Page 54 of Mountain Daddy

I wince. Small town. Curious folks. I used to love that once. Now? Not so much.

“Nikolai.” He actually stands to shake her hand properly. “Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Patterson.”

“Oh, such manners!”

She pats his arm like he's her grandson. “What brings you to our little town?”

“Business,” he says smoothly. “And the coffee here is excellent.”

Mrs. Patterson beams at me. “Did you hear that, Lilly? This nice young man appreciates good coffee.”

I force a smile. “He certainly does.”

“Are you single, dear?” Mrs. Patterson asks Nikolai without an ounce of shame.

Rosa chokes on her latte.

Nikolai's mouth twitches like he's fighting a smile. “I am.”

“Well, that's too bad. A handsome man like you should have someone to take care of him.”

She leans in conspiratorially. “Though between you and me, our Lilly here is quite the catch. Makes the best scones in three counties.”

My face burns. “Mrs. Patterson?—”

“What? I'm just saying. You're both young, both single. Life's too short not to take chances. In my days, when a man fixed your furniture, it meant something.”

Nikolai meets my eyes over Mrs. Patterson's silver head.

There's heat there. Sizzling, dazzling heat.

“I couldn't agree more,” he says quietly.

Mrs. Patterson leaves after her muffin and coffee. More people trickle in.

And Nikolai stays.

Finishes the chair repair. Notices a loose hinge on the display case. Fixes that too. When Mrs. Chen mentions her car makinga funny noise, he follows her outside to take a look under the hood.

Who the hell is this man? I follow to stare out the window.

Rosa slides up to me. “You two got history or something?”

“None,” I lie.

“He’s really something,” she whistles. “You should catch him while you can.”

“He’s not interested,” I lie, yet again.

“The way that man looks at you? I bet you’re wrong.”

I want to tell her it's more complicated than that.

But I can’t. So I just watch. Watch him be kind to a lonely old woman who probably hasn’t had anyone really listen in years.

And it guts me.

Because this morning? He looked at me like a loaded weapon. Asked about Chleo’s father with eyes sharp enough to bleed.

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