Chapter 13
Lo
Alright, so this is fun. Really. I’m having the time of my life.
Tansy and I are sitting on my mom’s couch, bottles of cheap wine between us, and too many things I don’t want to talk about shrouding us. I’m trying to pretend that everything’s fine, that I’m fine, when all I can think about is the train wreck that is my life.
I’ve been back in Honeysuckle Grove for just a few days, and I’m already that girl again, the one everyone can’t wait to gossip about, to laugh at.
Tansy pops open another bottle of wine, as if it’s some sort of victory, and pours us both glasses that are more than a little generous. She’s got that mischievous look in her eyes.
The one that says she’s got dirt and she’s just waiting to spill it.
“…so then, Ruby, the flirty Omega who now runs The Rusty Bucket Tavern, chased Knox Rylan out the bar, screaming after him…”
“Knox Rylan?” I ask, trying to remember who everyone is in this town. It really has been that long.
“Alpha Handyman. Ford’s friendly rival…”
A heat burns in my cheeks at the mention of Ford. Dammit, I do not want to think about him right now.
But it seems like I’m the only one.
“Speaking of…” Tansy’s eyes sparkle. “What happened with you guys? I saw you kissing.”
She waggles her eyebrows at me.
Oh, for the love of God.
I freeze, a lump forming in my throat. I should’ve known better than to think Tansy wouldn’t have seen me. The whole damn bar saw us. We were right there, making out like two air-headed teenagers.
The fact that she saw that kiss, though, makes my chest tighten in a way I can’t even begin to unpack right now.
I sip my wine to avoid answering. Big mistake. The heat of it makes me almost choke, but I power through and try to look casual.
“I…” I clear my throat. “We didn’t kiss. That wasn’t…” Shit. “I wasn’t… I mean, it was nothing. Just a—”
“Oh, come on. The whole damn bar saw you,” Tansy interrupts, leaning forward with a mischievous gleam in her eye. “And I also saw you vanish outside before I hopped into my car to leave. Tell me everything. Did he follow you outside?”
I groan and drop my head back against the couch. “Really?”
Tansy smirks. “Oh, honey, you know I need all the details. It looked hot!”
I slap my hand over my face, mortified, but she’s already laughing at her own ridiculousness.
“God, you make it sound so… tacky,” I mutter, taking another gulp of wine to distract myself.
She grins. “Look, I’m not here to judge, but it’s obvious that there’s something going on between you two. Something that you’re not telling me… yet.” She raises her eyebrows. “But hey, I’ll be patient. I can wait.”
I shoot her a look, but there’s no hiding how unsettled I feel. It’s one thing for Tansy to know the score, but it’s another for the whole town to be buzzing about it.
I set my glass down, looking her straight in the eye. “Fine. You wanna know what happened?” I don’t even wait for her to answer. “We had sex. In the alleyway beside the Rusty Bucket. It was… intense.”
Tansy blinks, then leans back, her eyes wide. “Wait. What?”
I rub my temples, already regretting how much I’ve said. “Yeah, I know. I’m sure that’s not what you were expecting. But it happened. And honestly? It was fucking amazing. Like, mind-blowingly amazing. His knot is—”
“His knot!?” Her mouth hangs open for a second, but she quickly recovers, grinning ear to ear. “Oh, Lo. You just made my day.”
I cross my arms, trying to stay composed even though I feel the heat creeping up my neck. “Yeah, well, it was a really bad idea. I shouldn’t have done it. I’m… I’m a mess. And all I did was drag him into that mess. He deserves more than that, Tee.”
Tansy chuckles, swirling her wine around, savoring a good gossip. “So, what? You’re saying that was a one-time thing?”
“I… it definitely won’t happen again.”
Is that right, though? I mean, I don’t like the guy, but it was something else.
Tansy simply grins at me from beyond the rim of her glass.
I glare at her. “I’m just… trying to stay out of trouble.”
“Trouble’s already chasing you, sweetie,” she says with a laugh. “Is that why you’re here?”
I shift uncomfortably on the couch, feeling her words hit me harder than I expect. Trouble, yeah. That’s definitely one word for it.
Trouble’s been my shadow for the last few months.
Maybe even years.
“Yeah,” I mutter, taking another sip of wine. “I guess. It’s… a lot to deal with. And I just needed to get away for a bit. Taking down powerful people who embezzle from charities… it isn’t always easy.”
Tansy doesn’t push. Instead, she watches me, her sharp gaze softening. “I get it. You know, I thought you might be back for good. Everyone in this town’s been waiting for you to show up. To see what you do next after all the drama with your family. After it all finally came out.”
“Huh, it came out, but no one still seems to believe me. They still seem to think I have some kind of part to play in all of it.”
Tansy doesn’t say anything right away. She just nods, watching me with a knowing look. After a few beats, she sighs. “Yeah, but I know you’re strong. You can survive this.”
I shift my weight, finally meeting her gaze. “What about you? What’s been going on in your life in the last seven years? Bet you’ve got some stories of your own.”
Tansy takes a slow sip of wine, her lips curving into that mischievous grin I know so well.
“Oh, you know… the usual.” She leans in, lowering her voice as if she’s sharing a juicy secret. “I got involved in a little matchmaking business on the side.”
