Chapter 6
Liz
Ipulled into the Wings End parking lot, my heart still hammering against my ribs like it was trying to escape my chest.
Eighteen thousand dollars. The jeweler’s words echoed in my head as I navigated around a massive fifth wheel.
That was life-changing money for someone who currently owned a twelve-year-old car, a tent, and most of my belongings stuffed in trash bags. It was the kind of money that could buy me breathing room. A security deposit on an apartment. Time to find a job that didn’t make me want to cry in my car during lunch breaks.
The jeweler had kept saying words I didn’t understand while I nodded and pretended I wasn’t about to faint. When I’d asked how much I might realistically get for it, his enthusiasm had dimmed slightly.
“Well, to maximize value, you’d want to consign it to a reputable auction house. That could take several months, and they’d take a percentage, of course.”
Several months. I didn’t have several months. I had whatever was left on my nearly maxed-out credit card and about two hundred dollars in my wallet.
I spotted Reese waving at me from beside the RV she’d shown me pictures of. Next to her stood the tall, broad-shouldered man who’d knocked on my window this morning. He looked as intimidating in full daylight as he had at the crack of dawn. His dark hair was cropped short, and his expression was unreadable as he watched me park.
My brakes squeaked as I came to a stop, a concern I’d been ignoring because they worked fine. I did not need car problems on top of everything else.
I took a deep breath before stepping out of my car with my purse. The knife was tucked safely inside, wrapped in the jeweler’s appraisal paperwork from earlier. Part of me still couldn’t believe someone had left something so valuable in my tent. The naked forest man couldn’t possibly have known what it was worth. Could he?
Reese’s smile was warm as I approached. “How’d the errand go?”
I glanced at the man who stood with his arms crossed, watching our interaction. “It went well. The jeweler confirmed what you said.” My voice came out steadier than I expected, considering how my stomach was doing somersaults.
Reese’s eyes widened. “That’s fantastic! See, I told you!”
“He said it would take months to sell at auction, though.” I twisted the strap of my purse between my fingers. “I was hoping for something a bit faster.”
The man’s posture shifted slightly, his head tilting as he studied me with an intensity that gave me pause. There was something unsettling about his gaze, as if he were cataloging every detail of my appearance for future reference.
“This is Kade. Kade, this is Liz. Although you two met this morning, didn’t you?” Reese glanced at Kade and then elbowed him.
He stuck out his hand. “Nice to officially meet you.”
“Likewise.” I shook his hand and was surprised when he didn’t break my bones, given the look on his face. “I want to apologize for camping in my car. It hadn’t occurred to me that it would be such an issue.”
“Because of the bear, right?” Kade raised an eyebrow. Why did that seem like a challenge?
Reese cleared her throat. “We might know someone interested in buying your knife, if that’s something you’d consider.”
I sighed in relief at the change in subject and at the potential buyer. “Really? That would be amazing, actually.”
Kade made a weird grumbling sound and turned toward the RV. “Reese can show you around.”
“You’re going to love it!” Reese walked up the steps and opened the door. “We’ll take care of all the maintenance, and the utilities are all included as well.”
The RV looked even nicer than the pictures she had shown me. It was clean and modern, with a bedroom area, storage, a dinette, and a small living room. Considering I had been on the verge of staying at a seedy motel, it was practically the Ritz.
I hadn’t been completely sure what to do for housing. My parents were always an option but were a last resort. My brother had a family of his own, and I couldn’t impose. And my friends? They’d built lives that no longer had room for me.
How had I let my life get so far away from me that I could barely reach out and touch it?
“It’s perfect.” I fought the sudden, embarrassing urge to cry. “Thank you.”
Reese gave me a smile that said she knew exactly what I was going through. We hadn’t talked much about her life, but she had said she once lived in her RV. “We’re having a family dinner tonight. You should join us. It will be a nice way to welcome you, and it will break up some of the testosterone I have to deal with.”
A family dinner with complete strangers wasn’t high on my list of comfortable situations, but Reese had been nothing but kind. Refusing felt rude.
