The thing about Lynx is that he never tries to be liked, but sometimes he does things that make me like him anyway. Even though he’s as much of an animal as Bob is.
They leave, and I’m once again alone with the TV voices and my thoughts.
Thoughts that follow Lynx instead of focusing on the stabbing voices inside. Follow him down the hill, through the forest, and stray back into Old End.
I turn back to the twisted metal and grab the blowtorch to keep working, anything to help distract my mind. By the time this thing is done, I’m going to have so many scratches and burns that it’ll be easier to remove my fingers than deal with them.
But it will be worth it.
To see Kennedy smile.
CHAPTER
FOUR
KENNEDY
Ineed … something. Work isn’t doing its usual job of distracting me this morning, and even with Hudson and Hart here, I’m jittery. Part of me wants to drive back into Wayward and make sure Caroline is okay, while the other part of me knows that I’m being dramatic. She’s a near stranger, and as of right now, I have nothing to offer her.
That reminder doesn’t help shake the fact that I feel personally responsible for her feelings.
Fuck, I hate the way I cling to people.
Maybe Hudson’s right and I am a loser? How many other grown-ass men obsess the way I do?
“You okay?” Hart asks, words flat and drawn out like he’s doing it under duress.
“Fine.”
“You’re not singing. Normally, I have to put my earplugs in by now.”
“I’m thinking.”
“About?”
I’m honest, even though I know they’ll tease me, because I’m still hoping there’s a chance we’ll bond and get as close as we used to be. “Caroline.”
Hart’s echoed laugh catches Hudson’s attention. “You wish you didn’t give back her number, don’t you?”
“Wait,” Hudson says, drifting closer. “Caroline, as in the waitress?”
Here we go. “Yep.”
He spreads his hands like he’s confused. “Why didn’t you call her?”
“Really?”
“She’s pretty. Objectively.”
I’m staring at him, trying to figure out if he’s teasing me. “You told me I need to give dating a break.”
“I fell for a man who hates me, so what do I know about relationships?”
“Umm …” Hart and I share a worried glance. “Fell for?”
Hudson waves our concern away. “Maybe. Probably. We’ll see.”
We’ll see?
