Page 6 of The Coffee Bar on Camellia Court

Clenching his teeth, Alex slung an arm around the guy's broad shoulders and let him half-carry him off the road. By the time Alex dropped gingerly into one of Juno's patio chairs, his stomach was churning from the pain, and he was feeling woozy again. He leaned forward, not quite putting his head between his knees, but close enough that it helped.

"I need my shirt." He didn't lift his head. "And some water, please."

"Here you go, Alex." It was Poppy, the pretty girl who worked for Juno, who had a not-so-secret crush on him. Great. Was his humiliation not yet complete? "Do you need a wet washcloth? I can get you some ice. Or anything else?"

"He's good, Poppy," he heard Juno say, maybe a little impatiently. "I've got it from here. Are Mr. and Mrs. Carrol doing all right?"

"They seem fine to me," Poppy said. "They're inside with a couple of your new lemon blueberry scones—which they love, by the way. They can't stop raving about them, and now half the people in there have ordered one. So woo-hoo for you!"

"Good. Thank you. I'm going to take Alex to urgent care. Can you hold down the fort for me?"

"Sure," Poppy said quickly. "Or I can take him, if you'd rather stay?"

Alex straightened slowly and shot what he hoped was a warning look at Juno. Poppy was legal, sure, but even so, she was way too young for him. Besides, he was in no condition to defend himself if she made any kind of advances toward him. Not that she would—Poppy was a nice girl—but Alex wasn't stupid. He knew how easily a casual interaction could be misconstrued, and Poppy had made it evident on more than one occasion that if he was interested, she was available.

"I've got it from here," Juno repeated, apparently comprehending his wide-eyed response. "But please keep me updated on the Carrols."

A siren sounded in the distance. She turned to Alex. "Are you sure you don't want to go in the ambulance? You're a little green around the gills, you big lug."

He shook his head. "If you'll take me, that would be great. You sure it's not a problem?" He hated pulling her from her work, but him sitting here like a helpless child wasn't getting anyone anywhere fast.

"I'm sure." Juno pointed a finger at him. "Sit tight, and I'll go get my car."

"I can stay with him," Poppy offered eagerly, still lingering close by.

Bobby stepped in, thank goodness. "I'll wait with him. I've got to get his statement," he told Poppy.

Alex pointed across the street. "My keys are in the cup holder. We can take The Beast." To have Juno alone in his truck again? It was a dream come true, although no matter how many times he'd imagined it, none of his wildest dreams had been of her rescuing him.

Juno seemed to shimmer a little… actually, nope. She shuddered. At the thought of riding in The Beast with him? He heard another unsettling pop, this time only in his head. It was the sound of the bubble of hope bursting inside of him.

"That's all right." She pulled her car keys from her pocket. "I'll be right back." She started for the door of the coffee shop, Poppy on her heels, then turned back and said, "I'll grab your shirt and lock your truck for you, too."

3

Juno

Junotookaquickglance around her, narrowing her eyes toward Tip-Top Talon's large front window, but as far as she could tell, no one could see her from where she stood inside the open passenger door of The Beast. Alex had a UV protector screen propped up in his front windshield, which also blocked his view of her from where he sat at one of her patio tables across the street. She hesitated, Alex's rumpled shirt in one hand, his keys in the other. No one would know if she just…

She pressed the shirt to her nose and inhaled. Alex. Under the hint of laundry detergent and sunshine was the unique and still achingly familiar scent of warm flesh, fresh sawdust, and that woodsy cologne he'd worn since high school. The same scent that used to linger in her nostrils after a long drive pressed against his side, inside this very truck.

The Beast smelled the way she remembered, too, and although the truck had definitely aged in the last fifteen years, other than the worn floorboard mats, it didn't look any the worse for wear. The seat cushions were all intact, the steering wheel wasn't peeling or flaking, and the dashboard wasn't faded or cracked. There was a large black toolbox on the floor behind the driver's seat and some scrap lumber in the bed of the truck, but all in all, it looked to Juno like Alex took exceptional care of The Beast.

She'd been surprised to find him still driving the same pickup when she'd returned to Autumn Lake eight years ago. It had been his brother's truck back in high school, but Alex had been given permission—along with death threats if he allowed anything to happen to it—to drive it while Jason was away in the military. Alex must have bought it from Jason at some point, she guessed, and although she wouldn't admit it out loud, she was more than a little pleased the first time she saw Alex pull up outside her coffee shop behind the wheel of The Beast. Surprised, yes, but secretly thrilled at the memories the sight of the two of them stirred up in her.

Enough. "Get it together, Thomas," she muttered, holding the shirt away from her face. She had an injured man waiting, Bobby standing guard, and a coffee shop full of customers watching this little drama unfold, plus whatever clients Sonya had in her treatment chairs at the moment. This was no time for a trip down memory lane.

She shook out the shirt, folded it neatly over her arm, then locked the truck behind her. Back inside her own car, she laid the shirt on the passenger seat, letting her fingertips linger on the collar for an extra moment, then pulled out of Sonya's parking lot and across the street to where Alex and Bobby waited for her.

By the time she'd parked at the curb, Alex was already standing, one hand gripping the back of the chair he'd been sitting in, presumably for balance, since it looked to her like he wasn't putting any weight on his injured ankle. Even from inside her car, she could see the tight lines around his mouth, and the way he was trying—and failing—to hide how much pain he was in. The usually upbeat Officer Bobby was eyeing him with a furrowed brow, concern evident in his expression.

"Typical," Juno muttered under her breath as she got out and circled the car. "Just smile and pretend everything is fine when it clearly isn't." She grabbed his shirt—why had she bothered folding it?—then climbed out of the car. Through the window of the coffee shop, she could see that all her customers were watching her, but she tried to ignore them.

She tossed the shirt at Alex and he just barely caught it with his free hand. "Put that on before you scare away my customers." She hadn't meant to be so…aggressiveabout it, but she was having all sorts of conflicting emotions right now, and she was struggling with how to comport herself. Which irked her fiercely, making her feel even more contrary; she prided herself on her typically steady composure.

Alex, balancing on one foot, said, "I can't. My shoulder's pretty roughed up back there. It's starting to burn something fierce." He draped the t-shirt over his uninjured shoulder and gave her a mischievous look. "Will this work?"

Not completely heartless, Juno nodded tersely. "Of course. Yes. I forgot about the road rash." Glancing over at Bobby, she asked, "Got everything you need from him?"

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