Chapter 6
Chapter Six
“T hanks, Clark. Have a good night.”
“Get home safe,” the cashier said, going back to his Field and Stream magazine. “You shouldn’t be out after dark by yourself.”
“Got it, thanks.”
Ruby rolled her eyes as she pushed open the door of the twenty-four-hour market.
It was absurd that the little shop was open all night, but the owner, Clark’s dad, said if he had to keep the lights on all night, he might as well have someone at the register.
And that someone was always Clark. Ruby felt a little bad for the guy, but it was nice that she could grab a few things after her shift.
And she got the impression that Clark didn’t have a whole lot else going on.
She continued the rest of her walk down Monroe Ave, the “central business district” of Maple Hollow, as the banners on the light posts proclaimed. She always found that hilarious.
There were exactly four businesses in the central business district.
Gert’s Diner.
The Bar.
Suds and Spins laundromat.
And the market, Sir Shops A lot , complete with a knight mascot painted on the sign out front. It didn’t make a lick of sense, but it was what it was.
Add in the police station and post office and you had Monroe Avenue.
It wasn’t exactly bustling, although during daylight hours you were bound to run into someone you knew. At this time of night, the town was deserted.
Up ahead at the corner, she’d hang a right down Mckinley and then from the dead end into The Pines. She’d be home and in her jammies in half an hour. It didn’t matter that she still had goosebumps from Sal’s story.
Or that she could still remember the sound of the growl she’d heard last week.
She’d walked home every night since and nothing.
She’d been perfectly fine and tonight would be the same.
But as brave as she tried to be, the sound of a truck pulling up beside her still scared the crap out of her. She gasped and clutched a hand to her chest.
Rafe rolled down the window.
“Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Jesus,” Ruby muttered. “Well, you did.”
“Are you walking home?”
“I’m not far.”
“But it’s dark.”
“I’m aware. It’s night-time.”
Ruby watched a muscle in Rafe’s jaw tick like he was clenching his back teeth. Good, let him clench. She didn’t need one more man in this town to tell her to be careful.
“Let me give you a ride.”
“You think that getting into a vehicle with a man I barely know is somehow a better idea than me walking home?”
Rafe seemed to consider that. He looked like he agreed with her but also like he wanted to demand she get into the truck anyway.
Ruby kept walking.
He pulled the truck slowly along beside her.
“So, you’re just going to what? Follow me home now?”
More jaw clenching, brow furrowing, and muttering to himself followed that question.
Ruby bit down on a smile. She was finding she really liked fucking with this guy.
“Is it even safe for you to be driving?” she asked. “How many beers did you have tonight, Rafe ?”
He flinched at the sound of his name from her mouth.
“Wore off by now,” he said. “Been sitting at that bar for hours.”
She shrugged.
“Maybe if you come sit at that bar more often, I’ll get to know you better.” She stopped walking and the truck stopped too. Rafe leaned over like he was trying to hear her better.
“And then I’ll let you drive me home.”
He blinked.
She turned down Mckinley with a wave over her shoulder.
“Goodnight, Rafe!” she called.
He didn’t follow.
Rafe showed up the next five nights to sit at the bar and eat dinner.
He didn’t offer Ruby a ride.
But he did watch her a lot.
She could feel his eyes on her all night.
She didn’t hate it.
“So, this Rafe character says he’s from up by Allagash River, there,” Sal said, leaning over the bar like it was a secret.
“Okay,” Ruby said, continuing to cut limes. It was a quiet night.
“It’s strange though. I’ve never heard of his family. The Channings.”
“Well, Sal, it’s possible that you don’t know every single person that lives in the state of Maine.”
Sal’s brow furrowed like that wasn’t an option he had considered.
“I like him,” he went on. “I just don’t know if I trust him.”
“Wow. Okay, well, I’ll be on the lookout for anything suspicious.”
“Good idea.” Sal nodded, pleased with himself for passing on this information to Ruby, like she needed Sal to tell her that there was something odd about Rafe.
Ruby shook her head with a laugh. On the other hand, Sal didn’t trust anyone he hadn’t known for at least fifty years. It was a high bar.
Rafe walked in and the energy in the room changed.
His gaze latched on hers immediately as he strode across the bar.
He muttered a few polite greetings along the way, having become a regular over the past week, and by the time he got to her, he looked positively wrecked.
Like that walk across the room was too far to bear.
Ruby sucked in a weak breath.
Was it suspicious that despite how terrifying he was, Ruby still wanted to launch herself over the counter and wrap herself around him?
Probably.
But she wasn’t about to report that to Sal.
“Hey,” she said instead, striving for casual.
“Hi.” His voice was rough, and she wondered if he spoke to anyone else all day before he came here. Her guess was no.
“The usual?”
“Yes, please.”
She left him behind to put in his order and take a break from the effect he had on her. By the time she returned, Sal had left for the night.
“One hamburger, rare,” she said, sliding the plate in front of him.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She waited for him to start eating, but he was too busy looking at her, his gaze roaming over her face, lingering on her mouth, dipping lower to the neckline of her shirt and back up. By the time he was done, she felt like combusting.
“You’ve been in a lot this week,” she said, grasping for something to say that wasn’t “please, for the love of God, take me now!”
“I want to give you a ride home tonight.”
She laughed. “What are you, an aspiring Uber driver or something?”
“No. But I don’t like you walking home alone.”
This again.
But before she could argue, he went on.
“And I want to spend more time with you.”
Oh.
Well.
That was better.
However, she wasn’t a complete idiot. She did have some self-preservation instincts.
“I still don’t think that’s a good idea.”
His jaw ticked.
“Okay.”
She could see that he thought it was very much not okay, but he didn’t argue.
“But I’m here until ten, if you want to keep me company.”
“I’m aware. And I will.”
A little shudder ran through her at his words, his awareness. This guy was a walking red flag and yet…
She was having a hard time being afraid of him.
Maybe that made her incredibly foolish.
But Rafe was quickly becoming her new bad habit.