Chapter 19
Hadley’s heart pounded harder now. Okay. Now you’re imagining things.
She turned back and kept walking, faster this time.
The clinic wasn’t far. Just a few more minutes.
The sound came again. It was closer now.
The steps weren’t loud—just enough to make her skin prickle.
She stopped abruptly.
Silence.
Hadley didn’t turn right away this time. Instead, she listened—really listened—her breath held as her eyes scanned the edges of the road, the tree line, the dark spaces between buildings.
Nothing moved.
Nothing shifted.
And yet the feeling lingered.
The feeling that she wasn’t alone. That someone was watching her.
Her chest tightened as she started forward again, her steps quick and uneven now.
Don’t run.
Running would make it real.
Running would mean she wasn’t in control.
But every instinct in her body screamed at her to do exactly that.
A faint crunch sounded behind her—too distinct this time to ignore.
Hadley spun. “Hello?”
Her voice carried, thinner than she intended.
There was no answer.
She swallowed hard and turned back again, her pace breaking now into something closer to a jog despite her resolve.
The outline of the clinic came into view ahead, a welcome sight.
She was almost there.
Hadley didn’t look back again.
She didn’t dare.
She reached the door and fumbled as she unlocked it and darted inside.
But she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had been following her.
That evening, Max turned onto Main Street again and slowed as he approached Hadley’s clinic for the second time that day.
He’d left earlier than necessary to pick her up for dinner. He told himself it was to make sure he wasn’t late. But the truth was, he was looking forward to spending more time with Hadley. He wanted to see her with his own eyes and make sure she was okay.
His thoughts drifted back to earlier—to when he’d seen her walk out of Ember & Oak with Kendra. The two of them had appeared comfortable together, and they’d been talking like they were old friends.
Something about it still didn’t sit right with him, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. There was nothing strange about two women having lunch together. He knew that. He just had a weird feeling about it.
Max adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and forced himself to let the thoughts go.
But that opened up a window to thinking about something else.
Hadley’s hug.
He hadn’t expected it. One second they’d been talking, and the next she’d stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.
The action had caught him off guard—in the best way. If he was honest, he might admit that he’d liked the embrace more than he should have.
That was the problem.
It was too soon.
He and Kendra had only broken up a few weeks ago. Not that the relationship had ever felt right. He’d known after the first month that it wouldn’t work. The two of them didn’t fit together.
He’d tried to end things more than once. But each time Kendra had convinced him to stay, to give her more time, to not walk away so quickly.
He should have trusted his instincts.
Even so, that didn’t change the present.
Hadley was different.
She was smart and kind in a way that felt genuine. She carried herself with confidence, and she seemed to see the good in people even when it wasn’t obvious.
And she was beautiful.
Max let out a quiet breath.
She was also out of his league.
That part was a foregone conclusion. His past constantly haunted him. When most people learned what he’d done, they quickly judged him, and he wore those judgments like a scarlet letter.
He pulled up in front of the clinic and shifted his truck into Park.
That was when he saw him.
Travis Henderson stood to the side of the vet clinic, near the edge of the boarded window. He simply lingered there. But there was nothing casual about the way he held himself.
Max’s shoulders tightened.
Of all the people he could have run into . . .
The Hendersons had already made things difficult for Refuge Cove. They trespassed on the property, set up animal traps in the woods, and constantly showed up trying to intimidate. The last thing they needed was Travis showing up here now.
Max stepped out of the truck and closed the door behind him, his attention fixed on the man.
He paused in front of him. “What are you doing here?”
Travis glanced over, a slow smile forming as if he’d been expecting the question. “Just taking a walk.”
Max didn’t return the smile. “But you’re not walking.”
“Look, I’m just taking a breather. Is that a problem?”
“Depends on what you do next.”
Travis gave a small shrug, but his gaze flicked toward the clinic door before coming back to Max. “Heard about the window. Tough break.”
Max didn’t respond right away. Something about the way Travis casually said the words rubbed him the wrong way.
Max shifted his stance just enough to place himself between Travis and the clinic. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
Travis snorted. “Relax. I’m not here to cause any trouble.”
Max held his gaze, not buying that for a second. Travis brought trouble with him wherever he went. And it wasn’t a coincidence he was here now.