“Just keep your ears open,” I state finally.
Stunt nods once.“Done.”He pushes off the counter and heads toward the office.Gainz watches him go.Then looks back at me.“You realize you’re already protecting her.”
I stare at the floor.“Maybe.”
“And you barely know her.”
I shrug.“Doesn’t take long to recognize trouble.And a woman ready to run.She should feel safe here.The Kings won’t let her past touch her.”
Gainz nods slowly.“True.”
I head toward the door, grabbing my helmet from the shelf.
“Where you going now?”he asks.
“Ride.”I answer without answering.
“Anywhere specific?”
“Just around.”
Gainz smirks.“Try not to circle the diner.”
“Not my plan.”I give a quick wave before getting to my bike.As I pull out onto the road and the wind hits my face, I realize something.Gainz might be right.Because somewhere between last night and this morning, Lucy Coe stopped being a stranger.
And started feeling like someone worth watching out for.
Even if she doesn’t know it yet.
SEVEN
LUCY
By the time I get home, I’m running on fumes and stubbornness.My diner shift bled straight into my afternoon at the ice cream shop with no break, and my feet feel like I’ve been walking on gravel all day.My ponytail is loose, my uniform smells like coffee and sugar, and my brain hasn’t stopped spinning since Tucker showed up this morning.Why does this stranger get me so twisted up inside?
Still, the second I open the front door and hear Quinn’s voice, everything inside me softens.“Mama!”She barrels into me from the living room, nearly knocking me backward into the door.
I laugh, catching her before she can take us both down.“Hey, baby.”
“You’re home!”
“I am.”I kiss the top of her head, breathing in the clean, warm scent of her.“Did you have fun with Zoe?”
“Yes!We made cookies.And I watched a movie.And—” she gasps dramatically, “—I didn’t even spill anything.”
I widen my eyes.“That might be the most impressive part.”
She giggles and grabs my hand, tugging me toward the kitchen.“I’m hungry.”
“Of course you are.”I drop my purse on the counter and roll up my sleeves.Dinner is simple tonight.Mac and cheese, apple slices, and the last of the chicken I made yesterday.
Nothing fancy.But Quinn doesn’t care.She climbs into her chair, swinging her legs while I plate everything up.We eat at the small table by the window, the evening light turning everything soft and gold.
Quinn talks the entire time.About her day.About her cookies.About how one of the boys in her class thinks worms are pets and how that’s “kind of gross but also a little cool.”
I nod and laugh in all the right places, letting her words wash over me like something steady and safe.This is everything.This is the part of my life that makes everything else worth it.When dinner is done, we move into the rhythm we’ve built together.Bath time.Warm water and bubbles.Quinn splashing more than she should.“Mama, look!”
“I see, baby.”
