I clicked my tongue stud against my teeth and hunched my shoulders when I bent over my plate, trying to act blasé. “These eggs are good, thanks.”
Garrak hummed, like he didn’t believe me. “You want a donut?”
“Nah.” This time my shy smile didn’t feel forced as I flicked a glance his way. “I’ll save ‘em for you.”
“Meli’s Bake Shop in town makes them on Sundays, and I have a sweet tooth.”
Good to know.
“Maybe I’ll go check them out.” I shrugged as I scooped up some of the fluffy eggs. “During your meeting today.” Surely he wouldn’t leave me alone here, would he? “When is it?”
He glanced at his watch. “Ninety minutes, other side of town. I’ll drive you over there if you want to see Eastshore.”
I blinked. “That’s…thank you.” What wasupwith this guy? Why would he turn down what I was offering and then be so…nice? “I looked up some stuff about the island before catching the bus down here from the airport. It looks…cute.”
“It is.” Garrak’s focus was on the food as he ate. “I’ve only been here about six months—I moved out here with some of my guys when we closed the mine in Colorado—but I like it.Welike it.” He slowly lowered his fork, although he didn’t look up. “Feels like it could be a home.”
Was it my imagination, or was there a hint of wistfulness there?Huh.
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
The words slipped out before I could really think them through, and the wariness in his gaze when he finally looked at me told me that they’d sounded as awkward as I’d thought. I winced and clarified: “It’s about your leg.”
Understanding dawned across his face, then his expression turned neutral once more, like he was trying to hide his thoughts.
So, arranging my fork beside my plate, I pressed ahead. “Youhaveto know I noticed. It’s logical that I’m going to wonder what happened, right? So I want to ask what happened, how you lost it,butI also don’t want you to feel obligated to answer my question.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, hoping I was making sense. “By asking if I can ask about it, I’m trying to make it okay for you to sayno, that you don’t want to talk about it, without it being awkward. But now I’ve made it even more awkward, and I’m sorry.”
I finished with a wince, but I’d been watching him, and somewhere around the midpoint of that convoluted explanation, his expression had cleared. Now he was watching me, his head cocked to one side. There was a hint of curiosity in his dark eyes, and the lack of tightness around his lips told me that maybe he wasn’t pissed I asked.
“Most of that made sense,” he finally said.
I shrugged and reached for my fork again. “Sorry.”
“No, I don’t mind answering. The fact that you knew to ask before you asked…well, no, that didn’t make any more sense than whenyousaid it.” There was a hint of teasing there, and I saw his lips twitch. “It was a mining accident almost eight years ago now. Sabotage caused a collapse, and a bunch of us were trapped.”
I’d paused, my eggs halfway to my mouth, as my eyes widened. “What happened?” I breathed.
“I’d been near enough to the door of the building that I could get out the first batch of guys, but the rest took some more effort. I found everyone eventually.” His gazedropped to his plate, and I watched him scowl. “Even the guys who…”
I think I’d stopped breathing, listening to his explanation, and now a sick feeling of dread settled in my stomach.
But he took a deep breath and reached for his favorite coffee. “Anyhow. On my last trip in, a beam fell on my leg, shattering a bunch of bones. Amputation was easier. At least I was lucky enough to walk away from—” He snorted. “Well, notwalk, but I survived. Three of my guys didn’t.”
Oh yeah, I was definitely staring, open-mouthed, at Garrak by now.
That was… “Wow,” I breathed.
He shrugged and took a sip of coffee. “The hardest part was learning to walk?—”
“You went back in how many times?”
He hadn’t expected the question, judging from the way he’d reared back slightly, a dip between his fierce brows. “What?”
“You got the first group of guys out, yeah?” My food was forgotten now. “And youwent back in? How many times?”
Garrak stared at me, the mug cupped between his two gigantic hands. I couldn’t read his thoughts, but he didn’t move for the longest time. Finally, he inhaled. “Four. It took four trips to get them all out.”
“You went back into a collapsed mine four times?—”
