“She’s still at the hall.Trying to reorganize everything for the event.Thought the truck was long gone.”
“I’ll take it to her,” Dasher offered.
“You sure that’s a good idea?”
“Nope,” Dasher muttered, climbing back in.But it was the right one.
Chapter Eight
He found her at thecommunity hall, sleeves rolled up, surrounded by a dozen volunteers buzzing around like anxious bees.Streamers half-hung, folding tables half-assembled, a pile of empty cardboard boxes in the corner.
It was chaos, the kind that clung to the air like static.And at the center of it all was Ellie.She was flushed with stress, her hair pulled into a loose ponytail that had mostly given up trying to do its job.There was a smear of glitter on her cheek, and her shirt was speckled with paint.She was beautiful.God, she was beautiful.Dasher tightened his hands around the wheel for just a second before he killed the engine.
He didn’t slam the truck door because he was angry.He did it because the sound would carry.Sure enough, every head in the hall turned at the bang.The volunteers froze mid-action, like a movie paused.Ellie looked up last.Her gaze collided with his.
She went still.Dasher didn’t smile.Didn’t swagger.This wasn’t the moment for it.He walked to the back of the truck, opened the doors, and revealed the neatly packed rows of bags and boxes.Toys, all of them.Recovered.Undamaged.
One of the volunteers gasped.Someone else let out a soft, stunned cheer.Dasher only saw her.
Ellie’s eyes went wide.She moved slowly, like she didn’t quite believe what she was seeing, until she was standing just outside the truck, arms limp at her sides.
“You got them back,” she whispered.
He nodded.“Had a feeling you’d want them,” he said.
She blinked rapidly.Her hand rose to her mouth.“Dasher—”
“I know.”His voice was rougher than he meant it to be.He stepped down from the truck and stood in front of her.Close.Too close.“I should’ve told you how much that night meant to me.I should’ve said something the next morning.But I didn’t.And that’s on me.”
She swallowed, her breath hitching slightly.
“I didn’t want to screw up your life again,” he said, softer now, his eyes locked on hers.“Didn’t want to be the reason things fell apart for you.For Maddy.You’ve built something solid, Ellie.You’re...”He stopped, exhaled sharply.“You’re the best damn thing I ever had, and I walked away once.I didn’t want to mess this up just by being in your orbit.”
The silence stretched between them, a thread drawn tight with unsaid things.
She looked up at him for a long beat.Her eyes were shining now, but she didn’t look away.“You didn’t just show up in my orbit,” she said quietly.“You came in like a comet.Again.”
