Page 59 of Runaway
And the promise rang all the way into the deepest caverns of my heart because it had the same echoes of trust that Mark had in himself. Maybe he really was rubbing off on me in great ways.
22
Mark
Leaves scattered past my feet as I crossed the parking lot of the Frolicking Moose and stepped inside. To the right, four women crowded around the back of a car. Three of them were bent to their phones, the fourth had her eyes darting at the coffee shop ahead of me, then back. Despite the chill, their short skirts fluttered in the wind.
I grinned.
This was better than I expected.
When I stepped inside, Ellie's light eyes peered at me from behind the counter, where she stood at the drive-thru window. Normally, she had a wild look in her eyes. She was a true child of the outdoors. I'd been hiking with her, and she'd always been a beast. There was a drive of competitiveness I admired about her, but something dim lived in her expression now. No doubt that had everything to do with Devin Blaine's unexpected departure.
“What're you doing here?” she asked, then passed a drink to someone outside. Ellie had always been tough and hard to impress, but now that Devin had ditched, she appeared to have moved to permanently pissed off.
“Hey, Ellie.”
She stared at me. I stepped up to the counter, which was a mixture of old and new. Some of the wooden beams that the construction company had pulled down from overhead were repurposed into new cabinetry to keep a mountain-like feel. Lizbeth had created half a dozen Pinnable boards that she talked about constantly while the Frolicking Moose went into full reconstruction in the spring and early summer. Instead of an old fishing stop pretending to be a coffee shop, the new Frolicking Moose had been reborn as mountain funky—a perfect blend of new and old.
That was Bethany—constantly turning things around and making them better. Maverick included.
“Mav is here, right?” I asked.
She nodded. “Upstairs.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you see the creep in the car?” she asked, tilting her head to the right with a scowl.
“Yeah, on my way in.”
“What's he want?” Her gaze darted to the clock above the front entrance. “I've tracked him there for twenty-three minutes. If he's there for seven more, I'm confronting him.”
Trust Ellie to know every single person that surrounded her and for what amount of time.
“He's not here to cause trouble foryou,” I said. “I recognize him.”
Her lips rounded into an O when understanding dawned. The guy was a reporter at the Jackson City Gazette. He'd done a piece on Adventura after it opened up.
“You doing good?” I asked. “I miss having you at Adventura with your sister.”
Ellie’s lips thinned. There were all kinds of unspoken sentences there.With Devin, I could have added, but didn't.Miss seeing you joke around with him. Miss the way he always made you laugh so much.
“Great,” she muttered, then softened. “And thanks. I'll head out your way soon.”
“Hey, I'm sorry about Devin.”
If her jaw tightened any further, her teeth would snap. She shot me the coldest of glares, but I ignored it. Ellie was just like my dad, all bluster.
“Did you want something to drink?” she asked frostily. I headed for the hallway and called over my shoulder as I slipped to the back.
“Not today, thanks!”
The short hallway led to a pair of winding spiral stairs that the fire hadn't touched. From the loft came the low murmur of male voices. While I climbed, I forced my heart to slow and my mind to calm. If I wanted to take this opportunity, I had to beverycareful, and very casual. I grabbed the newspaper that I'd balled up in my back pocket as I took the last few stairs.
When I reached the top, an open door into a brand new loft greeted me. Two brothers, equal in height, stood with their backs to me. Maverick, the one with the half-metal leg, stood on the right side of the room and studied paint cans with a tilted head. Benjamin, his younger brother, held a roller in his hands. Ben was tighter and more bound, like a fighter. His hair was cropped close to his face these days, but I'd seen it in between fights, when it was occasionally longer.
“Mav, you suck at colors,” Benjamin said. “What is fuschia anyway?”
