Chapter 2
Connor Blackwood leaned back in his seat at Bloom. The café was a coffee shop that also sold flowers at the front and had a huge book selection at the back. The books were supposedly for sale, but he’d never seen anyone buy one. Hell, some people didn’t even put them away after reading them.
His gaze went to the window, right across the street to the community center. Raven wasn’t outside anymore. But her sad blue eyes lingered in his head.
Why was she sad?
He didn’t know her well. But he wanted to. He wanted to know why she didn’t smile more. Why she’d stood on that overlook this morning, seeming like she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.
“You should go.”
He turned to glance at Ryan, their team leader. “What?”
“You think I missed that glance between you and Raven just now?” He lifted a brow. “You’re gonna be distracted if you stay. Go.”
Connor had shared his concerns about Raven with Ryan. He shared almost everything with the men at this table. They’d served together as SEALs. He trusted them with his life. Had trusted them with his life, more times than he could count. “You’re right.”
“Of course I’m right,” Ryan muttered.
Connor stood.
As he passed the counter, Joel straightened, his arm around Polly, the café owner. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be back.”
Joel and Ethan had both fallen in love these last few months. Well, Joel had fallen for Polly. Ethan had loved Maggie for a long time. They’d just reconnected and finally muddled their way through the crap that was their past.
A part of Connor wanted that. Once upon a time, he thought he’d found it, dating someone for five years. But she’d lied for the last two. And if there was anything he hated, it was dishonesty.
He crossed the street and headed across the patch of grass, passing the gazebo.
Why there was a damn gazebo in almost every small town, he had no idea.
And Deep River really was your typical small town, including monthly town meetings, a self-proclaimed psychic, and a town sheriff who preferred to sit on his ass rather than do the work.
He stepped into the old community center, but it wasn’t Raven who greeted him. This woman looked to be in her sixties, with graying hair pulled into a bun, and she sprayed tables with cleaner while muttering something incoherent under her breath.
She straightened at the click of the door closing behind him, a frown knitting her brows. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here to see Raven.”
The older woman huffed. “So she’s taking calls and having visitors while on the clock?”
“Excuse me?”
“She’s in the office.” The woman didn’t look at him again as she moved to the next table and started spraying and wiping. Her actions were all accompanied by more muttering.
He crossed to the office door and knocked. A few seconds passed. When no one answered, he opened the door.
“Lottie, now isn’t the time. I—” She turned, lips separating, eyes widening at the sight of him.
He frowned. “Hey. Are you okay?” But he could see she wasn’t. Her chest moved too quickly, her breaths coming out in short, sharp stutters.
She pressed a hand to her chest and opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but no words came out.
He closed the small distance between them and gently gripped her upper arms. Then, without cutting eye contact, he said softly, “Breathe, Raven.”
She nodded and sucked air into her chest. He eased her back into a seat and knelt in front of her. He set his palms on her knees, neither of them looking away.
Long minutes passed while they took deep, exaggerated breaths together.
Finally, air seemed to fill her chest with a bit more ease.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her blue eyes pools of emotion.
Unable to stop himself, he reached up and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. “Want to talk about it?”
She frowned, and for a single second he thought she might tell him something real and tangible. Something that would give him just a little bit of insight into what had just happened.
But then she blinked and visibly retreated, shaking her head.
He shouldn’t be surprised. Trust didn’t come easily to her. He knew that without knowing her well.
Still, disappointment kicked at his gut. People didn’t have panic attacks for no reason, and he wanted to know that reason even though it was none of his damn business.
The door burst open, and Raven shot to her feet as the older woman stepped in.
“Raven.” A fake smile crossed the older woman’s mouth. “Just wondering if you’ll be assisting me with the set up? There are some tables that need moving. Or are you too…busy in here?”
Who the fuck was this woman and what was with that judgmental glare?
“I’ll be right out, Lottie,” Raven replied, her tone a hell of a lot kinder than Connor’s would have been.
