Page 19 of Call of A Eagle

I wondered for a split-second if she was an ex, but she didn’t seem to have the same reaction to him that he had to her. Honestly, she didn’t seem to know him besides from this place. That was enough to have me shaking off my unease as best I could.

Once we finished our meals, Mia came back with a knowing smile.

“Now, who’s ready for pie?” she asked, as though she knew that was what Waylen had been waiting for all along.

Maybe she did.

Waylen glanced at me expectantly, raising an eyebrow, though his gaze briefly shifted in Mia’s direction again. The tension from earlier crept back, but he quickly masked it. “What do you say? Ready to experience the best pie in town?”

“Absolutely.”

Mia returned moments later with two slices of key lime pie. I couldn’t deny it—this was the best pie I’d ever had. The crust was flaky, the filling sweet and slightly tart. I closed my eyes, savoring it.

“You were right,” I said, opening my eyes to find him watching me with a satisfied grin, though I noticed the brief flicker of something else—something unsettled that I couldn’t quite place. “This is amazing.”

“Told you,” he replied, his gaze holding mine a little longer than necessary.

The moment stretched between us, and the diner seemed to fade away. My heart pounded in my chest, and for a moment, I thought he might kiss me right here, in the middle of Mariam’s Diner while we were eating pie.

However, as quickly as the moment came, it passed.

Waylen leaned back in his chair, breaking the spell, but the subtle tension in his movements returned. As Mia passed by, he shifted again, his shoulders stiffening slightly.

We both returned to our pie, though the almost-kiss lingered in my thoughts. When we were done, Waylen pulled out his wallet and slid a few extra bills onto the table for Mia. It was a generous tip, and I couldn’t help but notice the gesture. He caught me watching and shrugged with a soft smile.

“She deserves it,” he said, before paying the bill, and then we headed back to his truck.

The drive to the cabin was filled with easy conversation, but I couldn’t shake the strange tension from lunch or the almost-kiss. Mia had seemed friendly enough, but there had beensomething off about the way Waylen stiffened around her, like he was on edge. Was it her? Or was I overthinking things again?

“You know,” Waylen said, pulling me from my thoughts as he turned down my driveway. “Between the food and the company, that was the best lunch I’ve had in ages.”

Warmth spread through my chest, but the earlier tension lingered in the back of my mind. “It was nice.”

“Nice?” He shot a quick glance my way. “Ouch.”

“What? Nice is good,” I said, studying his profile as he continued to drive. There was a flicker of something in his eyes, though I couldn’t quite place it.

Unease? Guilt?

“It’s a friend zone word,” he teased, his lips quirking up. “I’d rather you have said you had a good time, too. At least that’s open-ended and I can interpret it as I see fit.”

“I had a good time, too,” I said, playfully rolling my eyes, though a part of me still wondered about his reaction to Mia.

“Nice.” He winked, and despite everything, I burst into a fit of laughter.

As we pulled up to the cabin, a blend of excitement and hesitation washed over me. I didn’t want our time to end, and neither did my owl. But lunch was all I’d agreed to, all that had been offered.

I watched Waylen as he climbed out of his truck and rounded the front, but something about his movement made my pulse spike.

Something was wrong.

His relaxed posture from a second ago had vanished, replaced by rigid tension. His eyes darted around the yard, sharp and focused, in a way that signified his eagle was close to the surface. I watched as his jaw tightened and his steps slowed with caution.

When he reached my door, he didn’t open it. Instead, he locked eyes with me through the window. “Stay in the truck,” he murmured, his voice low and controlled. “Something’s off.”

Alarm buzzed through me, causing my owl to move closer to the surface.

“What do you mean?” I pressed, my pulse quickening.

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