Page 20 of The Gloaming

Once I’d scraped the ice off my car windscreen, it didn’t take long to get to Jolt. The sun had only just breached the horizon in my rearview mirror, and by the time I pulled up its pale glow was beginning to reflect off the gold lettering on the glass front door. The shop was warmer than I’d expected inside as I scooped up the pile of junk mail and bills that must have been delivered the previous afternoon.

Sorting through the bits and pieces, one envelope in particular stood out. Palest blue. Heavy textured paper. Expensive. I sliced open the top with a knife and a single sheetfluttered to the ground. The sloping cursive was unfamiliar, but the name and phone number at the bottom were clear enough.

It is not as it may have appeared. Please call at your earliest convenience.

Adam Locke

Shit. It hadn’t even occurred to me that Adam might have seen me at Maggie’s. He’d seemed almost as on edge as I was, but that was all I could really remember, what with Wyatt showing up. I couldn’t think of anything else he could be referring to, though. Maybe my observational skills were on the fritz.

The bell over the door jingled merrily and I glanced at the clock on my phone. It was only just seven – well before opening time, even if we were open today. But the person walking through the door wasn’t exactly a regular.

“Well, if it isnae my midnight wanderer.”

Standing near the door with his face in shadow, the smile in his already familiar voice was clear. Even in the dim light, there was something easy about the way he moved as he stepped inside, all quiet confidence. His presence made the shop feel smaller.

“Cole, right?” He knew I knew his name. But what else was I supposed to say?

“The verra one.” Walking toward the counter, he took in the shop with apparent interest. “So, this is where you spend your days, eh?”

I shoved the blue paper deep into my satchel and pulled the leather flap down, suddenly over-conscious of the drawing still inside. “Mostly the ones that end in ‘y’, yeah. We’re not actually open—”

“I didnae think so at this hour,” he interrupted. “But I spotted ye through the glass and had to say hello.” As he spoke, he leaned against the worn wood of the counter, the movement drawing my eyes to the way his shirt pulled taut across his broad shoulders. His green and gold eyes danced with amusement as he watched me right back. I found myself noticing details I’d missed in the dark – how his mahogany hair caught the golden shades of the light, curling a little at the back of his neck, and the strong forearms revealed beneath his rolled-up sleeves when he removed his coat. “Seems you’re on my route home. Night shift.”

“Just happened to be passing, did you?” I tried not to sound as flustered as I felt.

“I doubt anything ‘just’ happens around you, lass.” The corner of his mouth twitched.

I resisted a small smile, unsure what to say. Today was supposed to be about Jonathan, and yet here I was, tongue-tied over a stranger who happened to remind me of him.Get a grip, Erin.

Cole studied me over the top of the till, his quiet assessment accompanied by a faint crooked smile. I thought back to the odd look he’d given me before, the one I’d interpreted as disbelief. I still didn’t understand it.

“How’re ye farin’? After your fall, and all?”

I raised both eyebrows and shrugged. “I’m walking and talking. My ankle’s still dodgy, but I’ll live.”

He nodded, still studying me. “Aye, you seem well enough.”

“Do you want a coffee?” I asked, turning away from him to busy myself washing the cups. “This is a coffee shop, after all.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” he replied. “No sure the caffeine’ll do me much good at this point.” I watched his reflection in the shiny chrome of the espresso machine as he straightened and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “Need any help?”

I shot him a quick grin. “Chivalrous as ever, eh?”

His eyes twinkled, and he made his way around the counter. “If you say so, lass.”

I pointed him to an apron, and once he’d tied it on, we got to work in amiable silence. It was bizarre, having him here like this. I didn’t really know anything about him, except that he was pretty good under pressure and smelledgreat– like the forest after a storm, or something. But he was also infinitely better company than I’d had of late.

As I scrubbed at a particularly stubborn coffee stain on a mug, I glanced over at him carefully stacking plates.

“So… night shift. And handy in a crisis. But you said you’re not a doctor?” I asked, unable to contain my curiosity.

Cole’s mouth twitched into that half-smile that was becoming dangerously familiar. “I think you’ll find I said nothing o’ the sort.”

“Evasive too. Intriguing.”I raised an eyebrow at him, resting against the counter.

“Aye, well that seems to be fair common these days.” Hethrew me a thoughtful look, his eyes bright even in the dim morning light. “Out for a walk in the middle o’ the night, and all that.”

Okay, fair point.I turned back to the sink, returning to the impossible-to-shift stain.

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