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“Will you let me help you move to the back patio where you can sit?”
I nodded.
Lucas took my hand and helped me up, but my knees didn’t make it, buckling before I was upright. I never hit the ground. Lucas’s arm swept under my legs, and I was suddenly in his arms.
Panic tried to swallow me, and the instinct to fight him locked all my limbs in place. I hadn’t been touched by a man in years. But deep down, I knew that he wouldn’t hurt me. I knew it on a level so deep that I couldn’t question it.
My own judgment wasn’t something I trusted anymore, but that instinct kept me still in his arms as he carried me to the patio. The way he held me was effortless, and it was hard to ignore the true surge of safety I felt resting there.
Warmth and the scents of both pine and mountain air wrapped around me. I could fall asleep here, rest my head on his shoulder and let go because he would catch me. Yearning hit me so strongly that tears came to my eyes, and I had to blink them away.
He set me in one of the chairs on the patio in the sun. I hadn’t realized how cold I was until I was pressed against his body. The warmth of the sun was nice, but it was nothing compared to the furnace that was Lucas.
A teacup was set in front of me. Lena.
Oh my God. I’d had an episode at work. At a brand-new job. I had really liked this one too.
“Lena, I’m so sorry. That hasn’t happened in a long time. I didn’t know it would.”
“Don’t worry about it, Evie.”
“I’m serious,” I said. “It’s not a normal thing, and I’m so sorry. I get it if you don’t want that kind of thing around the shop—”
Lena held up a hand, stern kindness on her face. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not angry at you, and I’m sure as hell not going to fire you. Go home and rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow. And only if you actually feel up to it.”
“But—”
“No buts. You come back when you’re one hundred percent, or I’ll lovingly kick your ass and send you home again.”
“Okay.”
Grace stepped forward and slipped me a piece of paper with a phone number. “If you need to talk, I’m around. I’ve been through some stuff too.”
That same sadness was back from the day I’d met her. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that, but of anyone, Grace might understand. “Thank you.”
The two of them disappeared back into the shop, leaving me with Lucas, who was staring at me. I suppressed a wince. This was the part where he brought up the fact that I’d lied about running from something. Not once, but twice. Where he threw it in my face and asked me to move out sooner rather than later.
“Do you mind if I call you Ev?” He asked. “Lena called you Evie, so I wondered if you were okay with nicknames.”
Ev. I rolled it around in my brain. I’d never had anyone call me that before. Granted, I hadn’t gone by my real name in years. I was less comfortable with the full version of it, so nicknames felt more natural. “That’s fine.”
A breeze hit my back, and I shivered. I hadn’t spent much time out here on the patio, but it was a pretty space. Lights were strung above, forming a roof that would glow prettily in the evening. Flower boxes surrounded the brick pavers, and there were wrought-iron tables and chairs. It was cute and eclectic in the same way the rest of Deja Brew was.
Lena steeped herself into everything that she did. I wished I could do that.
“You’re cold,” Lucas said. “The tea will help.”
I took a sip and tried to remember what had set me off. It was Nathan. Or at least someone I’d thought was Nathan. But if he was here, then I couldn’t be here. I needed to find out if what I had seen was real.
“So how are you liking Montana, in general?”
I blinked, the question throwing me off. “It’s nice. Very beautiful. I don’t know what makes it smell so good half the time.”
He chuckled. “I’m not sure either. It’s just the way it is.”
“I do like it here though. More than I thought I would.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Lucas looked at me like the answer meant more than a simple yes or no. I didn’t know if it was a good or a bad thing right now. It was bad because if I had to leave, then it would hurt. And it was good because I’d enjoyed my time here so far.
