Page 18 of The Light We Lost

After confirming he hadn’t left our Podunk town, Mr. Walsh sputtered a cough, not quite meeting my gaze. “That’s—that’s nice of you to help your folks.” He patted a hand on his shirt, pulling his phone out of his shirt pocket. “I need to get this, sorry.” He stumbled out of his chair, the table screeching against the wood floor.

I stood there, stunned, as he ran out of the diner like I’d told him I kidnapped his firstborn son and tied him to a railroad track. Ears burning, I was glancing at the other customers, ensuring no one had noticed when a smooth voice said, “I don’t know what his deal was, but I thought you looked real pretty with that smile. Sort of reminded me of Nicholas Cage’s smile fromMandy.”

I glowered at Nolan, surprised to find him leaning against the counter. When had he gotten here? “Bite me.”

“Sure thing. You always liked when I used a little bit of teeth.”

I gaped at him, and the only thing that was keeping me from pulling the ball cap off his head and smacking him with it was the fact there were witnesses. “What do you want?”

“Well, if you’re offering—I’d love some coffee. Throw a little bit of sugar in there too, would ya? I like it extra sweet.” He winked, and I rolled my eyes. Nolan never could resist flirting—apparently not even with his ex-wife.

I stepped behind the counter to make him a cup of coffee, stopping when I saw Mom walk through the back door. “You can’t be here.” I didn’t need her to think I was already up to no good. “Please leave.”

He furrowed his brows. “Why?” he pressed, then followed my gaze to where my parents were. It was only a matter of time before they noticed he was here. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m here all the time—”

I set my hands on his stomach and pushed, steering him out the door.

“You know,” Nolan said, backpedaling, “I thought we agreed last night not to touch each other without asking.”

I groaned. How had I married such an insufferable man? Leading him off the porch and around the bear statue, I kept going, not stopping until after we’d rounded the building and were away from watchful eyes. “How drunk were you last night?” I dropped my hands and stepped back to look him over, knowing that had to be the reason he was smiling at me. “Do you remember anything?”

His smile wavered. “Believe me, I’m never drunk enough to forget you.”

Anyone else might’ve beamed, but I heard his words for what they were. Nolan wished he could forget me. I didn’t blame him.

I felt the same way.

“I take it you signed the papers?” I asked. Clearly he had no other reason to seek me out on a Saturday afternoon.

He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out the papers, making no move to hand them over. “You’re really doing this, huh?” He waved a hand at me, motioning to my apron. “Staying and helping your parents?”

I stirred on my feet, struggling not to fidget. “Yes.”

“Don’t you have a job to get back to? Thought you were working with that sports agency in New York.”

I furled and unfurled my hands, reminding myself it wasn’t a big deal if Nolan knew what I’d been up to. It was a small town; it wasn’t like he kept tabs on me. “I am.” It wasn’t a lie. Just this morning, Evelyn had texted and asked me to post on Calder Rohan’s social media, something to distract from the news of his DUI leaking. “I can work away from the office, it’s not a big deal. It’s only for a month.”

Before he could ask more and discover I was potentially unemployed, I asked, “What about you? What do you do?”

A smirk toyed on his lips. He probably thought I had kept up on his life. I hadn’t. It was better that way. “I own Dad’s shop. Took over after he passed.”

My stomach dropped, and it was quiet as the truth settled between us. Last time I’d seen Nolan, his father was alive. Now Wayne was gone. Pushing aside the divorce a touch longer, I said, “You used to tell me that if you ever got roped into running the game shop, it would be because you were possessed, and I needed to exorcise your body because that’s the last thing you’d ever want.”

I’d meant it as a joke, something to lighten the mood. But I couldn’t help but feel like Nolan was looking at me like he couldn’t believe I had the nerve to talk about his dad at all. “It’s not half bad.” He cleared his throat. “Might’ve dragged my feet a few years ago, but I kind of enjoy it now.”

“You run it by yourself?”

“Mostly. Levi works when he comes home from school, and Brooks helps when he can—his wife, Shay, too. I’ve got Jake working with me—though I think he’s mostly there to drive me insane. He came out of retirement after Wren died.”

I gave him a small smile, not knowing what to say. I’d known Wren had passed away—but the news had been a shock. I hadn’t known she was sick. Life had kept going even after I’d run away. “I’m sure your dad is proud of you. It probably makes him happy seeing you run the shop.”

Nolan snorted, the first he’d let his smile drop. “You can say that because you weren’t here.” My chest tightened. Before I could backtrack and say who knew what, he held his hand out. “I brought your papers back.”

“Thank you.” I grabbed them and brushed off what had just happened—we were almost finished. But it didn’t feel that way as I flipped through the documents. “You . . . you didn’t sign them.”

“Nope.”

“But—” I clenched my jaw, swallowing down that fire I felt brewing within me. “You were supposed to sign them. Was there something you didn’t like?”

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