And, judging by the way everyone seemed to be chatting to each other right now, what she had suggested was making a difference. Xavier was always pleased to see people getting along, people coming out of their shell. He had struggled with socializing himself for a long time after he got back from overseas…and losing his brother. If he hadn’t had the planning and setup of Warrior Peak Sanctuary to focus on, he didn’t know what he would have done.
All the more reason to be protective of what they’d built here. And precisely why he was smoking out the rat in their midst. Nobody seemed to be acting suspiciously, at least from what he could tell, and he usually had a pretty good eye for this stuff. His gaze was drawn to the far end of his table, where Hannah sat with a new arrival. Xavier hadn’t had a chance to read his intake file yet, but it looked like he was settling in.
It was impossible not to feel at home around Hannah. Her beautiful honey-brown eyes sparkled when she smiled, and shehad this way about her that was impossible to deny. A bright, bouncy energy that seemed to fill every room she stepped into.
Xavier glanced around the rest of the room, taking note of all the guests he’d interacted with and those who were new. Nothing seemed off with anyone. No odd looks, no one acting strange. His gaze tracked back to Hannah and the new guy. He had a strange feeling he’d seen him before. He’d have to think on it, maybe it would come to him later.
As though sensing his eyes on her, she glanced across the table at him, and he nodded in silent greeting. She flashed him a dazzling smile in return.
He tried to focus on the task at hand, sipping his water and keeping his eyes open for suspicious behavior. He didn’t know what he was looking for, exactly, but he would know when he found it. He always did.
When everyone was finished, Hannah shooed the rest of them away. “Xavier and I will clean up,” she announced.
Xavier rolled his eyes playfully. “Do I have to?” he asked like a whiny kid being forced to do chores.
Lawson laughed and slapped a hand on to his shoulder. “You can’t keep getting away with doing nothing,” he teased.
Xavier shook his head. “Wasn’t fixing the generators last night enough?”
“Everyone has to pull their weight around here,” Hannah told him cheerfully as she began gathering up the plates. “And you’ve got a lot of weight to pull. Come on, give me a hand. Let’s start clearing the tables.”
In truth, Xavier didn’t mind at all having the opportunity to spend a little more time with Hannah alone. Even though he had sworn up and down to Lawson that nothing was going on between them, he still had feelings for her. How could he not? Her warm, bright kindness was impossibly attractive after he’d spent a lifetime working with people who shut that sideof themselves off. And the way her freckles wrinkled when she smiled… Yeah, he still had it bad for her. He hoped it would pass eventually. It had to in order for him to maintain his friendship with Lawson.
The two of them started carting plates to the kitchen. As Xavier set about washing while Hannah dried, she glanced over at him. “What happened with the Haynes brothers last night?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he admitted. “They were just drunk and talking crap like they always do. I don’t think they actually had anything to do with the generators.”
“You guys just took off last night,” she remarked. “I had no idea what you were doing.”
“Yeah, sorry,” he apologized. He knew he owed her more of an explanation. It wasn’t just that they worked together, he had been friends with her for a long time, too. She had been there since day one of the sanctuary opening, and she’d always been a huge part of why people felt as safe and comfortable as they did here. If it hadn’t been for her, it would have just been his grumpy ass at the reception desk, and he knew that wouldn’t have been very welcoming for new arrivals.
“There’s just been a lot on my mind,” he admitted before he could stop himself. It was always like this with her—he could never stop himself from telling her the truth. He didn’t want to worry her, but she was so easy to talk to that he couldn’t help but share what was on his mind.
“Lodge stuff?” she asked. “Or…?” She lifted her finger to her temple and tapped the side of her head.
He shrugged. “Both, I guess,” he replied quietly, handing her another plate.
Their fingers touched for the barest moment, and he had to draw his hand back quickly, hoping she hadn’t felt the spark rushing between them. The two of them hadn’t talked abouttheir attraction or the kiss they shared since Lawson had blown up at them both about it, but he could tell it was still on her mind, too.
“You should talk to Sarah,” she suggested.
“Yeah, that’s what Lawson said, too.”
She raised her eyebrows at him. “Well, you know how much I hate agreeing with my brother,” she joked. “But maybe you should actually listen to him.”
Xavier chuckled. “Yeah, maybe,” he replied. “You know I’m not good at taking advice.”
She smiled wryly. “Yeah, if you were, I might tell you that you’re doing a crappy job with these dishes,” she teased, flipping one over in her hand demonstratively. “See? This one still has food on it.”
“Hey, that’s just an old stain,” he protested, as he took the plate back from her.
She laughed. “Mmm, not sure I believe that. Here, why don’t we swap? You probably can’t screw up the drying part.”
“I’m not screwing up the washing part, either,” he replied, but he was laughing. Her attitude was infectious, even when he had so much on his mind. Sometimes, he felt like she was the only person who could force him out of his own head for a while and into the moment.
They scuffled for a moment over the dishes, and she dipped her hand into the water and pulled out a handful of fluffy suds, tossing them at him. “Here, soap,” she teased. “It’s that thing you’re supposed to use to wash dishes, remember?”
“Oh, you mean this?” He grabbed a handful himself and launched it at her.
