3. Juno
3
Juno
Juno took a quick glance around her, narrowing her eyes toward Tip-Top Talon's large front window, but as far as she could tell, no one could see her from where she stood inside the open passenger door of The Beast. Alex had a UV protector screen propped up in his front windshield, which also blocked his view of her from where he sat at one of her patio tables across the street. She hesitated, Alex's rumpled shirt in one hand, his keys in the other. No one would know if she just…
She pressed the shirt to her nose and inhaled. Alex. Under the hint of laundry detergent and sunshine was the unique and still achingly familiar scent of warm flesh, fresh sawdust, and that woodsy cologne he'd worn since high school. The same scent that used to linger in her nostrils after a long drive pressed against his side, inside this very truck.
The Beast smelled the way she remembered, too, and although the truck had definitely aged in the last fifteen years, other than the worn floorboard mats, it didn't look any the worse for wear. The seat cushions were all intact, the steering wheel wasn't peeling or flaking, and the dashboard wasn't faded or cracked. There was a large black toolbox on the floor behind the driver's seat and some scrap lumber in the bed of the truck, but all in all, it looked to Juno like Alex took exceptional care of The Beast.
She'd been surprised to find him still driving the same pickup when she'd returned to Autumn Lake eight years ago. It had been his brother's truck back in high school, but Alex had been given permission—along with death threats if he allowed anything to happen to it—to drive it while Jason was away in the military. Alex must have bought it from Jason at some point, she guessed, and although she wouldn't admit it out loud, she was more than a little pleased the first time she saw Alex pull up outside her coffee shop behind the wheel of The Beast. Surprised, yes, but secretly thrilled at the memories the sight of the two of them stirred up in her.
Enough. "Get it together, Thomas," she muttered, holding the shirt away from her face. She had an injured man waiting, Bobby standing guard, and a coffee shop full of customers watching this little drama unfold, plus whatever clients Sonya had in her treatment chairs at the moment. This was no time for a trip down memory lane.
She shook out the shirt, folded it neatly over her arm, then locked the truck behind her. Back inside her own car, she laid the shirt on the passenger seat, letting her fingertips linger on the collar for an extra moment, then pulled out of Sonya's parking lot and across the street to where Alex and Bobby waited for her.
By the time she'd parked at the curb, Alex was already standing, one hand gripping the back of the chair he'd been sitting in, presumably for balance, since it looked to her like he wasn't putting any weight on his injured ankle. Even from inside her car, she could see the tight lines around his mouth, and the way he was trying—and failing—to hide how much pain he was in. The usually upbeat Officer Bobby was eyeing him with a furrowed brow, concern evident in his expression.
"Typical," Juno muttered under her breath as she got out and circled the car. "Just smile and pretend everything is fine when it clearly isn't." She grabbed his shirt—why had she bothered folding it?—then climbed out of the car. Through the window of the coffee shop, she could see that all her customers were watching her, but she tried to ignore them.
She tossed the shirt at Alex and he just barely caught it with his free hand. "Put that on before you scare away my customers." She hadn't meant to be so… aggressive about it, but she was having all sorts of conflicting emotions right now, and she was struggling with how to comport herself. Which irked her fiercely, making her feel even more contrary; she prided herself on her typically steady composure.
Alex, balancing on one foot, said, "I can't. My shoulder's pretty roughed up back there. It's starting to burn something fierce." He draped the t-shirt over his uninjured shoulder and gave her a mischievous look. "Will this work?"
Not completely heartless, Juno nodded tersely. "Of course. Yes. I forgot about the road rash." Glancing over at Bobby, she asked, "Got everything you need from him?"
"We're good," the officer confirmed, but he kept his hand out, prepared to steady his charge if he needed it.
She turned back to Alex. "Okay, Captain America. Can you hobble over to the car or do you need us to carry you?"
"Captain America, hm?" Alex chuckled, but she could hear the strain in his voice. "I can manage," he said, then took a very wobbly step. Bobby was at his side in a flash, and Alex draped his arm over the officer's shoulder, leaning so heavily on the guy they both swayed a little.
"Or not," Juno retorted, moving to Alex's other side. "You big lug. Just ask for help, okay? Or are you too manly for that?"
He flashed her one of his trademark grins. "Juno, you wound me."
Juno snorted. "Uh, nope. Pretty sure you managed that all on your own today." She didn't touch him, but walked beside him just in case an extra hand was needed. This was his road rash side, and she grimaced as she noticed it wasn't just his shoulder blade that was scraped up. His elbow and forearm looked a little like someone had taken a cheese grater to it.
"But you do think I'm manly," he teased.
