She turned around and spied the older woman. “Hey, yes, I’m just heading to work.”
“I didn’t hear you come home last night.”
Surprised, she didn’t answer at first. “It was late.”
“I figured as much.” Candy’s voice softened. “I don’t like to pry in the business of others, but . . .”
Great.
She didn’t want to do this, but Faith figured she was better off letting Candy say whatever it was she wanted to say so she could get on with her day.
“Is something bothering you?” Faith asked, knowing she was probably going to regret it.
Candy smoothed back her sleep-tangled silver curls. “I’m sure things are fine, but I would be careful with him, Gus. He’s a good man but he’s not the staying kind.”
“Oh, I don’t . . . we . . .” She stopped talking before she made a fool out of herself.
How could she answer the woman, though? She supposed she should be insulted that Candy thought she had the right to say anything about her and Gus, but the look in the woman’s eyes was full of caring, and Faith knew her heart was in the right place.
“It’s nice to know you’ve got my back, but things are fine. Truly. We’re just . . . friends.”
Candy’s eyes softened. “Don’t mind me then. I have a habit of sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“All good.” Faith took a step back. “I’ll see you later.”
She walked out to the shed and grabbed her bicycle, and as she began to pedal down the road, Faith tried not to be annoyed with her landlord. But the simple truth was that Candy’s warning effectively popped the bubble she’d existed in since waking up.
The woman was right. She would have to be careful with Gus for many reasons — most of them to do with her. The things she was hiding. The lies and half-truths she’d told since being in Fire Lake. Her family and all the darkness they could bring.
But mostly because he was the kind of man she could get used to. The kind of man she could become addicted to. And that was a problem because he would be leaving Fire Lake when he was done working on the cottage restorations.
As the warm sun hit her face, Faith decided not to dwell on the negative. For the first time in months, she had something good in her life. She would enjoy Gus for as long as she could. But she’d be smart about it.
Because if she wasn’t . . .
He’d be leaving Fire Lake with her heart in his pocket.
Chapter Fifteen
Gus woke up alone, which wasn’t out of the norm, but to wake up in Faith’s bed without her felt weird.
He rolled off the bed, rotated his neck, and sat there for a few moments, remembering the night and all the sex. God, she responded to his touch like she was meant for him. She’d been eager and fresh and sweet. He glanced down and swore. His morning hard-on was more about Faith than anything else. With a grimace, he got up and used her bathroom to take care of a few things. When he was done, he glanced around.
Her bedroom was tidy; clothes folded and put away, and her suitcase tucked between her bed and the wall. There was nothing personal to be seen. No photos, no artwork, or books. It wasn’t unlike the bedroom he claimed across the hall, and Gus supposed it wasn’t abnormal considering they were renters, and their apartments were short-term dwellings that suited a purpose.
It wasn’t his home, and it wasn’t Faith’s, either.
But it made him wonder, and it was the wondering that made him decide it was best to leave things alone. Gus had a full plate of his own shit to deal with. Why borrow more from a woman he’d be leaving in less than two months? They’d decided to keep things casual, and casual was something he was used to. The relationship thing wasn’t his gig, and the fact that he’d even thought of the word relationship made him wince. He’d seen enough heartache in his thirty-three years to know he wasn’t cut out for that kind of thing.
With a curse, Gus scooped up his jeans from the floor and pulled them on, along with socks and boots. He had a harder time finding his T-shirt but eventually located it under Faith’s pillow when he made the bed. He was about to leave the roomwhen his cell pinged. He paused and retrieved it from the front pocket of his jeans but realized it wasn’t his cell he’d heard.
The ping sounded once more, and curious, he walked to the other side of the bed, where he found a phone plugged into the wall. It was face up, and he took a step back when it pinged again.
Don’t look.
Not your business.
It pinged again, and he glanced away — but not before he saw the nameDeclan.
