“They’re going. Work is fine, and now that we’re out of that motel, Cora’s been sleeping better.”
“That’s good! Y’all deserve to get good rest, and the Sunset Motel is no place for a little kid. Or you, for that matter.” Shesounds firm about that, and I can only imagine what Lincoln told her about the place. “I heard you might be leaving soon?”
I look at her and realize she’s definitely been talking to Lincoln or one of the others about me to have heard that. “Yeah,” I tell her. “Probably soon. Just waiting to hear about this part for my car, and then I guess that’s it.”
“It’s too bad,” Lainey says.
“What do you mean?”
“Just that I’ll miss you.” She smiles at me as we step into the diner. “And I haven’t seen Lincoln this happy in a while.”
That catches me off guard, and I rack my brain, trying to think of times when Lincoln seemed happy. He’s usually hard to read or neutral at best, although I guess when he’s with the other two Alphas he tends to laugh and smile more. But that doesn’t have anything to do with me.
We get waved into a booth, and I finally look up to ask Lainey what she means. “He’s been happier?”
She nods. “Definitely. Lincoln’s got a rough job, you know? It takes a toll physically and emotionally. He sees people’s whole lives destroyed. Their families torn apart because someone left the stove on overnight or a log rolled out of the fireplace. Sometimes because of something as simple as bad wiring. There was a bad fire about a year and a half ago. One of the worst in a while, and he lost someone he worked with.”
My eyebrows climb up my forehead to hear that. I had no idea. Of course being a firefighter isn’t easy, but I didn’t know he was carrying it to that extent. I guess that explains the shadows he’s been dealing with.
“That’s awful,” I murmur.
Lainey nods again. “Yeah. He doesn’t talk about any of it, of course, but I know him. I think having you and Cora around has given him something to be glad about.”
I don’t really know what to say to that. I guess it’s good that we’re not just a burden, taking up space in his home, but I never considered the idea that it could be good for him, and not just a favor he and the others were doing for me and Cora.
Luckily, I’m saved from having to come up with something by a tall older woman coming in with a dog on a leash. It’s one of those big, fluffy golden retrievers, and Cora’s eyes immediately go wide. Her head whips around to me, and I don’t need her to say anything to know she’s begging to go say hello.
She turns back to stare longingly at the dog, who settles down right underneath the table Dolly shows its owner to. The woman catches sight of Cora and smiles. “It’s all right, Sunshine is very friendly. You can pet him if it’s okay with your mother.”
“Be gentle,” I remind Cora, and that’s all she needs to slide out of her seat in the booth and go scampering over to kneel under the table with the dog.
Lainey and I both watch for a while, and my heart goes warm at the soft way Cora strokes the dog’s ears. Sunshine turns, presenting her with more of its head and neck to pet, and she makes a delighted little noise, pushing both of her little hands into its plush fur.
“She’s good with animals,” Lainey says with a smile.
“She loves them,” I tell her. “You saw her with that cow the other day. She can be shy around people, but show her a dog or a cow or a cat, and she’s in heaven.”
“That’s so sweet. Have you ever thought about?—”
Whatever she was going to say is cut off by Dolly coming over. She’s just as much a force of nature as she was the first time Cora and I came in here, pulling her notepad out of her apron and smiling brightly.
“And what can I get you two lovely ladies this afternoon?” she asks, slipping in to sit down next to Lainey.
I realize I haven’t even checked the menu yet and smile apologetically. “Let Lainey go first,” I tell her. “I’ll be ready by then.” I’m mentally preparing myself to order soup or something else quick and cheap, but as if she can read my mind, Dolly interjects.
“Sheriff Kane and his guys have a standing tab for you,” she says. “So you just go ahead and order whatever you want, all right?”
My cheeks flush with embarrassment. “They didn’t have to do that,” I mumble.
Dolly grins. “They didn’t. But they’re good men, so they did it anyway.”
“Silver Falls is lucky to have men that good.”
“We are, and don’t worry, most of us know it,” she replies.
Lainey grins. “If you tell the three of them how good they are, they get all shy about it too. It’s cute.”
I duck my head, not wanting to think about how ‘cute’ they may or may not be. Luckily, the conversation moves to ordering.