Chapter 2 #2
She’s nervous about something, and her story about Gizmo walking all the way out there from town is virtually impossible. Either someone drove him out onto the road and dumped him far from anything or anyone, or she was out there, which makes even less sense.
And that mystery, as much as the strange way I’m drawn to this woman, makes me take a massive leap I shouldn’t.
“Would you…like to join me for breakfast?”
Her eyes dart back to me, then to my table, and she chews on her lip again.
I can see the debate in her eyes, the way she assesses me to see if I’m a threat or to determine what I might expect in return for the meal.
It’s easy to recognize that look.
It’s the same one Willow had after she returned, when she didn’t know who she could trust or what she should be doing.
Whoever Lucky is, whatever brought her here, it’s definitely not something she wants to discuss, and given how she’s acting, I don’t think she has the money to leave town or buy herself breakfast.
I motion toward the table. “My treat. You had a rough night worrying about Gizmo. You need a good meal.”
She continues to worry her lip, glancing around at the various tables and Elaine bustling around them, delivering plates and cups of coffee and chatting as McBride Mountain wakes up and people make their way in.
Those blue eyes don’t miss anything, and when they focus back on me, that inexplicable heat bubbling under my skin flares under her assessment.
This woman is sizing me up, and I’m going to let her.
* * *
LUCKY
Liam McBride continues to watch me with green eyes that seem to see right through the thick walls I’ve built up so aggressively over the years, the ones that have allowed me to maintain my distance from people.
They served me well for a long time but feel as flimsy as butterfly wings under his assessment.
The longer he assesses me, waiting for me to decide about his offer, I can’t help but let my own gaze travel over him again.
Standing at least six-two, he towers above me. In his perfectly fitted, worn jeans and t-shirt tugging at his muscled arms and chest each time he moves, my first impression that he would intimidate most people is certainly correct.
He is the picture of the rough, gruff mountain men this part of the world is known for. The kind of person to avoid at all costs.
Yet, there’s something about his soft smile, the easy laugh, and the warmth in his mossy eyes that tells me he isn’t exactly what he appears. Like me, the outside appearance doesn’t match what’s on the inside.
This blue hair screams that I’m confident, outgoing, ready to take on the world around me, while in reality, I’m trying to hide from it. I’m looking for anywhere to disappear, some way to become someone else before who I really am destroys me.
This isn’t the place to hide.
Not with someone like this here, someone who so easily sees me. Plus, Gizmo likes him, and he doesn’t like any men. That makes it even more important that I don’t stay here any longer. He’s already asking too many questions I can’t answer, and he’s the type of man who could get me to answer them.
“Thank you for the offer…but I can’t.”
I don’t want his charity or his attention.
All I need is somewhere to lay low for a little while. I hadn’t intended to stay in McBride Mountain, and standing here, I can see moving on quickly is definitely in my best interest now that I have Gizmo.
These people are too nice, too inquisitive. They won’t just let things go. This is the type of place where everyone knows everyone else’s business, and I will quickly become a source of focus for the regulars who come to this diner.
That. Cannot. Happen.
It’s hard to lie low when you’re already drawing attention.
Which I definitely am.
Liam’s brow furrows. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat?”
It’s almost like he can see how hungry I am. How long it’s been since I sat down and had a good meal. And how damn exhausted I am after walking so much yesterday and practically running into town today.
His insistence tenses my shoulders—something I’m sure he notices too—and I give him a tight smile that I hope at least mildly appeases him.
“I’m good. Go back to your breakfast. Thank you for taking care of him.”
I don’t know what I would have done if Liam hadn’t found Giz and kept him safe last night.
Would I have kept walking straight on through McBride Mountain alone?
Would I have been able to keep this up without my little sidekick and constant companion?
For as much self-confidence as I usually possess—or at least, I used to—I don’t think I could. I would have been crushed under the weight of my loss and guilt that I let it happen. But thanks to this man, I don’t ever have to suffer that fate.
Liam looks deeply disappointed in my final brush-off, and I can’t draw my eyes away from the way his lips tip down slightly at the corners.
Why do I hate that so much?
I don’t even know this man, and I can already tell the frown looks wrong on his face. Those lips were meant for laughing and smiling…and kissing.
And I need to get the hell out of here.
The older woman behind the counter watches us out of the corner of her eye, and I drag myself away from Liam and approach her with a smile. “Can I just get a cup of coffee to go?”
That’s about all I can afford right now, and it will have to do to get me through however far we can make it today before the sun starts to go down.
Caffeine can work wonders, help me push through the long days on the road and handle the constant fear that keeps me looking over my shoulder.
I hope it’s enough today.
She nods slowly as her eyes skim over me. “Of course, dear, but I have to ask…”
My back stiffens, bracing for another round of questions. “What?”
“Well, I know you told Liam that you weren’t planning on staying, but I could use help here in the diner.
One of my regular waitresses quit last week to stay at home with her granddaughter, and I thought we’d be able to handle it without her.
But then, with the crowd that came in for the Memorial Day Festival and people likely staying for a few days after, I think it’s going to get very busy, very quickly.
