Page 28 of The Love Shack

Anyone other than him.

Lawson rubbed the back of his neck, but he was careful not to let the memories grip him. With Berkley’s foot rhythmically rubbing Hero’s hip, the dog slept peacefully. “It didn’t take a genius to know the princess had just caused an ugly scene. I figured I might as well use the opportunity to...dissuade her from giving you more trouble.”

“Oh, boy. Now my curiosity is curdling.”

He half smiled at that expression. “I reached her right before she got in her car and told her if she didn’t let up, I’d share the photos I’d taken of good old Chadbeggingyou for forgiveness, of him trying to kiss you with you shoving him away. I told her I had a dozen photos of him sniveling around your door.”

Berkley snorted. “He wasn’t at my house a dozen times.”

Lifting a shoulder, Lawson dismissed that little fact as irrelevant. “She didn’t know that, though. Telling her that I’d do my own press conference to set the record straight, that I’d talk to anyone who would listen—including any online news people—convinced her that she’d end up looking like a loser. She called me some choice names, got in her fancy little red car and burned rubber in her rush to leave.”

Berkley’s wide eyes stared at him in fascination.

He wasn’t done yet. “I also told good old Chad that if I saw him back in our neighborhood, I’d tell everyone he was a narc, and he’d never make it out again.” With all the drug dealers nearby, it was a convincing threat.

“Lawson!” She sounded both incredulous and amused.

It didn’t matter how many times he’d told himself not to get involved, that the important thing was for him to get away, as fast and far as possible before he ended up like the lost souls surrounding him, he couldn’t turn a blind eye to her.

The nastiness had been relentless, and the way he’d seen it, a seventeen-year-old girl with a dying mother in a shit hometown was a victim, not a husband stealer. It was the married man who should have been held accountable for taking advantage of her, and cheating on his wife.

So he’d done his own minuscule part, and it had worked.

“Well.” Berkley blinked twice, tugged at a few of the earrings hanging from one ear and then grinned. “I always wondered why she finally stopped trashing me. All this time, I thought it was because of something I did.”

He really wanted to know what she’d done, but she pushed to her feet, making it clear that their visit had ended. “Thank you, Lawson.” She set her hat on the rock, picked up her shirt, shook the sand and dirt from it, then tugged it over her head.

An eye-boggling experience, watching Berkley dress.

“Back then, I hadn’t known that anyone was on my side.” Pulling on her shorts over the bathing suit bottoms, she said, “Finding out now... It’s nice.” She zipped and snapped as if his fascinated gaze didn’t track the movement, and then stepped into her sandals and replaced her hat.

Damp air from the lake had added messy waves to her hair. Her nose and cheeks were rosy. And that hat... Everything about her appealed to him.

She held out her hand. “Thank you.”

He should have told her sooner. And he wanted her to share what she’d done, but the second she’d stood, Hero had jumped up to join her, and they both appeared ready to call it a night.

He couldn’t shake her hand. Literally couldn’t. Instead he gently squeezed her fingers. “My pleasure.” The sun was sinking, the air finally cooling a little. “I parked near the beach. You?”

She nodded.

Shifting his hand to the small of her back, he said, “I’ll walk with you, then.”

She didn’t agree, but she didn’t disagree, either. Better still, a small smile stayed on her mouth.

The hot sun turned into an orange ball, spilling color over the lake. As they neared the beach, the scents changed to sunscreen, sand and earth, and barbecue. A few people sent them friendly waves. Kids laughed. Gulls swooped overhead.

Cemetery really was an awesome place.

And overall, it had turned into a pretty special night.

She seemed to be on a weekly schedule with Lawson. Every time she saw him, she learned something new, and then they’d both get busy and another six or seven days would pass before they visited again.

Did that mean she’d see him again soon? She waffled between hope that she would and determination to steer clear of him. Odd how running into someone from her past had started out causing her dread, but now felt somewhat comforting.

She wasn’t alone.

Despite how busy her week had been, he’d plagued her thoughts far too often.

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