13. Sadie
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sadie
I woke up tangled in warmth, my body heavy, sated. But my mind? My mind was a battlefield.
Memories of last night flickered in and out, a chaotic reel of whispered promises, heated touches, the way Kai had looked at me like I was precious… like he didn’t want to lose me again.
Lovely, wonderful Kai.
I turned my head, my breath catching the moment I saw him.
His dark lashes fanned against his cheek, lips slightly parted, his face peaceful in a way that felt almost foreign.
He looked younger like this, stripped of the tension he always carried in the tight set of his jaw, the sharp edge of his gaze.
God, he was beautiful.
And I was a mess.
The conflicting emotions crashed over me: satisfaction, longing, panic. My heart ached to stay, to reach out and trace the lines of his body, to press my palm against his chest just to feel the steady rhythm beneath.
But another part of me—the rational, self preserving part—screamed that this was a mistake.
A breathtaking, soul-shaking mistake.
Not because I didn’t want Kai.
Not even because those feelings weren’t still there, because they most definitely were…
But because I didn’t want to hurt him.
Again.
If Medford wasn’t going to be my forever home, then I needed to keep my distance from him.
Another heartbreak might destroy both of us.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to shove aside the warmth still lingering in my bones, the way my body wanted to curl back into his. Last night had felt too real, too right.
And that terrified me.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I slipped out of bed carefully, moving as quietly as I could.
The scent of coffee drifted through the loft, and the distinct sound of a cabinet closing told me I wasn’t alone.
I gathered my clothes quickly, pulling Kai’s oversized shirt around me before tiptoeing toward the door.
My plan was simple: sneak out, go home, and figure out how the hell I was going to deal with this.
But as soon as I stepped into the kitchen, my stomach dropped.
Samuel .
He leaned against the counter, a mug in hand, looking like sin wrapped in flannel. But it wasn’t his cocky smirk that got me this time—it was the way his eyes lingered.
Cold. Calculating.
His blue eyes flicked down, taking in the obvious… the fact that I was wearing Kai’s shirt, my hair a mess, my lips swollen.
I braced myself.
What the hell was he going to say?
“Morning, darlin’.” His voice was smooth, but there was a sharpness underneath it.
Oh, for the love of…
Heat rushed up my neck as I crossed my arms. “Don’t start.”
“Start what?” He took a slow sip of coffee, clearly wanting to wind me up. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
I tried to glare at him, but it lacked real heat.
Because underneath my embarrassment, other feelings simmered.
Dangerous feelings.
Did it have to be my other boss, Samuel fucking Thompson, to see me like this?
Did it have to be the man I’d found weeks ago, when I’d walked into Lucky’s needing an escape?
I hadn’t forgotten the way it felt to have his hands all over me, and there was no denying the electricity that continued to burn between us.
Why did I have to keep making everything so damn complicated?
For a second, I thought he was going to let it go. But then he set his mug down with a soft clink and pushed off the counter, stepping closer.
Not enough to crowd me. But enough to make a point.
“I gotta say, darlin’, I didn’t expect to see you here this morning. But I can’t say I’m surprised either.”
I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair. “Samuel.”
“Sadie.” He mirrored the edge in my tone.
It was like a challenge, a test I hadn’t agreed to take.
I met his stare, forcing steel into my spine. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”
He held my gaze a beat too long. Then he shrugged, the movement tight, coiled.
“Didn’t say you did.” His smile returned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “But if you’re offering, I wouldn’t mind a good story with my coffee.”
I made a move toward the door, but he shifted, not quite blocking me—just enough to remind me that he could. That he still took up too much space in my life.
“Tell me something,” he mused, tilting his head. “What exactly brought you back here, Sadie? Because I don’t buy for a second that it was just homesickness.”
I sucked in a breath, the words hitting harder than I wanted them to.
Medford.
The last place I ever thought I’d end up again.
And yet, here I was, standing in Kai’s kitchen, wrapped in his shirt, being interrogated by Samuel Thompson.
God, my life was a mess.
The city had chewed me up and spat me out—that fancy job at the Belle and Rye was my downfall.
Or rather, he had.
Owain Bond.
The man who’d promised me everything and delivered nothing but heartbreak and humiliation.
