by Amber Lynn
As soon as she started singing, Willow noticed the furrows lessening. She rubbed them the rest of the way from his forehead as she finished up. It was a simple song, a version she remembered from her own childhood. And yet it was the only thing that stopped the nightmares. She only wished it worked for her.
Chapter 6
Brayden’s guts being in knots before he walked into Rachel’s Diner was bad enough. Would Rachel really know about the woman? Was this Laura person really who he met in the store?
His brain was going about a mile a minute as he entered the diner, but even he registered he’d just entered an alternate reality. The normally raucous place was dead silent, and all eyes were glued to the back wall, where the kitchen resided. Well, most eyes, because a couple of pairs turned to glare at him and the disturbance the bells on the door caused.
He was beloved in the city. The mayor one time gave him the key to the city. Children ran up to him vying for his attention. Guys asked him to go out for drinks with them. Women, well, women generally made him feel like he wasn’t wearing any clothes.
People did not glare at him, especially not his aunt and uncle. But, sure enough, two pairs of the hardened eyes in his direction were from his own relatives.
“Why is everyone acting like someone died?” Trevor asked.
Brayden had let a similar thought cross his mind, but he didn’t want to think about death. He’d had a panic attack thinking the worst only a few minutes before. He was pretty sure his heart couldn’t take another one. Plus, he knew the scowls would only worsen if he spoke up. There wasn’t any disappointment there. Old Man Fisher looked like he wanted to gut Trevor.
There were only eight people in the diner other than Brayden and Trev, no one other than Rachel under fifty, so he figured there wouldn’t be a mad rush to kill Trevor. He still thought he’d have to brush things over to save his friend from an unnecessary surgery, though. Right as that thought hit him, something felt like a dagger ripping through his chest.
A voice didn’t always sound the same when it spoke versus sang. Brayden had been told he had a panty-dropping voice, but he sang like a cat was caught in his throat and trying to claw its way out. The woman singing the lullaby had the same thick, husky voice he remembered.
He found himself hanging on every word of what he thought was a familiar tune, but with slightly different lyrics. When she finished, Brayden wanted a piece of chocolate cake and he definitely didn’t want it to keep because he wanted to hear the woman sing again. He supposed the right word for it was enchanting, because she sure as hell had enchanted everyone in the diner.
They remained quiet until the sound of dishes rattling could be heard. Then a collective sigh went through the room, making it feel like the air all of a sudden returned to the room. It only took a second for the hum of conversation he usually heard when he came in the diner to resume, like they didn’t all just share an out-of-body experience.
And maybe the rest of them hadn’t, but Brayden could still feel the goosebumps on his arms. It made no sense for a lullaby to give him the chills. He’d spent hours worrying about the woman he was sure caused those goosebumps, but that didn’t explain his reaction. He wasn’t even sure how to describe his reaction.
The physical reaction was easy. Well, at least the goosebumps part was. There was a specific part of his body that was so confused about hearing the woman’s voice again that it decided to perk up. Not to the level Brayden’s jeans would be uncomfortable, but it wasn’t a reaction he wanted to think about.
Chances were good she was singing to her son. That shouldn’t turn him on. He was a sick man, who probably needed to invest in a shrink.
Before he could ask for recommendations from the other diners, he made his way to the push-open door that led to the kitchen. The voice had sounded far away, but like everyone else in the room, he knew where it originated.
He made it about six steps before Rachel appeared in his path, arms folding across her chest. If the daggers in her blue eyes were any indication, he wasn’t getting by her. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen determination in Rachel.
They’d been friends since they were kids, even dating briefly in high school. It lasted about a week before they both agreed that they were more brother and sister than dating material. He’d never thought about kissing Suzy, but he figured if he went deranged and did, it would be similar to the lackluster, weird feeling that happened when his and Rachel’s lips got close to each other.
They chalked the week up to giving it a try and went right back to being friends. In most relationships in their small town, you either ended things amicably or one party had to leave town. He only knew of a few cases when someone moved away, but those relationships generally exploded in a way that it was either someone move away, or someone was going to jail.
With all that in mind, she’d never really set her jaw as fiercely as what stood before him. He knew without a doubt that she’d tear him to shreds if he pushed his way forward. Since he’d been in the back before, it wasn’t because the kitchen was off-limits to customers. Unless she had a new policy in place, which he doubted.
“I just want to see Laura, make sure she’s okay.”
Brayden softened his eyes and gave Rachel a reassuring look. At least he thought reassuring was what he tried for. Her eyes only narrowed further.
“Uncle Fester, sit down and decide whether you’re having two triple bacon cheeseburgers or just one. You,” she said pointing at Brayden, “outside.”
She didn’t wait for Brayden to comment. Pushing passed him, she made her way to the front door and outside before Brayden had time to process the request. When he did let her command run through his head, he had to marvel at how much she trusted him. She’d just left a clear path to his objective.