“Hm.” The lady shot him a glance that was probably meant to intimidate him. It didn’t. She stepped out.
Immediately, Raven pushed the chair under the desk and inched away. “I’m so sorry about that.” She touched her hair like she was trying to pull herself together. “You barely know me and you just come in here and save me.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“I’m lucky you stepped in. Lottie would’ve kicked me while I was down.”
“I grew up with three sisters. You either learn to be calm in the chaos or you don’t make it. And I think you’re right about that woman.”
She smiled, but it didn’t last long enough. With a glance at the phone on the desk, those shadows in her eyes returned.
“I should get out there and help Lottie.” She lifted her phone, and he didn’t miss the small shake in her fingers.
She stepped around him and into the hall.
He followed to see the older woman sending a strange look their way. “Are you two—”
“Connor was just helping me with something,” Raven interrupted the woman, before turning to offer him another small smile. This one didn’t reach her eyes though.
And that was his cue to go.
He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay. To make sure Raven was okay and build a bit more trust between them.
His phone vibrated and he pulled it out to look at the screen.
Ryan: Zac and I are heading back to the firehouse.
The old firehouse was their SAR base, and yeah, he needed to get to work too.
Zac: You can either join us or, if you prefer, go back to Bloom and have a front-row seat to Joel getting his ass chewed out.
Connor: They looked happy when I left.
Ethan: That was before Joel made the mistake of telling Polly she wasn’t allowed to access her root cellar anymore.
Zac: He actually used the word ‘allowed’. Stupid bastard.
Connor chuckled. That was stupid. Polly hated being told what she could and couldn’t do, especially by a man.
But at the same time, that cellar hadn’t proved to be the safest place for Polly in the last few months. Twice she’d been locked down there. And the second time had almost proven fatal.
Connor: I’ll skip the fight and head to base.
Zac: Smart man.
He shoved his cell into his pocket. When he looked up, Raven was carrying a chair to a table, a deep frown etched on her brow, as if she was in her head.
He crossed the room toward her. “Sure you don’t need help? I’m great at rearranging a room.”
She jumped and looked up, like she hadn’t heard or seen him coming. “Go. I’m sure you have stuff to do.”
“I don’t mind hanging around for a bit. I came over to say hi. Maybe chat, get to know each other?”
Her brows shot up. “You did?”
“Yeah.”
He could practically feel Lottie’s eyes drilling holes into his back. Nosy woman.
Hope lingered in Raven’s eyes. Then, just like in the office, she blinked and stepped back. “Maybe another time.”
It took a bit of restraint to keep the disappointment off his face.
He dipped his chin. “Another time.” One last smile and he headed outside.
The old firehouse was in the forest, near the river. It was one of the original buildings from when the town was founded. Back then, they’d filled tankers directly from the stream in preparation for fires.
When he reached base, four other trucks were already parked in the lot.
He stepped into the large common area. A table and couch sat in the middle of the space, with the tech table at the other end, near a hall on one side and a door leading out into the forest on the other. The kitchen was near the door that led to the parking lot.
Ethan spun from where he sat at the tech table. “Hey. You got here fast.”
“I was basically leaving when you messaged. Ryan and Zac outside?”
“We got a call about an elderly hiker who got lost. They’re just getting him back to his car.”
“They need help?”
Ethan shook his head. “Should be an easy one.”
“Okay.” He was about to step into the hall when he turned. “Do you know much about Raven?”
“Not really. She was a couple grades behind me and Mags at school. She dated some guy in her grade. Rumor is she moved to North Dakota with him.”
“They were engaged, right?”
“As far as I heard, but I don’t know much about it myself.”
Connor nodded. He shouldn’t be trying to get information on her through other people anyway. “Thanks.”
He headed down the hall. He’d do some trail checks. He needed to keep busy. Distract himself. Because Raven’s sad blue eyes were toying with him…and something told him they weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.