Evie tapped the end of her pen on her open textbook, head shaking. Her blond ponytail traced a path from one shoulder to the other, a path Hayden’s hand wanted to follow. “That’s depressing. Do you ever wonder if emotions are the same way?”
Hayden paused, needing to hear the tenor of the conversation before announcing himself. He moved to the counter and picked up a small menu.
“What do you mean?” the big man asked.
“If the body remembers old wounds, even when the brain tells you you’re okay, could feelings work similarly?” Evie presented her question urgently. “Can the brain set aside emotional wounds for months or years, but with the right trigger, all that angst and anxiety can come roaring back and blindside you? Keeping you from…let’s say, being able to love.”
Is she talking about me?
Hayden lowered his cowboy hat brim.
“I think that’s in one of the psych courses,” the big man replied. “Are you asking out of curiosity or for personal reasons?”
Hayden glanced over his shoulder, noting Evie’s blush.
She is talking about me.
Love is dangerous, he reminded himself.
At least she hadn’t named names.
“What can I get you, Hayden?” Asked Beverly, one of the elderly waitresses that had worked at the Sagebrush Café forever.
“Hayden?” Evie sounded as if she had mixed feelings about him being here. “Is something wrong with Irene?”
“No. I was picking up groceries.” He spun on that barstool. “I stopped but I…didn’t want to interrupt.” A bold-faced lie. He tried not to glare at her hunky study partner.
Evie introduced him to Ted. “I guess this is my cue to get going.” She gathered her things while thanking Ted effusively for all his help.
Her praise rankled almost as much as her asking Ted if Hayden’s obstacle to being able to love her or…someone…was tied to the hurts of his past.
They bid Ted farewell.
Hayden walked Evie to her car.
“You were checking up on me,” Evie told him, bypassing questions and accusations and moving right to the point. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Should I? With my track record?”
“Oh, Hayden.” Evie laid her palm on his cheek, her touch reassuring. “When someone leaves you, that doesn’t go on your record.”
He didn’t want to talk about this. “Are you going to study with Ted again?”
“You are jealous.” Evie crossed her arms, expression turning stern. “I’m not going to hurt you, Hayden. I wouldn’t know how.”
This was a good start. Her meeting with another man.
Hayden didn’t dare say that out loud. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Evie and held her close. “I don’t like it when we fight.”
“We’re not fighting,” Evie said into his chest. “You’ll know when we’re fighting. Just like I know when you’re jealous.” She drew back, smiling up at him. “That makes up for you telling Irene you can’t love anyone for fear of being hurt.”
“Or hurting someone else.” Someone like Evie.
It wasn’t until they parted ways that Hayden realized he hadn’t protested her hypothesis about jealousy being connected to love.
Chapter Ten
The day of the Spring Festival dawned, promising clear blue skies.