Page 13 of Fallen Flame

By nine o’clock, the clubhouse had gone from almost silent to loud enough to make me miss the quiet.

The common room was packed with people talking over each other, chairs scraping across the floor, coffee pouring, and somebody in the kitchen repeatedly opening and shutting cabinet doors like whatever they wanted might magically appear if they checked enough times. The television played the morning news with the volume turned down, though no one was paying attention to it.

I stood near the end of the bar with a fresh mug of coffee in my hand, watching Ever make her case to Wrecker for what had to be the third time. Jude stood beside her with his arms folded across his chest, looking like he already knew how the conversation was going to end but wasn’t about to interrupt. Lark stood on Ever’s other side, wearing jeans, a bright green sweatshirt, and an expression that said she was prepared to argue until everyone in the room either agreed with her or died from exhaustion.

Alice sat at one of the nearby tables with Adley, both of them sipping coffee and watching the whole thing unfold. Mom leaned against Dad’s side near the TV, while Thorn and Fox had taken over one of the couches. Nobody was trying very hard to hide the fact that they were listening.

Wrecker stood in the middle of it all, looking like a man who was questioning every decision that had led him to becoming president of a motorcycle club filled with stubborn people.

“We’re not asking to open the place,” Ever insisted. “We’re asking to go look at it.”

Wrecker rubbed one hand over his beard. “I heard you the first two times.”

“Then why are we still talking about it?” Lark asked.

I took a slow drink of coffee and lowered my eyes before she caught me watching her.

I had managed to avoid being alone with her since she walked out of the hallway the night before. That didn’t mean I hadn’t noticed her. It was almost impossible not to notice Lark. She brought energy into a room like she carried it around in her pockets and scattered it everywhere she went.

She’d come down the hallway twenty minutes earlier, already talking before both feet hit the last step. She’d questioned the strength of the coffee, stolen a piece of toast from Fox’s plate, and somehow convinced Thorn to make her a fresh pot that wasn’t strong enough to peel paint off the walls. Since then, she’d planted herself beside Ever and made it clear she wasn’t going to let the Dairy Bar be forgotten.

I was doing a much better job of pretending the night before hadn’t happened than she was.

Every time our eyes met, she smiled. Not a normal smile, a knowing one. The kind that told me she remembered exactly how close she’d stood, exactly what she’d offered, and exactly how quickly I’d shut the door on the possibility.

I shifted my attention back to Wrecker.

“We need to get in there and clean up,” she continued.

“Do your parents know what happened?” Alice asked.

Ever turned toward her and nodded. “I called them this morning. I didn’t tell them everything last night because I knew they’d try driving down in the dark, and Dad, bless his soul, has no business driving the back roads at midnight.”

“They were still at the cabin?” Adley asked.

“Yeah. They were supposed to stay up north another week.” Ever sighed and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “They’re packing now. Mom said they should be here by early afternoon, depending on how long it takes Dad to decide which fishing equipment needs to come home with him, though Mom said they only plan on staying a couple of days.”

Alice smiled. “So five hours longer than it should.”

“At least.”

“That sounds about right,” Jude muttered.

Ever glanced up at him. “You know my dad.”

“I do.” Something in Jude’s voice made me look at him more closely.

He wasn’t exactly nervous. Jude didn’t usually show nerves the same way most people did. He got quieter. His shoulders tightened, his jaw clenched, and he stopped making smart-ass comments unless somebody dragged them out of him.

Ever studied him for a second before her eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“That was fast,” Lark said. “Definitely lying.”

Jude shot her a flat look. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”