“If you need a place to think,” Kammy said, standing, “this table’s yours.”
“Thank you,” I repeated.
She squeezed my shoulder once before walking away.
I sat there for a long moment, coffee warming my hands, watching the room. The way people leaned in to talk. The way laughter sounded just a little too forced in certain corners. The way no one met my gaze for too long. Asher’s words echoed again. You don’t understand who you’re dealing with. Maybe not. But I was learning how this town worked.
I wasn’t prepared to check out the place Kammy recommended, but I’d search it up and get more information, then head over there another night. For now, I finished my coffee, packed up my laptop, and headed back to my car. The ride to Maple Valley was short. I left my windows open, taking in the warm fresh air. This place felt so wholesome, but beneath the layers were buried secrets that I needed to reveal one step at a time.
When I pulled into Maple Valley, it didn’t take long for me to see Asher in the same place I had left him. He was on the ground doing push-ups with no shirt on. Holy hell, my whole body reacted. He was ripped. In the dark I couldn’t see what histattoos were, only that he had them on his arms. Arms that were pure muscle.
I parked my car and got out.
“Glad to see you’re in one piece,” he muttered.
“I met Kammy,” I countered.
“She’s good people,” he replied, but I didn’t need his opinion to know that.
“Have a good night,” I waved and walked to my cabin. I didn’t know why my skin felt so hot or why my heart picked up pace. Asher was an asshole, so I had no idea why my traitorous body was reacting. I closed the cabin door, locked it, then leaned on the other side of it. My mind went to the way he was doing those push-ups while carrying on a conversation with me, and my mouth watered before I could stop it. I was not going to let my boss invade my thoughts like that. Only my body clearly didn’t get the memo, because when I glanced down at my chest through the white tank top I was wearing, my nipples were so sharp they could slice glass.
CHAPTER 7
Claire
My alarm went off at four a.m. sharp. For half a second, I forgot where I was. Then my muscles reminded me. Orchard. Val-du-Lys. Early mornings that didn’t care how late your thoughts kept you awake. I groaned, rolled onto my side, and shut the alarm off before it could scream again. The cabin was still dark, the air cool enough that I pulled the blanket tighter for one last breath before forcing myself upright. Asher’s voice floated back into my head uninvited. You don’t understand who you’re dealing with. I swung my legs over the side of the bed.
“Neither do you,”I muttered to the empty room.
By the time I stepped outside, the sky was still ink-black, the orchard rows stretching out like quiet sentinels. The air smelled damp and sweet. Exhaustion clung to me, but it was a familiar kind now. I was halfway down the path when Elise appeared out of the shadows, already bundled up, hair tucked into a low braid.
“Morning,” she said.
“Barely,” I scoffed playfully.
She laughed. “You’ll get used to it.”
“I don’t know if that’s comforting or a warning.”
“Both,” she said easily.
A few rows later, Soleil joined us, walking backward for a few steps so she could face us.
“You look awake,” she said to me.
“I was sure I was sleepwalking,” I said.
She grinned and turned back around, falling into step beside Elise.
We worked through the morning without much talking. Just hands moving, ladders shifting, crates filling. There was something meditative about it the rhythm and the focus. The way your body learned what to do before your brain caught up. By the time the lunch break rolled around, my arms burned and my stomach reminded me I hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon. The barn felt welcoming when we stepped inside, sunlight pouring through the open doors. I washed my hands, then went straight to the fridge. Asher was already there, talking quietly with Jonah, his back to me.
I cleared my throat. “Hey.”
He turned, eyes flicking to my hands. To the brown paper bag I was holding.
“Yes?” he said.
“There are two sandwiches in the fridge,” I said. “For you.”