I raise an eyebrow, instantly intrigued. “Matchmaking? Seriously?”
“Absolutely. You think people don’t come to The Gilded Lily looking for a little help? They come in for the pastries, but they leave with something more,” she says, dripping with amusement.
I laugh despite myself, shaking my head. “God, you’re the worst.”
“Hey,” she shrugs, still grinning, “I’m just helping people find what they need. Some find it with a lemon bar. Some with a cup of coffee. Others? Well… I may have orchestrated a few accidental scent matches.”
She raises an eyebrow, daring me to ask for more details.
I snort, amused. “And have you set yourself up?”
She shakes her head. “Nah, no time for romance right now. Too busy getting people like Iris and Ben their happily ever after. And then there’s Michelle and Sara, did you hear about them?
Pretty sure they’re starting to form a bond after all these years of denial.
You know how it goes with packs in this town.
Betas and Alphas… They just take a little longer to realize what they’ve been walking around with for so long. ”
“Wow, I had no idea.”
“Oh yeah, and not just couples. I’ve been helping Omegas find their packs, too.” She wiggles her brows playfully. “I helped that painfully shy Omega, Summer, find her way with the Jones brothers.”
“But not for yourself yet?” I push, intrigued.
“Not for this little Omega, not yet.”
I squint at her, trying to read between the lines. “Hmm, no one good enough for you?” I say, giving her a playful poke in the arm.
She lets out a dramatic sigh. “Oh, please. You think I haven’t had my fair share of… interesting men? I just… I’ve got standards.” She glances at me sideways, giving me that “I’m not fooling around” look. “And right now, the bakery is wild!”
I snicker, swirling the wine in my glass. “Wild, huh? What, are you setting up the mayor with the grocery store clerk while baking lemon slices now?”
Tansy grins. “Oh, honey, you have no idea.”
My face hurts from smiling, which is a weird thing to notice when I’m supposed to be in hiding. But being here with Tansy, on this couch that still smells of my mother’s old perfume and cardamom tea, almost makes me forget everything else.
Almost.
Tansy flops backward dramatically, her hair spilling over the throw pillow. “You should stay,” she says, completely serious now. “Like… for good.”
The words hit me in the chest, too sudden, too hopeful. I stare at her, heart stuttering, trying to laugh it off.
“I’m not exactly the town’s favorite person right now.”
“Who cares?” She shrugs, not missing a beat.
“You’d win them over. You’ve always had that spark…
people will remember it. They’ll remember that you told them about your parents long before anyone else knew.
You found the evidence of them embezzling the charity funds for their own use.
It’s their fault they didn’t listen until it was too late. ”
I swirl the last bit of wine in my glass, watching it catch the low light. “It’s not that simple.”
“It could be.”
“No.” I look up at her, forcing the truth out, slow and bitter.
“My family bled this town dry, Tan. They put up that bullshit sanctuary campaign, took donations from people who didn’t have much to give, promised all that money was going to help the vulnerable and the voiceless…
and it didn’t. It went into their accounts.
It paid for city apartments and spa retreats and private security for galas they were never invited to in the first place. ”
Tansy is quiet, her expression unreadable.
“And trying to stop it ruined my life here.” I sigh heavily. “I honestly can’t believe I came back. I just… I couldn’t live in my car any longer. I couldn’t nest in it. I never felt safe.”
Tansy sits up slowly, her brows drawing together, seeing me for the first time tonight. The wine haze slips just enough to let the worry through.
“Wait… you were living in your car?”
I nod once, jaw tight. “For a while. Couple weeks, maybe longer. It’s all kind of a blur.
I kept moving around. Truck stops, rest areas, a friend’s driveway for a night here and there.
Nothing stuck. And the townhouse was empty, so I figured…
maybe no one would notice if I snuck in.
I didn’t exactly plan to crash into the parade float. ”
Tansy’s lips part, like she’s about to say something, but she doesn’t. Instead, she shifts closer, wrapping her hand around mine.
Her fingers are warm and steady, grounding in a way I didn’t realize I needed.
“You should’ve told me,” she says quietly.
I shrug, not sure how to explain that I didn’t want anyone to know. “It’s not exactly something you text someone. ‘Hey, remember me? I exposed my family’s corruption, and now I’m broke and feral. Want to hang out?’”
She huffs a soft laugh, but there’s no humor in it. Her eyes are glassy. “You’re not feral. You’re just… tired. And honestly? This town owes you more than you’ll ever get back.”
I look away. “Doesn’t really matter what they owe me. No one’s lining up to repay it.”
Tansy squeezes my hand tighter. “Then screw them.”
I glance back, startled by the fire in her voice.
“Seriously,” she continues. “Screw every last one of them who whispered about you instead of asking what really happened. You shouldn’t have had to come back to an empty house with holes in your shoes and guilt that isn’t even yours to carry.”
I blink hard, her words settling in deep, heat behind my ribs.
“I didn’t want anyone to see me like this,” I admit. “I thought I’d lay low, figure something out, maybe disappear again before anyone could talk about it.”
But then I saw Beck.
And Hayes.
And Ford…
Oh god.
I am not doing a great job of laying low.
I need to get out of here. Sooner rather than later.