A stupid, reckless romance with my boss. One I thought I could handle… until I couldn’t. Until it blew up in my face in the worst possible way, leaving me jobless, practically penniless, and with nowhere else to go.
Nowhere but Medford.
The memory of it twisted in my gut, shame curling like smoke in my lungs.
Samuel studied me, and for all his teasing, there was something else there now.
Curiosity, sure. But maybe a softness, too.
I forced a smirk, trying to push past the ache in my chest. “What, you think I came back just to make your life more dramatic?”
His lips twitched. “I don’t know. Seems you like a bit of drama…”
I didn’t give Samuel the satisfaction of a response.
Instead, I turned on my heel and headed straight for the door, ignoring his quiet chuckle behind me.
The cool morning air hit my skin as I stepped outside.
I needed coffee.
And space.
And preferably, a reality check.
The Brewed Bean Café was already buzzing with early risers when I pushed through the door.
“Sadie!”
I barely had time to process before Samantha, one of the women I had met at bowling night, waved me over to the counter. I’d forgotten that she worked here.
Despite my inner turmoil, I forced a smile and walked over. “Morning.”
“Morning?” Samantha gave me a knowing look, eyes twinkling with mischief. “You look like someone who could use an extra shot of espresso. Long night?”
My stomach twisted.
She didn’t know anything. She couldn’t.
Right ?
I let out a dry laugh, pulling out a chair at the counter. “Something like that.”
Samantha grinned while pouring me a coffee. “Welcome back to Medford, where you can’t sneeze without someone hearing about it. Not that I’m complaining… small-town gossip is what keeps this job interesting.”
I forced a chuckle, but my chest tightened.
Gossip.
That was the last thing I needed.
If Samantha made a habit of keeping tabs on people, what were the chances she’d pick up on me? On last night?
On my night with Samuel, too?
I couldn’t let that happen. Not with the risk of something getting back to Hayley.
The last thing I wanted to was bring any drama to her life.
I smiled, taking a sip of my coffee, but a knot had already settled in my stomach.
I needed to be careful.
Samantha stirred her own latte lazily, her gaze never leaving me.
She was studying me now, and I knew that look. It was the same one Samuel had given me earlier.
The one that said she already had a story pieced together in her head and was just waiting for me to confirm it.
I wasn’t about to give her that satisfaction.
“So,” she said, drawing the word out. “You and Kai, huh?”
I nearly choked on my coffee. I set my mug down carefully, swallowing past the burn in my throat. “What about me and Kai?”
She smirked. “Oh, come on, Sadie. You’re telling me you have no idea what people are saying?”
A muscle in my jaw ticked.
Of course, people were talking.
This was Medford. I’d spent the past decade trying to forget just how quickly rumors could spread here.
Samantha arched a perfectly shaped brow. “It’s not every day a girl leaves the infamous bowling nights with Kai Byrne. And now you show up here looking like…” She gestured at me. “Well, let’s just say you’re giving off ‘I had a very interesting night’ vibes.”
Heat crawled up my neck. “People seriously have nothing better to do?”
“Not really,” she said cheerfully. “And honestly, can you blame them? People still talk about you and Kai—like, everyone knows the story.”
I stiffened. I hated how easily those words slid under my skin, burrowing deep.
People remembered .
They remembered us .
I forced a scoff. “Let me guess. Someone’s got a betting pool going?”
Samantha grinned as she tied her apron around her waist. “Oh, I’m sure somewhere! So, are you two back on, or was last night just a… reunion?”
My stomach clenched. I wasn’t ready for this.
For the questions.
The speculation.
For the truth of it.
Because I didn’t know what last night meant.
I could still feel Kai’s warmth, his touch burned into my skin. The way he had looked at me like he wasn’t sure whether to kiss me or keep me locked away so he’d never lose me again.
And yet, the moment I’d woken up, panic had clawed at my throat.
I needed to get out of here.
I drained the rest of my coffee and stood. “We just work together, Samantha. No need to add fuel to the gossip fire.”
She hummed like she didn’t quite believe me. “If you say so.”
I forced a smile, turned on my heel, and headed straight for the door.
