AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I lifted a shoulder. “Not really. It was nice to get away.” It was easy to disappear in a large city like that. “How about you? What do you do now? Are you a cop?” Reid had always been working toward that dream of his. He looked the part, too; tall and strong and…like he would sacrifice everything to save someone in need.
His face fell. “No, not anymore. I’m a private investigator now. My brothers and I are all in business together at Hearthstone Security and Investigation.”
I blinked, surprised. “You work with your brothers?” The Ramsey brothers had always been close, all five of them. The whole family was. I guess I shouldn’t be shocked they had started their own company together.
“Yeah, I do. It’s great.” But there was an undertone of disappointment to his words, and I wondered what had made him leave the police department. He shuffled from one foot to the other as a beat of quiet passed. “So, what brings you back to our small town, city girl?”
I didn’t consider myself a city girl, but I let it slide. “I’m helping my mom out for a little while.”
“How is she doing?”
My stomach dropped. “You heard about her accident?”
He nodded.
Of course he had. My mother was somewhat of an eccentric in the community. She liked to talk…or more accurately, complain. The car accident wasn’t anything too serious, but you wouldn’t know that by the way she spoke about it. The night she called me and begged me to come home, she sounded like she was on her deathbed, not stuck on bed rest with an injured ankle and whiplash.
“She’ll be fine. It’s mostly her headaches that have gotten worse since that’s really bothering her. I’m just here to help until she’s back on her feet.”
“So you’re only here temporarily?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t give any indication how long I was staying in Ember Hollow because I didn’t know myself. If it were up to me, I’d be out of here the first chance I got, especially after what had happened at Latte Pages. That wasn’t the homecoming announcement I anticipated.
Reid’s mouth tightened. “I see.”
We stood in prolonged silence. It wasn’t heavy or uncomfortable, but it was as if neither of us knew where to take the conversation from there. It had been so long since I’d spoken to Reid Ramsey. So long since I’d seen those deep, green eyes on me.
The last time we’d spoken to each other, one-on-one like this, was the night both of our lives changed forever.
6
Reid
“Well…” I broke the quiet that settled over us. “Do you mind if I use the restroom?” I scrubbed the back of my neck, cringing at the sticky coffee residue.
Lark gasped, blinking at me with wide eyes as if I’d snapped her back from a dream. “Oh, yes.” She held up a finger. “But wait a second.”
She immediately turned and darted toward the cluttered living room that was mostly open to the kitchen. She went to a big box sitting on the couch and rifled through it.
I had no idea what she was doing. And honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. It had been so long since I set foot in this house. It reminded me of my baby sister and the gaping hole her loss left in the world.
But seeing Lark wasn’t as hard as I expected. Talking to her didn’t hurt like I thought, considering it’d been almost nine years since we’d last spoken. It was almost…comforting. She felt the loss of Thea as viscerally as I did, and there was some peace in that.
“There!” Lark reappeared from the box and returned with something dangling from her hand. “I know it’s not exactly your style, but it’s the only thing we have that will fit you.”
Her lips thinned as she held out a button-down flannel shirt. I stared at the very red, and very green, shirt with a howling wolf embroidered in gold on the pocket.
I cocked a brow at her. She was right; it definitely wasn’t my style.
Her cheeks pinked. “Mom sells them at the store. Somebody local embroiders them.”
“Thanks.” I took the shirt. “I appreciate it.”
“I’m really sorry, again. About the coffee.”
She had to stop doing that. “I don’t care about the coffee, Lark.” I took a step closer to her. “I’m actually glad for it.”
