“I thought you might like this,” he said shyly, holding it out to me.
The simple gesture hit me square in the chest.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, tucking it behind my ear. “Thank you.”
The soft look in his eyes made my heart flutter. “It grows wild near the sorhox pasture. I thought… I thought you might like it.”
My face grew hot. Nobody had ever done anything like this for me before.
“That’s very nice of you, Hail. I appreciate it.”
He went back to his pottery, but I caught him stealing glances at me throughout the morning. Each time our eyes met, he’dsmile and look away, like he couldn’t quite believe I was here working beside him.
I felt safer here in this pottery barn than I had anywhere in months. Valued in a way I’d almost forgotten was possible. The work was satisfying, the company was better than I’d dared hope for, and for the first time in forever, I wasn’t constantly looking over my shoulder.
Maybe I could build something here. I’d give almost anything to be able to finally stop running and live again.
My phone rang from inside my purse, the sound cutting through the peaceful air like a knife.
I froze, my hands going still on the clay I’d been shaping. Gulping, I stared at my purse like it contained a bomb. Why hadn’t I left it off? It wasn’t as if I was hoping anyone would call.
“Are you going to answer it?” Hail glanced between me and the still-ringing phone.
“No,” I barked, then softened my tone. “It’s not important.”
The ringing stopped, but the damage was done. My newfound happy feeling had evaporated, replaced by the familiar knot of fear in my belly.
Hail watched me with concern, clearly wanting to ask questions I couldn’t answer.
Not yet. Maybe not ever.
We got back to work, but my happy feeling was shot. My eyes kept stinking with tears. I refused to let them fall.
Hail kept frowning my way. I was grateful he didn’t ask questions I didn’t dare answer.
And I hated that I might’ve brought my troubles to this cute town along with me.
Finally, I shoved aside my anxiety and focused on what I was doing. There was something soothing about working with clay, about mixing ingredients to create the perfect glaze.
Until the phone started ringing again.
Chapter 6
Hail
The phone kept ringing, each shrill note making Allie flinch like someone was poking her with a hot needle. Her whole body had gone tense, and she stared at her purse like it contained something dangerous.
Finally, she wrenched the phone out, glared at it, and shut it off.
Not answering.
I wanted to ask who was calling and why it made her afraid, but the rigid set of her shoulders told me she wasn’t ready to talk about it. I’d learned early that pushing people to share before they wanted only made them retreat further.
Every instinct in my body demanded I act, protect, shield her from whatever threat lurked on the other end of that call. The orc part of me that had survived centuries of battles and protected our kind recognized danger even when I couldn’t see it. But surface life required restraint and patience, something I was still learning.
When she looked up at me, she tried to smile, but it didn’t come out quite right.
My need to wrap my fingers around the throat of whoever was making her afraid roared through me. It was all I could do to suppress the feeling.
