“No ‘danger zone’ signs. Just me, trying to make sure the damn thing stops falling apart every other day,” I say, nodding at the door.
She takes my hand, shaking it with a smile. “Aurora. Sorry about that. I’m kind of a disaster when it comes to walking in new places.”
I give her a quick once-over and can’t help but smile back. She’s got that kind of energy that makes me think she could trip over a sidewalk crack and still make it look part of her routine.
“Zane,” I say, keeping it simple, not offering much else.
“So, are you… fixing everything around here?” she asks, glancing at the tools and then back at me. “Or is this just a hobby?”
I shrug casually. “Guess you could say I’m a professional at making things work… when they want to.”
She laughs, the sound light and easy, as if she’s not about to freak out over the fact that she almost tripped into my arms. “I like a man who fixes things.”
“Well, if you ever need a broken lock fixed,” I say, “you know where to find me.”
She raises an eyebrow, intrigued. “What about broken people?”
I blink, a little taken aback by the shift in her tone, but I let it roll off me.
“I don’t know about that,” I say. “But I can definitely give you a drink if you need to fix the rest of your day. The bar isn’t open yet, so it’ll be a quiet one.”
She laughs, and it’s a lot easier to feel I’m not in way over my head now.
“Well, Iwason the way to my cabin…” She glances towards where I assume she’s staying. “But I think a drink sounds good,” she says, stepping inside. “Just don’t fix me up with a drink that’ll break my will to leave this town, okay?”
I gesture for her to follow me toward the bar. “No promises.”
I grab the bottle of whiskey, pouring two glasses. The sound of the liquid sloshing in the glass seems to fill the space between us, and I wonder how this is going to go, if she’ll just be another face passing through or if something here will stick.
Like I hope we do.
“You’re in town for long?” I ask casually, handing her a glass.
She takes it, clinking it against mine. “Just a few days. I’m here for some… personal stuff. I don’t really plan on staying too long. But I’ve got a feeling Coyote Glen might just have its claws in me already.”
“Claws?” I smirk. “That’s one way to put it. You’ll get used to it.”
She raises an eyebrow. “We’ll see.”
It catches me off guard a little. There’s something about her that makes me want to figure her out. It’s in the way she’s looking at me. Not just passing the time, but watching, waiting to see if this town can live up to its quiet charm, or if it’s all just surface level.
I’m intrigued. I have no idea why, but I want to know more. I want to know why she’s here and what’s got her so cautious. I can’t help it. The curiosity’s eating at me.
She takes another sip of her drink, still watching me over the edge of her glass, probably trying to figure out what I’m thinking.
I glance at her, leaning in just a little closer.
"So what kind of personal stuff brings you to a town like this?"
She lowers her glass and studies me, trying to decide whether or not to tell me. The silence stretches for just a beat, and I’m honestly okay with it. She’s not the type to spill everything, and that’s refreshing. A lot of people overshare, but she seems to be someone who holds her cards close.
“A bit of everything,” she says finally, letting out a soft breath. “I’ve been traveling. Trying to figure things out, you know?” She looks at me then, her eyes flickering with emotion almost too deep to name. “It’s complicated.”
I nod, understanding more than she knows. "Yeah, I get that."
The kind of complicated that gets tangled up in your head and makes you want to leave everything behind, but you end up dragging the mess with you anyway.
“So you’re just here for a little while?”
