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As it was, I was still getting used to dark hair. I’d redyed it in the motel bathroom on the drive up here, and though I’d been dyeing it for years, I’d never had a color this dark. On the one hand, it was striking. On the other hand, it didn’t really feel like me.

“Well,” he said, “I’m sorry we don’t need anyone for that position anymore. But I know the owner of the local coffee shop, and if that’s something you’re interested in, I’ll happily put in a good word for you.”

I looked up at him. “Really?”

“Of course,” he said with a smile. “And since you’re new to the area and we have the room, you’re welcome to stay in one of the guest houses here until you’re on your feet.”

“Oh, I—”

He stood and moved to the wall where a rack hung like something out of an old-fashioned hotel: a wooden frame of rectangle cubbies that each held a key.

“You’re free to think about it,” he said, picking up one of the keys and walking it back to me. “There’s no pressure, and no one will be offended if you say no. But you won’t be bothering anyone either.”

He held out the key, and I took it, in a daze. This whole meeting had thrown me sideways, like I’d gotten caught in a tornado.

“This is for the Bitterroot House. Follow the road down, and you’ll see a sign on the left. I hope I’ll see you around, Evelyn.”

He strode away from me to the stairs across the room and disappeared up them without so much as a look back. I blinked. Maybe I’d imagined the whole thing. But no, I was still standing in this house with a key in my hand, which meant that Lucas was real.

Beautiful and real.

I didn’t know how to feel about that. Or about the key in my hand.

But what I did know was that even with my nerves, Lucas didn’t make me feel afraid in the way I was used to. And that was saying a lot.

Chapter 4

Lucas

I forced myself not to look back at her as I walked up the stairs. She needed the freedom to make this decision without the weight of any expectation from me. But I was hoping that she said yes.

Evelyn was a mystery. My instincts hadn’t stopped screaming, and she was clearly hiding something. But I didn’t think she was dangerous, or that she was here to do Resting Warrior any kind of harm. I think it was simply good luck that she’d stumbled into a place where we could help her.

Pushing open the door to the office, I ignored the fact that Daniel and Harlan were clearly on a call. Daniel raised an eyebrow as I passed. Whatever Evelyn decided, I needed to see it.

“Okay, thanks,” Daniel said. “Do you need anything else or can we follow up with you next week?”

“That’s fine,” the voice on the call said.

“Have a good day,” Daniel said, and the call ended with a click. “What’s going on?”

I watched the front of the lodge like it was a target. Evelyn was running from something. The fact settled on me, satisfying the itch of my questions. I would bet a lot of money on the fact that she was on the run from something bad.

She was used to hiding her reactions, but I’d seen them. When I’d startled her, she’d jumped so hard I’d thought she might bolt like that horse down in the stables. All in all, she’d played it off well. Clearly, she’d had a lot of practice. But that didn’t change the fact that she was so stiff a harsh breeze could have knocked her over.

The movements were brutally familiar. My mother had spent so much of her life covering the fact that she was on edge that I’d never forgotten the way it looked.

Someone had hurt Evelyn.

Rage flooded my system, and I held myself still so I didn’t go vaulting back down the stairs to demand she tell me who it was.

What the fuck was that?

The surge of protective energy drilled through my veins. I crossed my arms and froze. I’d never felt anything like this before, and certainly not for someone I didn’t know.

My mind went over her reactions. And her face. She was beautiful, even though she was trying to hide it. I didn’t want to scare her. I wanted her to feel safe with me. And that’s why I couldn’t look away from the window now. I needed to know what choice she would make.

“You alive in there?” Daniel asked, stepping next to me at the window.