Her shoulders sagged, and she gave me a look of understanding. “We have a few oscillating fans.”
“Really, no. I’m fine. It’s just that I promised Noah I wouldn’t let anyone inside. If I do, he’ll worry.”
“Honey, if those cameras are working, he already knows I’m here.” She gestured up to the ceiling.
My jaw slackened. I knew he’d installed cameras, but I’d forgotten about them since they blended in with the ceiling panels. Was he watching me now? I really didn’t want to ruin this.
“It’s only for a day,” I assured her. “We’ll have cold air tomorrow. I really need to get back to work.”
“Bear, I’ll call you later. Forget the cooler. Okay, see you soon.” She ended the call and slipped the phone in her purse. Mercy approached and set a white bag on the counter. “I brought you leftovers from lunch. The boys stopped by afterhelping you and insisted on it. I packed some ice in there to keep it fresh.”
“That was nice. Thank you.”
Mercy was not only petite but slender, and every time I saw her, she had on jean capris, painted sneakers, and a colorful blouse.
She teetered on one leg while staring outside. “I didn’t see your car.”
“Noah has it. He works long hours, so he’ll pick me up when he can.”
“You said eight? Is that normal?”
I nodded. “Usually. He commutes to Austin, so it takes a while.”
“Does he go in early too? Girl! You can’t work for twelve hours straight. I get off midafternoon. What if I swing by and pick you up? You can take a lunch break for a couple of hours and come by the house.”
My mind was scrambling for an excuse.
“As long as you don’t mind riding on my scooter,” she went on, turning on her heel. “My packmate has a yoga class in the afternoon. You could join us!”
“I’m not good at that type of thing.” I laughed. “Perhaps I’m just not flexible.”
“Well, we can make you flexible for that man of yours.”
I glanced up at the cameras. Noah would know if I left.
“They’re aimed at the front,” she pointed out as if reading my mind. “He’s not gonna notice if you’re shelving books in the back. All these buildings have a back door. I’m sure he wouldn’t care if you took a break and got out for a little while. Twelve hours is crazy. Please?”
That last word tugged at my heart.
She canted her head. “I need to pay you back somehow. Maybe in friendship. Sayyes. Most of the pack is working on aheat house right now, so it’s pretty quiet when we do yoga. We’re trying to talk Robyn into accepting clients or opening a class, but she’s still not sure. You could persuade her, or maybe spread the word about her skills.”
Spread the word? Besides yelling at a rake from a romance novel who had cheated on his wife, I’d barely talked to anyone in the past month.
Aside from the delivery guy.
And chatting it up with a man I’d had a fling with.
This week was going well.
“I’ll come by tomorrow, and you can decide.” She waved at the camera. “When you hear a horn beeping by the back door, that’s me. I hope you like dinner!”
After she made an animated exit, I locked the door and removed the contents of the bag. There were three quarts of coleslaw, a container filled with ribs, and…
“Apple pie!” I jumped excitedly. The last time I’d eaten apple pie was four years ago on my thirty-fourth birthday. My father always made me a pie to celebrate that day.
Mercy had also included napkins and a fork, and there would be plenty left over for Noah this evening. Especially since she’d given us a whole pie. When I took my first bite, the flavors burst in my mouth like fireworks, memories of my past assailing me.
No matter how old he’d been and how many years we’d spent together, it wasn’t enough.
