Lani didn’t run but it was a near thing. Unlocking her Bronco, she climbed in slowly, knowing they were watching her. Turning the key, she then backed out of the parking spot and headed down the street.
“Relax, take some breaths.” After three big ones, she felt better. “Holy crap, Noah lives here!”
Panic had her wanting to turn toward the town exit, but she fought the impulse. He didn’t know her; no one here knew her. She was safe. She’d take a moment, eat the sandwich she’d picked up earlier, and decide on her next move. A move that had nothing to do with Noah Harris and everything to do with staying safe.
Chapter Four
Lani is in town.Disturbing Lani Sullivan. He’d just about swallowed his tongue when he’d realized it was her.
Noah had seen her from behind and approached when he realized she was battling to get her ugly boot out of the grate. The jeans were a size too big, and the flannel shirt she wore was loose. His first impulse had been to help, the second, shock.
“Got you all booked in, Walt. I ordered those flowers for you too.”
“You’re a good man, Noah.”
Walt and Lizzie were celebrating their fifty-sixth wedding anniversary and were two of Noah’s favorite people. He was determined to make the celebration a memorable one.
“Everyone’s saying it,” he muttered, raising a hand as he headed up the street.
Lani had disturbed him that night in Brook. Something about her had touched him. The more he’d talked to her, the more she’d interested him. She had a whole lot of something going on in her past that had molded her into the closed-off lost soul she was today.
When he’d woken and found her gone, the disappointment had almost been painful inside his chest. In fact, equally as painful as the throbbing in his nose.
She had a vulnerability about her. Plus, the sex had rocked him. If he was honest, and only to himself, he would say it was one of the best nights he’d had.
On the surface, Lani was the kind of woman he would never take a second look at. That made him sound shallow, even to himself, but hell, most people started with looks and then dug deeper, and he was no different. Not that he’d been digging deeper lately. Relationships weren’t for Noah anymore.
However, Lani had been different. He’d wanted to draw out her small smiles and little laughs. Wanted to see those eyes light and her body relax. And what a body. He’d mapped every inch of it with his hands, and what lay under those baggy clothes was spectacular.
She’d admitted to not having a lot of experience with men, and he’d added life to that. How he knew this on short acquaintance he had no idea, but the thought had lodged inside his head. Lani lived a transient existence, but Noah had a hunch that wasn’t by choice.
He’d done most of the talking that night, another surprise, because he lived surrounded by talkers and usually played the role of the quiet one.
Lani hadn’t given anything of herself away; it had been all him. He’d talked freely, and this, Noah realized, was likely due to the fact he hadn’t thought he’d see her again…. Not so much, as it turned out.
Wandering up the Main Street, he looked in windows. Fall in Lake Howling was a pretty special time—actually, most times were special, but Noah enjoyed the bite in the air of approaching winter and his daily paddles on the cool, clear waters of the lake.
The town was quaint, and the locals worked hard to keep it that way. Tourists brought in a lot of money, but more than that it was pride in the place they loved. Hanging baskets, neatly trimmed trees and lawns…. It had been this way for as long as Noah could remember.
This town had always centered him when everything was going to shit. It hadn’t always worked; there were times he’d messed up or someone had done it for him. But being able to walk through the Redwoods and swim in the lake had always calmed him.
“Noah, what do you think of my window display?”
“Looks good, Mrs. Brack.”
The competition between the shop windows was pretty fierce in Lake Howling, but Mrs. Brack usually won. Today she’d done fall tones with pumpkins and turkeys for Thanksgiving, which was still a few weeks away. It always amazed Noah how she could take the same things he could use and the result was so different.
Noah wasn’t creative; his sister did that stuff when required.
He chatted with some of the shop owners. Most he knew well, as they’d been here for as long as he could remember. He saw Willow Griffin up ahead of him, waddling and very close to her due date. Noah increased his pace until he drew alongside her.
“Let me take those bags for you, Willow, before your man sees.”
“Thank you. I got more than I originally thought.” She handed them to him and then arched her back, which extended her already large belly.
Married to one of his friends, Willow had come from New York and stayed. Her man was twisted in knots about her, and it was good to see, as he was pretty much the hard-ass of their group of friends and was now knee-deep in love.
“You know Buster’s gonna roast you, right? I mean, he’s watching your every move, and here you are out on the loose and carrying what he’ll see as hand weights.”