Juno pressed her lips together, refusing to acknowledge the comment. She gave Bobby a 'let's do this' look, then together, they maneuvered Alex the few feet to her car.
"An Outback, huh? It suits you," Alex said through gritted teeth. He ran a hand over the curve of the doorframe in what seemed like a rather suggestive gesture. "Tough as nails. Practical. And very nice lines." The words were strained, but his eyes still held that familiar gleam of mischief.
"Get in the car, Frampton." And here she'd been just starting to feel sorry for him.
He slid the passenger seat as far back as possible to accommodate his long legs, eased gingerly into the vehicle, then balled his shirt up and tucked it behind him at the base of his spine to keep himself from accidentally leaning back against the seat. Bobby carefully closed the car door, then through the open window, he said to Alex, "Call me and let me know you're okay." Peering past him to Juno, he added, "Make sure he actually goes in. Don't let him talk you into just dropping him off at home."
"I wouldn't—" Alex started.
"You would," Juno and Bobby said in unison.
As she pulled away from the curb, Juno was suddenly acutely aware of how little room there was in the front seat of her car. She'd never thought of her Outback as being cramped for space. She'd hauled coffee and catering supplies all over Autumn Lake and beyond in her little hatchback without once feeling like she needed something bigger. But Alex Frampton, shirtless and bleeding, took up every inch of real estate, at least figuratively. She felt crowded against her door, trapped behind the steering wheel, strapped in place by her seatbelt. Um, isn't that what seatbelts do? It was suddenly hard to breathe.
"You don't have to do this," Alex said quietly. He was looking out the window as they drove, his profile tight with discomfort. "I could have called Ward."
"Well, it's your lucky day. You got me, instead." She turned onto Dahlia Drive and headed toward the small urgent care clinic on the other side of town. The closest hospital was Evansville, but the staff at Lakeside Urgent Care was more than equipped to handle Alex's injuries.
"Right." It was only one word, but the nuances packed into that single syllable made Juno's chest tight.
The urgent care waiting room smelled like cleaning chemicals. Juno pulled a small tube of hand sanitizer out of her purse and used it liberally. The handles of the wheelchair they'd let her use to wheel Alex inside the building had been unsettlingly tacky. She sat on the end of a row of seats, his chair parked close, sneaking glances at him while pretending to scroll through her phone. He looked uncomfortable, keeping his injured elbow from bumping the armrest and trying to find a position that didn't aggravate the scrapes on his back.
"I'm sorry about all this," he said, breaking the silence. "You're missing work because of me."
"The shop's in good hands." She tucked her phone away. "Are you in a lot of pain? Do you want me to see how much longer the wait is?" When they'd checked in, the woman at the desk had said it would be a few minutes. That had been at least twenty minutes ago.
"It's okay. I know they'll see me when they can. I just feel ridiculous sitting in this wheelchair." He gestured at himself with his uninjured arm. "Not exactly Captain America's finest hour, is it?"
"Hey," she said, giving him an encouraging smile. "You were amazing out there, Cap. A real hero, especially to the Carrols. They will be telling this story for years to come." She lifted her hands to mime a marquee headline. "Local hero Alex Frampton throws himself in front of a speeding car to save the lives of Harold and Mamie Carrol."
His cheeks warmed a little under her praise and she was glad to see some color. He was awfully pale. "Yeah? What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Do you think I'm a hero?"
Juno met his eyes, seeing past the teasing to something more vulnerable. "You didn't hesitate. Just ran right out there." She nodded. "So yes, Alex. I think you're a hero, too." It was true, at least in this instance. Maybe not back in the day when she'd really needed a hero and he hadn't come through for her. But he'd definitely showed up for the Carrols.
Alex was quiet for a moment, studying her face. "This is nice," he finally said, gesturing with one finger back and forth between them. "We were friends once, weren't we?"
The question caught her off guard. Before she could form a response, he added softly, "I'd like to think we could be again."
"Alexander Frampton?" A nurse stood in the open door of the hallway that led to the exam rooms. When he waved at her and she saw his wheelchair, she crossed the room to them. "Oh, that doesn't look like much fun," she said, her smile sympathetic, if maybe also the tiniest bit flirty. "I'm Katie. I'll wheel you back."
"Do you want to come with me?" Alex asked Juno, something in his voice making her think maybe he wanted her to say 'yes.' She smiled encouragingly, but shook her head.
"I'll be here when you get out. I'm not going anywhere."
"I like the sound of that," he said. Then to the nurse; "You can call me 'Cap.' It's what all my friends call me."
Juno watched him wheel away, her throat tight with unexpected emotion.
Friends. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
Maybe.