Page 57 of Coffee Shop Girl
He growled and advanced on me, but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. Seconds later, a broad back blocked my view of Jim. I let out a long, steady breath of relief.
“Time for you to go,” Maverick growled.
One easy shove, and Jim stumbled back against one of the tables like a slinky. For a second, I thought he’d retaliate. But a quick survey of Maverick’s shoulders seemed to give him pause. Eventually, he righted himself, peering around Maverick.
“I’ll be back,” he hissed.
Maverick advanced a step, and Jim shuffled back with a petulant glare. He threw open the door and stalked back to his truck. Once he started driving away, I hurried around the counter and strode to the window. I wanted to watch him leave. His truck disappeared with a belch of inky smoke.
My body trembled as if it wanted to shake all my organs loose. Maverick walked up behind me. I could feel his chest at my back, only a breath away.
“You all right, Bethany?”
I don’t know what made me do it. What made me lose all sense of reason. Resilience had been woven into the fabric of my life. I’d weathered Dad losing his leg. Pappa’s funeral. Mama’s funeral. Had endured the loss of Dad all by myself.
But in that moment, my strength disappeared.
I spun and pressed into him, wrapping my arms around his back. I buried my face in his chest and tried to close any space between us.
As if I had that liberty.
“No,” I whispered.
His heavy arm wrapped around my shoulders. “He’s gone,” he murmured. “You’re safe.”
For that moment, I believed it. Because both of his arms came around me, hugging me closer. My head fit into his shoulder, brushing the bottom of his jaw, like a puzzle. He put a hand on my neck and stroked his thumb back and forth in an oddly soothing gesture.
The heady scent of pine calmed me. For now, Jim was gone. Maybe he’d stay away, maybe he wouldn’t. But for now, we’d bought some time.
School,he’d said.Get them back before school starts.
* * *
“Girls?”
The attic door flew open the moment I tapped it. Lizbeth stood there, shaking. Tears streaked her face. She clutched her favorite romance novel to her chest, a well-loved thing that she’d hauled all the way here in the back pocket of her jeans like a comfort blanket.Love’s True Whisper. Its edges were curled, the spine torn, half the cover missing.
“Is he gone?”
“Gone.” I put a hand on her face. “Gone for the rest of the summer.”
She relaxed. Tears filled her eyes again before she threw her arms around me with a sob. I held her for a moment, feeling her thin body shake against mine the way I’d clung to Maverick. My entire body still burned with the feel of him, the smell of pine heady.
“Just seeing him.” She shuddered. “I ... feel so much. I thought I could go back but ... I can’t, Bethie. I can’t go back.”
“I’m sorry, Lizbeth.”
Behind her, the room lay empty. When she pulled away, I advanced in a panic. “Where’s Ellie?”
Lizbeth gestured to the closet door, which I pulled open. A dark lump sat on the ground. I reached down, pulling the ratty black blanket up to find Devin and Ellie next to each other. He had his arm around her, lips pulled into a frown. She shook, her teeth chattering and her gaze averted.
I crouched down.
“He’s gone, Ellie. He already left. Maverick is downstairs to make sure that he stays away.”
She blinked, seeming years away. Then her gaze registered again, hardening. “You said he wouldn’t come!” she cried.
“I said, ‘I wouldn’t let him take you.’”
