“I really want to stay here. Though I guess that’s a talk I need to have with Hunter at the very least. And I also need a job, eventually.”
“Oh, I can help with that.”
I raise my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“Deb—that’s Austin’s mom. Well, she wants to retire. If she does, I’ll take over the kitchen at the diner. And we could useanother server now, even if it takes a while for her to retire. I’ve been mostly working in the kitchen these days, anyway.”
My heart jumps into my throat. “Really?”
He nods, his dark hair bouncing around with his excitement. “Yeah, right now it would just be part-time hours, but I’m sure we could get you more after a while.”
Starting part-time actually sounds amazing. It would allow me to test the bounds of my mental health without doing too much and overwhelming myself. Plus, I know Hunter will help pull me back from the edge if I get too close to falling over it.
“That would be great,” I somehow say around the lump in my throat. “Thank you, Luca.”
He claps. “Okay. Hell yeah. This is awesome. When do you wanna start?”
“Don’t you need to talk to Austin’s mom first?”
“No, when I told her about you, she told me to offer you a job if you wanted to stay.”
My mouth falls open. “She doesn’t even know me.”
Luca shrugs. “Yeah, that’s small-town life for you. I know you, and that’s good enough for her.”
I barely resist telling him that he doesn’t truly know me, either. The only way he’s going to get to know me, though, is by me showing up. He’s already proven to me I can. That it’s safe. Now, I just need to lean into that. Knock on the door, as Charlotte put it.
Fuck. “Thanks, Luca. That would be… really amazing, actually. I could start next week?”
A huge smile lights up his face. “Great. This is gonna be so good. Okay, so what else is new?”
I laugh. “Well, Hunter bought me baby chickens.”
“Holy shit. Can I see them?”
“Of course. Wanna go now?”
He nods. “Oh my God. Yes.”
As I pick up the plates off the table, I can’t wipe away my smile. Everything is looking up. At least for now. And maybe things will fall off. Maybe the medicine will stop working for me. Maybe I’ll end up right back where I started. But for now, I’m going to enjoy every single second of this that I have. I’m gonna live in the moment and love the joy and make connections and build community.
If the bad times come again, at least I won’t be alone.
Chapter 30
Hunter
Iwaketowarmlips on my jaw. Peeling my eyes open, I’m surprised to find that the room is still dark.
“What time is it?” I whisper, but truly, who fucking cares, because no sooner have the words left my mouth than Theo is burying his way into the crook of my neck and licking a path up my throat.
My hand comes up on instinct, cupping the back of his head and tilting mine so he has better access. “Fuck, sweetheart.”
Theo hums, biting down lightly on my skin before sucking hard on it. A groan works its way past my lips as I tighten my fingers in his hair. What a way to wake up.
Shifting under the blankets, Theo presses his cock against my hip, then moans open-mouthed against my throat as he rolls his hips.
My dick hardens rapidly, and I reach down, hooking an arm around Theo’s thigh and pulling him on top of me.
