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My fingers splayed out wide before retracting into a tight fist as I forced them to stay put. “That’s not exactly something I can do.”
She had been looking down at her phone again, but my words had her eyes snapping back up. “What?”
I made myself remain still and not fidget under her intense gaze. That was something I’d forgotten about her. How utterly deep her expression was…how easy it could be to get lost in the depths of those warm, brown hues.
“I can’t not worry when you look like you’ve been running from a ghost.”
She hesitated. Some of the fear receded from her expression, but her brow remained puckered. “Reid,” she said, her voice weighed with exhaustion. “I know you’re trying to look out for me. But I’m—I’m tired and I don’t want to talk about it right now. It’s fine, really. I just have to get used to some people being…not so welcoming.” She gave a pathetic half shrug and glanced back down at her phone.
A pang hit my chest. I didn’t know what happened, but I wanted to. I wanted to know who wouldn’t be welcoming to someone like her. Someone who had been through hell and was only trying to help.
I didn’t blame her for leaving town when she did. Ember Hollow was a tight-knit community. There was good in that closeness, but it was also bad. It was hard to change minds. It was a minority of the town who still hung on to the ridiculous rumor that Lark was somehow at fault for what happened to my sister and her roommate, but even a small group could make a lot of noise.
Lark deserved better. I would gladly take care of whoever had made her so terrified, but she made it clear she didn’t want my help.
I let out a slow breath, pushing back all my protective instincts. “As long as you promise me that you’re safe,” I said softly.
She held my gaze as she nodded. “I am.”
“And you let me know the moment you need someone to have your back.” I jerked my chin toward her. “I’ll be there.”
Lark’s eyes sparked with something that definitely wasn’t fear. “Okay,” she breathed.
“Okay,” I said.
We stood for a moment longer, staring at each other in a way that could’ve been awkward, but wasn’t.
Eventually, Lark cleared her throat before slipping her phone into the pocket of her coat. “So,” she said, sounding slightly breathless. “What are you doing here?”
I blinked at her, suddenly reminded of why I was standing outside her front door.
Her mother. I’d come here to get the truth from Winnie Meadows.
But as I stared at Lark, I couldn’t get those words to come. The look of terror on Lark’s face when I’d first seen her was seared into my mind. She didn’t need that burden right now. I could find some way to confront Winnie in private. I didn’t need to bring this all out in front of Lark when I had no idea what she was going through.
It could wait.
“Oh.” My hand shot through my hair as I tried to come up with some other explanation why I was here. “I was, uh, looking for you.”
She arched a brow. “For what?”
“Actually…” A thought came to my mind, and I ran with it. “I’m actually here on behalf of my mother. She’s insisting that I invite you to family dinner on Sunday.”
Her eyes widened. “Dinner?”
I nodded. “Yes, and before you say no—” I held up my hand as she opened her mouth, sensing the rejection on the tip of her tongue. “You know my mom almost as well as I do, and I’d like to remind you that if you keep denying her, she’s just going to come over here herself and drag you to dinner if she has to.”
Her jaw snapped closed, and she pursed her lips. “Raleigh isn’t easily denied.”
I shook my head. “No, she isn’t.”
Lark let out a sigh. “Sunday night?”
“Sunday night. Six o’clock.” It was only a couple of days away.
“Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ll come.”
My stomach twisted with excitement, though I wasn’t sure why. Lark had come to dinner many times before. Thea had brought her to almost every Sunday night dinner growing up, but this felt different.
