Page 39 of Cash

The monsters had been appeased.

For now.

The following morning, I stopped at The Bake Shoppe. It had become a routine. Coffee and a bear claw with Trudy. As she waited on a customer, I looked out the window.

He was there.

Staring back at me. His arms crossed over his broad chest. Leaning against his bike while he filled his bike with gas. Turning away, I focused on my food. But my appetite was gone.

I watched him from the corner of my eye as he placed the nozzle back in the pump. He twisted the cap on and then walked away from his bike.

In my direction.

Shit!

The sound of the bell over the door caused me to jolt. I stared at the tabletop, refusing to acknowledge the man who had walked in.

“Morning, Cash. What a surprise to see you here.” Trudy rushed around the counter and pulled him in for a hug.

“Morning, Miss Trudy. I was filling up my bike and when I looked in the window, something called out to me. I just had to come in.”

Asshole.

I knew what he was doing.

“Have you met Kytten?”

I closed my eyes, but not before Cash turned and looked directly at me. His smile was predatory, but panty-melting all the same.

“No, I can’t say I have.” He walked over and sat at the table across from me. “Good morning,Kytten.”

Trudy dropped off a coffee and a cinnamon roll in front of Cash. He murmured a thank you, but didn’t reach for either. He just stared at me, waiting for me to say hello.

I plastered the smile that I used on everyone across my face and stuck my hand out. “Hello.”

His hand swallowed mine, and a current streaked up my arm. I yanked my hand away, and he chuckled.

“So, what brings you to Diamond Creek,Kytten?”he asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

I avoided his question by popping a piece of the bear claw into my mouth. It tasted like ash. The sweet taste of the sugar and dough disappeared under his steely gaze.

“Kytten is traveling the country. A gap year, I think she called it.”

I smiled at Trudy, a silent thank you for answering, but it also stirred up the monsters. They felt the emotions I was trying to stifle. It was what woke them up.

“How old are you,Kytten?”

The way he kept using my road name stirred something inside me. But it wasn’t a good stirring. Not like when he said Rose. No, it felt like he was mocking me. Like he was using it against me.

I popped another piece of the pastry into my mouth, refusing to play his game.

“Twenty-one, right, Kytten?” Trudy asked, and I smiled at her. Almost. A few more weeks and I would be.

When I looked back at Cash, his eyes captivated me. They were darker. The light silver blue was more cobalt. His smile had disappeared. Replaced by a smirk that I didn’t know how to read.

I stood from my chair and gathered my trash.

“Just leave that there, honey. I’ll get it.”