occasional mail-order sale notification. He’d just hit “send” on a reply to a notice of an upcoming fundraiser when he heard a light tapping on his open door.
“Yes?” He peered upward to see one of his employees standing awkwardly on the threshold.
“May I come in?”
“Certainly.” One of Terry’s policies was to always make time for employees. After all, they were the most important part of his business. He pushed back from his desk and gestured to a vacant chair.
“So what can I do for you?”