” She scans the diner, as if anticipating a massive rush even though it’s relatively quiet this early. “Any chance you know how to waitress?”
The hopefulness in her voice tugs at my heart.
It weakens my resolve to walk away from this place so easily.
“Umm…I can.”
Her warm eyes brighten, and she offers me a pleading look. “Would you want to stay, at least for a few days, to help? You could start right away. I’ll pay you cash.”
Cash.
That is what finally gets my attention away from the quickest route out of McBride Mountain.
No filling out paperwork.
No handing over IDs.
No government involvement.
Just cold hard cash I can stick in my pocket when I leave here.
“Of course, but”—I lift Gizmo slightly—“I have him and nowhere to leave him while I’m here.”
Plus, the thought of being away from Gizmo after the terror of last night is too much for me at the moment…
Liam clears his throat. “I could hang out with him while you’re working here today and bring him back when your shift is over.”
That voice again.
That deep, rumbling, yet somehow soothing sound comes from the man standing behind me who has already unnerved me more than anyone has in a very long time.
I turn to face him again, and I allow myself to assess him one more time.
From the dark coppery-red hair, the hard muscles, the exposed tattoos, and the large, calloused hands.
Handing over Gizmo to him would mean I would have to see Liam McBride again, and staying very far away from this man seems like the safer option. “I…”
He holds up his hands, approaching slowly with heavy booted steps that seem almost tentative, like he’s used to handling wild animals and doesn’t want me to bolt. “I know you had a scare with him, and you just got him back, but I promise we’ll be all right. We’re buds.”
I swallow thickly, glancing down at Gizmo, who stares up at Liam with his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth happily. “Where would you take him?”
Liam offers me a half grin that makes me weak in the knees.
“My brothers and I own the lumber yard just outside town, at the base of the mountain. I’ll be there all day.
I’ll bring him back around closing time, and if you get done earlier, Elaine knows how to get ahold of me.
He’ll be fine. Killian and Connor will keep him busy if I have to do anything where he can’t tag along. ”
“I told you, he doesn’t usually do well with men.”
At least, no men I’ve met since I got Giz…except this one.
He chuckles and reaches out to scratch the top of Gizmo’s head. “Trust me, he’ll be fine. Worst case scenario, he can trot around the lot with me all day if he doesn’t want to stay in the office. It’ll be fine, I promise.”
Promises are nothing more than empty words.
That’s a reality I’ve lived with for far too long.
But passing up any cash right now would be a massive mistake. I need it if I want to any farther north, if I want to put more space between me and my past.
I glance back at the kind woman behind the counter, who offers me another smile.
She nods toward Liam. “You can trust the McBrides.”
For some reason, those simple words from someone I don’t even know settle the anxiety I have about not having Gizmo with me.
Think about the money.
I’ll need it to get out of McBride Mountain. Cash will help me do that.
Otherwise, I’ll be hitting the road broke.
Stepping toward Liam slowly, my hands shake as I pass Gizmo over to him. Giz lifts his head immediately to lick Liam’s jaw, apparently excited to see his new friend again.
Liam runs a large hand up and down his back. “See? We’re good. I’ll see you at close unless I hear otherwise?”
He raises a brow at me, and Christ, it shouldn’t be so hot, but the way it arches above his emerald-green eyes makes my heart skip a beat. It takes a moment for me to process that he asked me a question and is expecting an answer.
I nod almost numbly. “Okay.”
“Elaine, throw that on my tab?” He inclines his head toward the table, waits for her to nod her agreement, then moves to the door. Turning back toward me, he offers another bright smile. “Don’t look so worried. We’ll be fine.”
Liam steps out of the diner with Gizmo in his arms and climbs into the truck parked in front of it. I watch him start it up and drive away, staring far too long out that window until a throat clears behind me and I whirl back around.
“I’m Elaine, by the way.” The older woman extends a hand, and I take it and shake. “I own the diner. My husband passed away two years ago, but my son, Matt, is usually running the kitchen.”
“Just let me know what you need me to do.”
She grins, her eyes bright and welcoming. “That’s the spirit. You said your name is Lucky?” I nod. “Well, let’s hope you are, because I have a feeling as soon as that sun fully comes up, it’s going to be a madhouse in here. Did you enjoy the festival?”
“The what?”
One of her brows rises. “The Memorial Day Festival. You said you were in town for it.”
“Oh.” I nod, smiling in a probably vain attempt to cover my lie. “Yeah, it was uhh…cool.”
And if she asks me anything else about it, she will know for sure that I’m lying.
Thankfully, she just wipes her palms on her apron and moves over to the register, ushering me toward it with the wave of a hand. “Do you think you can work this?”
“Umm…” I stare at it, my hands trembling. “I’m not sure.”
“Well, I’ll stick you on the tables and whenever someone has to pay, I’ll take care of it so you don’t have to worry about it, okay?”
I nod, my throat suddenly dry.
This woman just met me, doesn’t even know my full name, and has already offered me a job and access to her cash register without question. And I handed off my best friend in the world to a man I don’t know.
Something about McBride Mountain is causing me to make very bad decisions.