Page 58 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

“Huh?” Her face whipped to mine. “Why not?”

“It’s not safe. You’d be a sitting duck for any random creep passing through town.”

“Oh,” she muttered. “Okay. No on the gas station.”

I eyed her, waiting for more, but there was nothing. She just looked out the window, watching as we rolled down the highway.

“That’s it?”

Her forehead furrowed. “That’s it, what?”

“You’re not going to bust my balls for telling you where not to work? Or call me a dick for ordering you around?” Thea or Hazel would have told me to fuck off if I’d told them they couldn’t work somewhere.

But Willa just smiled. “I can’t get mad at you for wanting me to be safe. If you had another reason, then maybe I would disagree. But being concerned for my well-being is, well . . . sweet.”

Sweet? Well, shit. Was this woman for real?

Ever since Saturday night, something had shifted between us. She’d dropped her hand and wasn’t keeping me at arm’s length.

Instead, she’d just pulled me straight into her world.

On Sunday, the morning after she’d told me about our real first kiss, I’d gone to the camp with a double vanilla chai latte—her favorite, according to the owner of the coffee hut. Since I’d been the one to keep her up late, I figured she’d need an extra dose of sugar and caffeine.

What I hadn’t realized was that she’d be thriving on organized chaos. The parking lot had been full of parents collecting their happy kids. Willa had been running around like crazy when I’d gotten there, and I’d half expected her to shoo me away.

But instead, she’d thanked me for her coffee with a kiss and ordered me to follow her and “talk as we walk.”

So as she said good-bye to campers and coordinated the clean out of the bunkhouses in preparation for the next batch of kids, I’d been right there by he

r side. Whenever she took a sip of her coffee, she smiled up at me. Whenever she ran into a counselor, she introduced me without delay.

The smile on her face never faltered.

Maybe the campers would forget that smile, but I never would.

Sunday night, after she’d made sure the new group of kids were settled at the camp, she came to the bar for a late dinner. By then, the exhaustion had finally settled in, so I’d gotten her a Coke and made her a pizza. After she’d eaten, I’d sent her home early to get some sleep.

Yesterday had been more of the same. Coffee. Work. Pizza. And a kiss at the bar before I sent her on her way before dark.

And now I was finally getting my date. It was just her and me, off to do something together.

“How is Thea doing?” Willa asked.

“Okay. Sad, like Charlie. I think she’s glad to be home, but they both miss Logan.”

“I hope they can work it out. Do you think Thea would ever move to the city?”

I shrugged. “I doubt it. Neither of us have a ton of fond memories from that place.” Though as hard as it would be to see them go, I’d rather have Thea happy in the city with Logan than brokenhearted in Montana.

Willa hummed but didn’t push for more.

I could have left it at that, but for once, I felt the need to explain. I wanted to offer Willa something more than a blanket, closed-off statement. “Did you know that’s where we met? Me and Thea and Hazel?”

She shook her head. “No. I guess I’ve never heard the story of how you all found one another.”

Hardly anyone had. Thea and I didn’t share a lot about the past with patrons at the bar, just like we didn’t gossip about people around town. We were probably seen as a bit of a mystery, and honestly, we liked it that way.

But for Willa, I’d spill it all. I felt safe telling her anything in the world. I hadn’t a clue why, but I was trusting my gut.