Chapter 1 #2
She waited half a beat for him to say more. He didn't. "Must be nice for him, having you and Riko here to help with... whatever it is you guys do. Besides fix cars, I mean." She glanced at him sideways. "Faye's been really cagey about the whole thing. Says Adam's life is complicated."
That amber gaze flicked to her for just a second.
"It can be."
"Very mysterious." She fidgeted with her purse strap.
"Though I guess that's par for the course with you guys.
Nobody really knows much about any of you, except Riko because he actually grew up here.
And even he doesn't say much about where he's been since we graduated.
Linda at Prather's—you know, the grocery store? —has about fifteen different theories."
"I'm sure she does."
"My favorite is that you're all in witness protection. Very dramatic." She knew she was rambling and tried to rein it in. "Sorry. I talk when I'm nervous. Always have. Drove my teachers crazy growing up."
"Turn here?" he asked.
"Yeah, the blue house at the end." She watched the familiar homes pass by, trying not to wince at how much worse her place looked compared to the well-maintained homes around it.
"It doesn't look like much, I know. I've been trying to keep my parent's old place from falling apart completely.
A new roof last year ate my savings, but at least it doesn't leak anymore. Much."
He pulled into her driveway, his headlights illuminating peeling paint and a porch that definitely listed to the left. The small home that had been charming in her childhood now looked tired, defeated by too many winters and not enough money for repairs.
"This place has been in the family since the fifties," she added, defensive without meaning to be. "Mom always said these old houses have good bones. They just need some TLC."
And about fifty thousand dollars I don't have.
He turned off the engine but didn't comment on the state of her home. And somehow that made her feel even worse.
Jules reached for the door handle, then stopped. "Riko seems happy. It's good to see someone from our graduating class found his way back home. Most people who leave Snow Ridge don't come back."
"You never left here?"
The way he said it made her look at him. She frowned. "Where would I go? This is home. My parent's are buried here. My mom's family founded half the businesses on Main Street. I've got roots so deep in this mountain, I'd probably wither up and die anywhere else."
Something shifted in his expression as he listened to her. She couldn't quite read it, but it made her pulse race nonetheless.
"Besides," she added, trying to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere, "someone has to keep Linda from gossiping everyone to death.
And make sure old Mr. Murphy doesn't forget to eat when he gets lost in his wood carvings.
And who else would put up with Mrs. Brown's conspiracy theories about the mayor? "
"You take care of everyone."
It wasn't a question, more of an observation. But the way he said it—like he'd been watching her or something—made heat creep up her neck.
"It's a small town. We look out for each other." She grabbed Fred from the dashboard. "Speaking of which, tell Adam I've got those shirts he likes on hold at the shop. Faye mentioned he needed some."
She climbed out, then turned back. "And for what it's worth, I think Riko's right. You're not as scary as everyone says."
His eyes snapped to hers. "People say I'm scary?"
"'Intimidating' was the word Linda used.
But she thinks anyone who doesn't attend her book club is suspicious, so.
.." She smiled. "You've been here, what, a year or two now?
And this is the longest conversation we've had.
Can't blame people for making up stories about the mysterious new guy who keeps to himself. "
That mouth twitch again. Stronger this time. "Not that mysterious."
Jules gave a nervous laugh. "Right. Three gorgeous men show up out of nowhere, work at the garage yet barely talk to anyone, and spend their free time doing God knows what in the mountains? That's practically the definition of mysterious."
Something shifted in his expression. It was hot. And hungry. And it made her stomach flutter.
"Careful, Jules." Her name on his lips was both a warning and a promise. "Curiosity can be dangerous."
"Is that a threat?"
"No. But some mysteries are better left alone."
The intensity in his amber eyes made her shiver. "Now you're really being mysterious."
"Get inside. Storm's getting worse."
Before she could respond, he put the truck in reverse and backed out with the passenger door open, leaning over to pull it closed as he drove back the way he'd came.
Leaving Jules standing in her driveway with her heart racing and her skin feeling too tight and too hot despite the falling snow.
She was still standing there when her phone buzzed with an incoming text. It was from an unknown number.
Parts will be here tomorrow at 9 am. Car will be done by noon. Snow should be over by then. Don't be late.
Then, a second later:
Wear something warm. Garage gets cold.
Jules stared at the messages. He was worried about her being cold?
Because she couldn't think of how to respond to that, she typed back:
Fred says thank you for noticing him.
Three dots appeared immediately. Then disappeared. Then appeared again.
Fred?
My succulent. The purple one in the sunflower pot.
A longer pause. Then:
Tell Fred he needs more sun. East-facing window would be better.
Jules laughed out loud, standing in her driveway as snow gathered in her hair. Lex Chapman, the scary tattooed man who barely spoke in complete sentences, was giving her succulent care advice.
I'll let him know. See you tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
She started to put her phone away, then saw the three dots appear one more time.
Lock your doors tonight. Storm's going to be bad.
Something about the way he phrased it made her shiver. Not from cold, but from the feeling that he wasn't just talking about the weather. Maybe she was losing her mind, but she would've sworn there was something protective in that warning, something that went beyond casual concern.
Inside her cottage, Jules went straight to the kitchen, setting Fred on the counter while she checked the mousetraps under the sink.
Empty, thank God. The kitchen faucet dripped steadily—another thing she couldn't afford to fix properly—so she positioned her water-catching bowl underneath it.
Why waste all that water by just letting it go down the sink when she could use it to hard boil some eggs or something?
The furnace kicked on with its usual wheeze and clank.
She'd nursed it through last winter with YouTube videos and prayers, but this year it sounded worse.
Another expense she couldn't handle. Not with the electric bill already stretching her budget and her hours at the shop cut back until after the holidays.
Maybe she could pick up some extra work helping Faye at the coffee shop or something.
Pushing those worries out of her mind for another time, she moved to the window that faced the road, watching the swirling snow as it began to fall. Her skin still tingled where he'd touched her. And her body still hummed in a way she didn't understand.
Jules pressed her fingers to the glass as the snow erased his tire tracks. Whatever secrets Lex was keeping, she had the strangest feeling she was about to find out.
A little thrill ran through her at the thought. This was the most excitement she'd had in years.
Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.