Page 3 of Falling

“What?” Evie asked.

The squirrel looked at me for a handful of heartbeats. Then, wisely, it climbed down from the window and disappeared.

“The wildlife was coming to visit,” I said, flopping back down on the bed. It was new, at least. It’d obviously been replaced just for me.

That was something. I wasn’t sure what, but it was something.

“Not very hospitable of you to chase it off,” Evie said. “You sound unhappy.”

“Wow, you should be a detective,” I said, then smiled as I remembered Bear Sherlock Holmes. “The guy who rescued me told me to call him Sherlock Holmes.”

“The bear? He was obviously flirting. Bears love you.”

“I don’t think it was like that,” I said. Evie was convinced every gay man I ever met would have cheerfully gone to his knees for me. I was not convinced of this at all—what about me could possibly be alluring? All Evie’s gay friends were stunningly attractive outgoing gym-sculpted Greek marbles with easy smiles and decent jobs. I was a skinny, dorky, freckled librarian who made most average wallflowers look like extroverts.

“He just changed my tire and said he’d see me around. I didn’t even catch his name. Oh, and the library backs onto a bar for some reason,” I added. “Which I guess is fine. Unless I’m working late. I should’ve asked his name, it was rude not to.”

“He told you,” Evie said. “Sherlock Holmes.”

“Between you and me, I don’t think that was his real name.”

“Did he ask your name?”

“No,” I said. Evie made a fair point, maybe it hadn’t been all that rude. “He knew I was the new librarian, though.”

“There are people living on the International Space Station who can tell you’re a librarian,” Evie said. “So this is not a surprise to me.”

I laughed despite the day I’d had and the dripping I could hear coming from the shower. Another thing to put on the list of stuff I’d have to figure out how to fix.

Why had I taken this job again?

As soon as I asked myself I remembered, but I wished I hadn’t. The last thing I needed right now was to think about… everything.

“If it’s that bad, I’ll come stage a rescue,” Evie said. “But I think this could be good for you.”

“You’ve said.” I sighed. She might even have been right. A change of scenery was the kind of thing lots of people thought was a great idea after… stuff happened to them. “I’m grateful, honestly. Thank you for finding this for me. Jobs in libraries aren’t exactly thick on the ground. Also, the guy who met me, Seth? He was half the age I expected and wearing three-inch heels.”

Evie laughed. “You’ll be right at home, then.”

“For a straight man, I do have a lot of gay friends,” I allowed. “They’re your friends really, though.”

“My friends are your friends,” Evie said. “Or they’re not my friends. They love you. The people in Squirrel Canyon⁠—”

“Otter Bay,” I corrected, although I was pretty sure she knew and was just teasing me. “They do seem okay so far.”

“And it’s a new challenge for you!” Evie enthused. “You’re good at those.”

I didn’t feel good at those right now, but that might’ve been hunger talking. “Your faith in me is noted.”

“You’re my indestructible big brother,” Evie said. “I always have faith in you.”

The corner of my mouth twitched. At least I never had to doubt that, even if no one else was, Evie was always on my side.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Evie said, voice softening to something more sincere. “You know that, right? You’re better off⁠—”

“I know,” I interrupted. My feelings on thinking—or worse, talking—about what’d happened hadn’t changed in the last two minutes. “All for the best. Better to find out sooner rather than later. I know. I…”

No. No, I didn’t want to talk about it. I wasn’t ready to explain to Evie how I really felt. Too many questions, and I knew I didn’t have all the answers, and I was her indestructible big brother. The last thing I wanted was to disappoint her.