I shouldn’t go, I know I shouldn’t. All eyes will be on me.
But Tansy won’t let it get weird. She’s always been my fierce protector.
I honestly don’t know how I’ve coped so many years without her.
CHAPTER 10
Ford
The Rusty Bucket’s quieter than usual tonight. The kind of quiet where you can hear the low murmur of conversation from across the room, the clink of glass, and the hum of the jukebox struggling to find its rhythm.
I don’t make a habit of coming here, especially not on a night like this. But Lo’s ghost has been hanging on me all day.
The way she stormed off after the accident with the toolbox, the sharpness of her words, the heat of that moment when she looked at me, her peachy scent flowing behind her… it’s all been nagging at me.
And I’ve got nowhere else to be, so here I am.
Beau Talcot, the town’s best Beta accountant, is at the bar, nursing something that probably qualifies as too much whiskey for a weekday, but who’s counting?
“Ford? That you?” he mutters when I slide onto the stool next to him.
His voice is scratchy. I guess he’s been here a while, probably running from whatever shit’s on his mind, too.
“Yeah. On a weekday. Not good, right?” I say, leaning in to grab the drink that’s already been delivered to me.
I take a long sip. It burns down my throat, and for a second, it’s doing some good. Drowning out that gnawing feeling. The tug in my chest at the fire that crossed Lo’s face. She’s still in there, the Omega I followed around from the shadows in high school like a stalker.
Her scent beats beneath my skin like a second heartbeat.
Beau shrugs. He’s got that quiet look on his face, the one that means he’s read the situation already and he’s waiting for me to say something.
I don’t. Instead, I take another sip, and that’s when I seeher.
Lo.
She’s sitting in the corner of the room, tucked into a booth with Tansy. It shouldn’t shock me. Those two were thick as thieves back in high school. Her head’s down, eyes on the table. She’s trying to disappear into the worn leather seat.
Shit.
That pull between us tugs against my chest, as if trying to draw me out of my seat. As if my body is protesting the very distance I swore I’d keep between the two of us when I found out she was back in town.
I keep my gaze on her for a moment longer than I should, but she doesn’t notice me yet. Hell, maybe she’s not even looking for anyone. Just… existing with the one person in this town that doesn’t judge her for what happened.
Well, one of them, anyway.
Idon’t judge her for what happened.
“Guess the rumors are true,” Beau says, looking over his glass at me.
I don’t need him to say it. I already know. Lo Marsh is back. She’s a walking ghost in a town full of whispers, and a pain I thought I’d gotten used to. Blah blah blah.
I hate town gossip.
“Yeah,” I mutter, taking another pull of my drink. “Guess so.”
Beau drones on, rattling off the latest small-town drama from Winterfest as if it’s the most important thing in the world.
I half-listen, not really taking it in, just enough to keep the conversation going without having to acknowledge what’s really on my mind.