The urge to take five more steps and push through the doors was strong, but he figured there was a reason for her little discussion outside. Chances were she knew a hell of a lot more about Laura than he did, so he found himself following her without question.
On his way out, he caught Trevor’s glare. There was sure to be a litany of things pissing him off, but Brayden knew the Uncle Fester comment was currently at the top of the list. Trevor and Rachel were the epitome of oil and water. Neither of them liked each other, and Brayden had never figured out why. It was worse than the friction between Trev and Suzy. At the moment, he had more important things to deal with than ponder that phenomenon for the umpteenth million time.
The air outside was on the cool side. Brayden didn’t have an issue with it since he lived most of his life on the ice, but Rachel shivered as he caught up with her. If he had a coat, he’d offer it to her, not that she’d accept. Being used to the cold meant he generally didn’t pull out the parka until temperatures dipped under twenty.
“You know, you could’ve just let me walk back there instead of freezing your ass off.”
A joke seemed like the best way to lighten the air a little, but Rachel’s scowl didn’t lessen, and her arms didn’t loosen from their positions across her chest. She seemed pissed along with the protectiveness, and Brayden didn’t understand why. He’d made it clear he only wanted to check on Laura.
“It’s just the change in temperature from burning your ass off to chilling it down. I’ll get used to it in a second.”
Her stance didn’t change, but at least the conversation was starting off civil. He figured she’d start screaming or something, which wasn’t her style, but neither was the “I’m contemplating your death” look she was giving off. That seemed to be the look on every woman he crossed.
“What do you know about her?” Brayden asked. “Is the abusive asshole still in her life?”
Rachel only let surprise cross her face for a second before she slapped her blinders back up. It happened too quickly for him to get any idea what part of his statement surprised her. He would’ve loved to know whether it was just that he thought there was abuse to begin with or that he’d asked about th
e guy.
“The question is what do you know about her? She’s worked her for a couple of weeks and there are maybe a handful of people in town who know her name.”
That seemed odd in a town as small as theirs, but Brayden let it pass. He actually liked hearing that not many people knew about her. As skittish as she seemed, he assumed she preferred it that way.
“Suzy gave me the name. I met Laura and her son in the store a few days ago. She seemed afraid, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized she could be in danger. So, is he around? Just point me in his direction and I’ll make sure the problem is taken care of.”
As Brayden wound himself up more thinking about punching whatever jackass hurt Laura, Rachel’s stance lightened. Her arms were still across her chest, but her eyes sheathed their daggers and the stiffness in her shoulders eased.
“I wish I could help you there, because I have some kitchen knives I’d love to run through the bastard.”
Rachel sighed and motioned her head to the side, indicating a bench in front of her building. Brayden didn’t want to sit down. He wanted to hit something, since she’d confirmed his thoughts about an abusive guy in Laura’s life.
As much as he wanted to stand, preparing himself for the fight, he followed Rachel. There appeared to be more to say on the subject of Laura, and he figured knowing before coming face to face with her, and potentially scaring her away was probably for the best.
“She’s getting ready to run.”
The words came out softly. So softly that Brayden thought for a second he’d imagined them.
“Huh?”
He didn’t mean for his confusion to slip, but he hadn’t expected her to say that. Jumping in to explain why she was keeping him from Laura was where the conversation was supposed to go, not that she was going to be leaving.
“Yeah,” Rachel said, not skipping a beat. “I think I made a mistake today. I needed someone to work the front and I thought she’d like the extra money. I didn’t expect a customer to get grabby or that extra money to pave the way for her to get a pair of bus tickets out of town.”
Benny was going to pay for the grabby part, but he wasn’t the top priority on Brayden’s list. He didn’t care that Rachel sounded depressed either, which was unlike him. All he cared about was talking to Laura herself. He could sit there and learn more about her from Rachel, but his ass had barely settled on the bench before he stood and stomped towards the diner door with determination. If anyone, including Rachel wanted to stop him, he wasn’t going to play nice anymore.
He let it register that his reaction made no sense. At the moment, he really couldn’t let that sink in. All he knew was that Laura was not hopping on a bus and leaving town without assuring him that she wasn’t running back to that asshole who hurt her.
Chapter 7
Willow sighed as she put the last dish in the dishwasher. In a couple hours, she’d come back down to start her second shift and put them away. Just enough time for a power nap, which she needed more than oxygen as far as she was concerned.
She smiled over at Barry and Mel. Raising her hand, she attempted to wave good-bye but found that their eyes were glued to something behind her. Simple confusion on their faces shouldn’t have set off the dread she felt brewing in her stomach. As soon as she saw it, though, she felt the heat of someone else in the room, someone closer to her than they should be.
There was a hint of recognition, like she knew the heat. That made her stomach sink even more. Even with the recognition, something felt off about it. It wasn’t just dread filling her up. There was something else there. Something she couldn’t put a name to.
“Don’t run,” a male voice said softly.