If Medford wanted a story, I’d make damn sure they didn’t get mine.
Hayley was already in the kitchen when I got back home, humming softly as she poured warm tea into a ceramic mug. She turned when she heard me, her hazel eyes lighting up.
“Well, well. Look who finally surfaced.”
I rolled my eyes but smiled, making a beeline for the teapot and pouring myself a cup. “It’s barely past nine.”
“Exactly,” she said, smirking. “Early for you.”
I took a slow sip, savoring the familiar warmth. “I was out late.”
Hayley arched an eyebrow, her expression amused but not prying. “Uh-huh.”
I sighed, setting my mug down. “Not like that. I went to bowling night, ran into a few people.”
Her smirk deepened. “Oh? Anyone interesting ?”
I groaned. “Can we not do the thing where you read too much into my life?”
“Nope,” she said cheerfully, taking a seat at the small kitchen table. “You forget, you used to tell me everything about everything.”
I buried my face in my hands. “God, you’re worse than Samantha.”
Hayley’s laugh was warm and all too familiar. “You like it. Besides, it’s nice having you home. The house has been too quiet. I didn’t realize how quiet until you came back.”
“You think she didn’t feel the same way? That maybe you were exactly what she needed, too?”
Adam’s words hit me once more.
Did Hayley really need me as much as I needed her?
“Yeah?”
She reached over, squeezing my wrist. “Of course. You don’t have to rush to figure everything out. No one’s kicking you out. Ever.”
I nodded, but I didn’t trust myself to say anything.
Because the longer I stayed, the harder it would be to leave.
Hayley studied me for a moment before leaning back in her chair. “So, what’s next on the Sadie Collins Life Plan?”
I let out a breath, swirling the tea in my mug. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Still. I know, it’s taking me forever.”
“Well,” she said, propping her chin in her hand, “figure it out after pancakes?”
A laugh escaped me. “Bribing me with food?”
“I prefer to call it strong encouragement.”
I shook my head but smiled. “Fine. Pancakes first, existential crisis later.”
“That’s my girl.”
After breakfast, I curled up on my bed with my laptop, trying to convince myself to apply for jobs outside of Medford, away from The Foundry.
Medford wasn’t supposed to be permanent.
I needed to remember that before shit got complicated.
Or more so, anyway.
But instead of searching for listings, my fingers hovered over the keyboard before typing something else entirely.
Willow Creek Orphanage.
The name alone sent a sharp pang through my chest.
The small orphanage, close to Medford, a million miles away from Phoenix…
Or at least that was how it felt at the time, because Phoenix was the only place I’d lived before the accident.
I hesitated before hitting enter, bracing myself for whatever I might find.
The screen filled with images—some familiar, some painfully different. The same brick walls, the same narrow windows that had once felt like prison bars. But everything looked… worse.
The paint was peeling.
The playground in the back, the one I used to escape to when I needed to breathe, was rusted and abandoned, the swing set missing its seats.
The front steps, the ones I had sat on countless times, waiting for someone who never came—who could not come—looked cracked and uneven.
A pit formed in my stomach as I clicked on an old article.
Funding cuts.
Staff shortages.
The words blurred. My throat tightened.
Of course. Willow Creek had never had enough, not even back then. But seeing it like this, barely holding on, felt worse.
Grief hit me all at once, raw and unforgiving.
I hadn’t gotten over the car crash when I landed at Willow Creek.
I could still remember the coldness of that first night, the way the bed had felt too big and too empty, the way I had cried so hard my chest ached.
I had known I was stuck there.
Who wanted a fourteen-year-old?
No one would want me. I was never enough . I was just in the way. Even at Willow Creek.
Until Hayley, of course.
But I could never settle, always worried she’d have had enough of me.
I was never secure.
I had promised myself that one day, I would go back. That I would do something. Fix it. Help the kids who felt just as lost as I once had.
But what could I do now?
I was barely keeping myself together. I had no money, no stability, no real plan beyond surviving the next few weeks.
Maybe I wasn’t meant to be the person who helped. Maybe I wasn’t strong enough.
Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but I blinked them away.
I exhaled sharply and shut the laptop. Right now, I needed to focus on staying afloat.
Even if, deep down, I wished I could do more.