Page 6 of After You

Derek nodded. “We can stay open ’til then. But we can also choose to shut down early.”

Hannah looked around the room. It seemed that everyone else had cleared out except for the table where Peyton Wells was still on her laptop.

Derek caught her glance at Peyton. “We can also choose who gets to stay after hours.”

Ouch. Yeah, she hadn’t asked. But Derek had taken the opportunity to point out her demotion in his life anyway. “Got it.” And she did. She was his best friend’s ex. That was easy enough to understand. She closed out of the file for chapter one of Kade’s new book. “We’ll just get out ofhere.”

Derek gave her a single nod and headed back to thebar.

She watched him go, feeling a funny sense of loss. She hadn’t talked to Derek in three years. Maybe even longer than that. While she’d been in college, she and Kyle had made trips home and hung out with friends and family, but once she’d been accepted to PT school in Washington and he’d started med school, getting home had been more sporadic. Still, she suddenly missed Derek, and the way he used to tease her and flirt with her to piss Kyle off, and his always inappropriate but hilarious comments and jokes. Shit. This trip was going to be hard. If Derek being indifferent made her miss things, she was going to have a hell of a time resisting all the charm and good things in Sapphire Falls.

She and Kade packed their stuff and headed out into the warm May night. They started across the grass between the jail and City Hall that would lead them to Main Street and the town square. One of those charming, good things that she’d definitely missed.

Kade didn’t say anything until they were at the gazebo.

“You sure you really want to dothis?”

She knew exactly what “this” was.

“This” was all of it. Coming back here, getting involved with her family again, seeing Kyle. And she didn’t want to talk about it. Again. Unfortunately, they were still a good six blocks from where they were staying.

Hannah took a deep breath. “We’re not going over this every day for the next six weeks. My grandma needs me. I’m here. I’ll get her through the hard part and then you and I will go back to Seattle and everything will be fine. I can do anything for six weeks. And so can you,” she said, shooting him a look. “Besides, you’re behind on your deadline. This is the perfect place to hole up and write abook.”

He’d joked to his editor, Sonya, while Hannah had been in the room that maybe what he needed to get back on track with his writing was a new series. And that maybe he’d set it in the tiny little town in the middle of America that Hannah was dragging him to for six weeks.

Hannah had given him the finger.

His agent, Mark, had given him two six-figure offers from two different publishing houses the nextday.

So, he was now writing a book set in Aquamarine Ridge—though Hannah was absolutely going to make him change that name before it went to Sonya.

“Yeah.” Kade looked around the town square.

The gazebo was the heart of the town, set right in the middle of the square that was bordered by the main highway on the south side, Main Street on the north, City Hall on the east, and other businesses, including the post office, on the west. From here they could see all of the main businesses in town—Dottie’s Diner, Anderson’s Hardware, the grocery store, the clothing shop—and the backside of the bakery that sat along the highway beside a furniture shop and other specialty businesses.

“I think I’ve seen all the sights already,” Kade said. “Not many distractions.”

Hannah laughed and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him with her as she continued across the square. “Stop it. It’s small. But there’s a lothere.”

“Well, there is a lot of land where a body could be hidden.”

She looped her arm through his as they walked. She knew he was talking about his book, but she said, “There is that. So watch yourself. Sonya’s the only one who knows you’re here, and she gets frustrated enough with you to understand if someone who’s been cooped up with you on airplanes and in a rental car suddenly snapped.”

He chuckled and she relaxed. This was not an ideal situation. For either of them. She got that. But she needed Kade here with her. They’d been through much worse than her facing her family and hometown again. They’d been through rehab together. And she’d literally saved his life. Just as a for instance.

And because of that life-saving moment, he couldn’t be apart from her for six weeks anyway. He would have been on his way to Nebraska after two weeks away from her. He believed she was his muse and that he’d never have another bestseller withouther.

It was true that his writing career had taken off after Hannah had restarted his heart on the floor of his apartment two years and two months ago. But it had a lot more to do with him kicking his opioid addiction and his renewed sense of purpose and passion than it did with her. Still, his superstition was part of why he was here. Not the free room or the copious amounts of coffee. He cared about her and knew this would be tough for her. And he didn’t believe he could write a good book withouther.

He was full of crap, but whatever. As long as he was here, whatever the reason, she wouldn’t end up opening a pill bottle. Or begging Kyle to take herback.

“So, I’m going to need some local flavor,” Kade said. “I might head out on the town tomorrow while you’re with your grandma.”

“No way. Sapphire Falls isn’t ready foryou.”

“Oh, it’s not the other way around?”

She nodded. “Totally the other way around too. But without a stern pep talk before you step out the door, you’ll end up making one of the Blue Brigade ladies cry or saying something horrible about Dottie’s potpies or admitting that you know nothing about football and you’ll end up with a fork in your forehead.”

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