He was closer than she expected, so while she didn’t take off in a run, she did jump out of her skin. How in the world had he sneaked up on her? She was always so careful about knowing her surroundings.
“Sorry,” he continued. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just heard you singing and about the day you had and wanted to check on you.”
As her brow creased, Willow heard a sad whimper escape her lips. Someone other than Barry and Mel had heard her singing? Scratch the day she had and some do-gooder wanting to check on her. Someone else had heard her singing?
She was mortified. Not just from the singing, which was enough to send her running out of town never to be seen again. As he spoke, she knew she recognized the voice. She even knew where she’d heard it before, and why the pit of her stomach felt like fifty million butterflies had just taken flight.
In their only other conversation, he’d said he didn’t mean to scare her too. Clearly, their definition of those words differed, because he scared her deep inside her bones. She didn’t want to turn around and look in those brown eyes again. The ones that caught her and made her whole body tremble.
In the days since she’d seen him, she’d hoped he was just passing through. Maybe just in town for that babysitting he’d mentioned. Someone like him couldn’t actually live in town. Someone like him belonged in a big city where beautiful women could spend their days fawning over him. At least he seemed like an actor in her mind, and she figured that’s how actors lived their lives.
“I’m fine.” She managed to get out.
It was a miracle she said that much. Fine was the exact opposite of how she felt. And it had nothing to do with the long hours, her apparent singing being heard or her reaction to a customer touching her. It had everything to do with the inferno burning behind her and the man causing the fire.
She tried to ignore him, hoping her response would be enough to send him packing. To emphasize the point, she continued on her initial path towards Connor and bent to pick him up. Before she could blink, she was pushed aside.
“Here, let me.”
Willow knew she was small, and most people gave her weird looks whenever she carried Connor around. It wasn’t like she didn’t have the arm strength to do it. She’d never swept in and picked him up with as little effort as the man did, though.
Her breath caught as he turned and faced her with Connor tucked on his side. The boy’s head nestled into his neck and the even lift and fall of his back indicated his sleep hadn’t been disturbed one bit. If Connor had even momentarily been stirred, the whimpers from his nightmares would’ve turned into shrieks.
She didn’t know what to do with that knowledge. Willow could demand the man hand him over, but no matter how gentle he was, she would shift and jostle Connor during the process. If he came awake and the first thing he saw was the man, the response would end up being that shrieking she was trying to avoid.
“Where to?” he asked, like it was an everyday occurrence for someone else to help her out.
Wasn’t that a pickle. She refused to look up at his face. Whatever sympathy it held wasn’t something she wanted to see, nor did she want to get caught by his eyes.
Looking at his body didn’t help either. She’d noticed the shape he was in at the store. It would take a blind person not to see the way his buttoned-down shirt molded to his chest and the muscles in his arms.
His shoulders were broad, stretching every fiber of that blue fabric. His hands, as delicate as they were picking up Connor, were as big as her head. If she hadn’t already decided he was some famous actor, lumberjack would be in the running for possible occupations. It would make more sense given their location, but he was too pretty not to be in movies.
He was way too pretty to be stopping to help her. Willow didn’t know what to make of the man. He obviously held some concern for her, but she couldn’t figure out why. She was just a woman he’d met in the grocery store, one who’d said only a few words to him and ran in the direction as soon as her feet finally accepted signals from her brain.
“I can take him,” she said, trying not to get lost in his looks.
Finding a sudden interest in the mismatched tile floor seemed like her best option. She hated taking her eyes off Connor, but she could see him in her peripheral vision
and didn’t think the man would hurt him. She had no idea why that thought would cross her mind, but she figured the gentle way he’d picked him up had something to do with it.
Most guys ignored Connor, if they noticed either of them at all. There was something different about this man. She didn’t know what it was, but she didn’t worry about him running off with Connor. She just wanted to keep Connor close.
“I have no doubt that’s true, but I’d like to take you guys home and maybe talk for a few minutes. I know that may come off creepy since you don’t know me. I just want to make sure you guys are okay.”
Creepy wasn’t exactly the feeling going through Willow. It should have been, and if the creep who tried to grab her butt earlier in the day said the same words, she was sure disgust would hit her hard.
The man in front of her seemed sincere, which was even crazier than the thoughts just going through her head. What was his incentive to help her out? She thought by now in her life she’d be able to recognize crazy guys who planned on kidnapping her, but she didn’t get that sense from him at all. And sadly, the whole kidnapping thing was the only reason she could think of him showing an interest.
Those shouldn’t be her default thoughts, but the only other man to ever show her interest, sans the butt grab, taught her guys have bizarre minds. Her wall against outsiders should be well on the process of building more layers.
And yet, she was curious about this man. More specifically, why in the world he showed her any interest at all and why she felt flutters in her stomach around him.
She looked towards Barry and Mel, who both stared in her direction with their mouths hanging slightly ajar. At least she wasn’t the only one who thought it was weird that the guy wanted to check in on her.