Page 33 of Wrecked for Love
And then, like an idiot, I panicked. My walls came down, and when that happened, I turned into a mess—clumsy, confused, ridiculous.
But my encounter with Claire made me believe this was the real her, not the guarded woman who had stumbled onto my property and faced me like I was the enemy.
I pulled up to The Lazy Moose and then grabbed the dog treats and my wallet from the passenger seat.
Hank and the boys were crowded in a corner, laughing over something. It didn’t take long to figure out—it was his new boots. He was still going on about them, boasting about the custom-made pair, and I still couldn’t get over the sheer size of them.
When he spotted me, he broke away from the group to ask about the fundraiser and give me an update on the vet checks for the horses. Then he paused and really looked at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You okay, man?”
“Yeah. Why?”
He nearly let out a mocking laugh. “You’ve been grinning like a mule eatin’ briar since you walked in.”
I glanced at the window and caught my reflection.Jesus.Even I could tell I looked different. Though I couldn’t see the grin Hank mentioned, Iwashappy. Seeing Claire again didn’t just throw me off; it made me feel good. Really good.
“That’s what puppies and kittens do,” I deflected.
Hank snorted. “Puppies and kittens? Son, unless one of those puppies can bake or she’s got a twin sister, I ain’t buying it. That grin’s got ‘woman’ written all over it.”
I groaned. “I’ll see you later, Hank.”
“Yup, keep smiling, Romeo.” He waved me off with a laugh as I headed inside.
Koda greeted me the second I opened the door, his eyes wide and hopeful like he’d sniffed out the treats from a mile away.
“Yeah, of course, these are for you,” I said, tearing open the bag and handing him a few pieces. “They’re from her, you know.”
My phone buzzed on the table. Logan’s name lit up the screen, and I already knew where this was going to go.
“Hey, man!” His voice burst through, way too chipper for my mood. “You free tonight? Riley is cooking up a storm. You should come over.”
Log was lucky to be married to Riley. And anyone lucky enough to be at her table knew it. But I could smell the setup coming, just like Koda sniffing out those treats earlier. Just a few minutes of being around Claire already had me tripping over my own feet. I wasn’t about to add dinner table disasters to that. “I’ll pass, Log.”
“Come on,” he pressed. “Claire’s coming, too. You know, from the fundraiser?”
There it was, the sneaky son of a gun. He was trying to arrange a double date without even saying the words.
“No thanks.”
Logan chuckled, not missing a beat. “All right, all right. Thought I’d try. But listen, you should know, she’s renting The Willow.”
My blood ran cold. “She’s…what?”
“Yeah, The Willow,” Logan continued casually as though he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell. “She’s been staying there for a while now. Said she loves it.”
I couldn’t speak. The Willow. That place. The cottage that had haunted my memories for years—Claire was living there? My mind struggled to wrap itself around the thought. How could she stay in that place and not feel the weight of its history, of what happened?
“El?” Logan’s voice pulled me back. “You still there?”
I swallowed, finally finding my voice. “Yeah. I just…I didn’t know.”
“Well, now you do,” Logan said. “It’s a good thing, man. Maybe…I don’t know, maybe it’s time you face it.”
Face it.He had no idea. He couldn’t. But one thing was clear: Claire was staying in that place, and I’d been avoiding it for years.
