Page 30 of Love and Other Lost Things

“And if I tear your car down and sell it for parts, and give you an old beater, he could spend ages looking for the wrong vehicle.”

“Exactly. He’ll still think I’m driving the Toyota he gave me.” Jane wasn’t nearly as confident as she sounded. There were so many things that could go wrong. But going back to LA with Matteo wasn’t an option. Jane wasn’t sure if she’d survive it. And then what would happen to Scarlett? Jane clutched her abdomen as nausea rolled over her. So far, Matteo had never been violent with Scarlett. But then, for most of Jane’s life, Dad hadn’t been violent with her. Until one day that had changed.

“Are they going to run some kind of check on your vehicle plate and registration when you get to Canada?” Kait asked. “Will this car need to be registered to you? I don’t want you to get held up at the border.”

“It would be best if it was registered to me, but they probably won’t check unless I look suspicious.”

Kait nodded. “Okay. It’s going to take me about a week, maybe a little longer. I can get you a car pretty easily, but I’ll need to call a guy I know to expedite the paperwork. Can you work with that?”

If everything went smoothly with Kait’s guy, it would be fine. And if not—well, Kait’s guy would just have to come through. “Matteo is expecting me back in LA by New Year’s.”

“Okay. We’ll make it work.” Kait gave a curt nod of her head, a gesture that reassured Jane. If Kait didn’t think she could do it, Jane knew she’d be blunt enough to say so. “Leave me your phone number.” Kait pulled a Post-it note and pen out of the drawer, but hesitated instead of handing it over.

Jane’s pulse picked up speed. Please don’t let her change her mind.

“Listen, Jane.” Kait clicked the pen. “Are you sure you want to do this? Sure you want to keep running?”

“I don’t have any other choice.”

“You always have a choice.” Kait cocked her head. “You think it’s easy being a lesbian car mechanic in a place like this? I’ve been threatened, I’ve had my shop vandalized more times than I can count.”

Jane’s stomach churned. She had no doubt that some of those threats had come from Dad.

“But I decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to let them drive me away. This is my home. So, I stay, and I keep fighting.”

Jane shook her head. “You don’t know what Matteo is capable of. If I leave him, and he finds me…” Jane closed her eyes, remembering the one time she’d tried. The worst week of her life. “It’s not just me I have to think about.”

Kait paused but didn’t ask Jane to elaborate. She just slid the pad and pen across the desk. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I have something for you.”

Jane took the paper and scribbled down her number. “Don’t you want to see the Toyota? To make sure it’s worth your effort?”

Kait shrugged. “Whatever the value of the Toyota, I’m sure it’s worth my effort.”

A wave of emotion crested over Jane. For the second time in her life, this almost-stranger was helping her. Saving her, with nothing in return. Jane wished there was a way she could properly thank her. To promise to make it up to her.

But if everything went to plan, Jane would never see Kait, or anyone in this town, ever again.

THIRTEEN

Jane McCaffrey actually showed up.

From his seat at the table across the room, Nik watched as Jane paused to scan the small café crowd. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d been bracing himself for her to be a no-show until he saw her familiar figure appear in the doorway. After all, how many hours had he spent staring at doorways waiting for her to walk in? Practicing what he wanted to say to a voice that never materialized on the other end of the phone?

He took a moment to watch her before she noticed him. In high school, the sight of her used to have his pulse quickening, but now it was hammering so loudly he was afraid it would drown out the music coming through the café speakers. Everything about her was familiar as she stood there scanning the room for him. It felt like a week since they had last been in this café together, sitting at their usual table in the corner, planning their future. College at Cornell, then they’d move to a city with a music scene where she could play gigs and he could go to med school.

It had all sounded so easy. Their whole lives ahead of them, anything was possible.

But ten years had passed, and they were strangers now. He eyed the bruise on her cheek, the tiny lines of fatigue around her eyes. Those were only physical changes, but they hinted at a whole world beneath the surface that he had no part of.

Jane’s gaze lingered on their old table in the back corner. It had been empty when he got here, but Nik had intentionally chosen to sit in the middle of the room instead. Jane’s head swung in his direction, and Nik could tell the exact moment she spotted him because her eyes softened and her lips curved into a hint of a smile, almost as if she couldn’t help herself.

His heart tightened in his chest.

Jane made her way over, and he stood. If she were anyone else—Hannah or Ali or someone he was dating—he would have greeted her with a hug. Instead, he helped her with her jacket, taking care not to brush her neck with his hand. Underneath, she wore simple black leggings and a dark green T-shirt that slid off one shoulder. Nik dragged his attention from the line of her collarbone, trying not to think about the last time he’d seen that expanse of skin.

“Hi,” she said nervously, once she was seated across from him.

“Thanks for coming.”

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