Page 2 of Goose's Wren

They find me instantly, and for a brief moment, there’s a flicker of something, before it vanishes beneath a wall of ice.His entire body goes rigid, shoulders squaring like he’s bracing for a hit.His jaw tightens, and those deep, stormy eyes go hard, unreadable.

Shit.

I knew this moment was coming, but I didn’t expect it to feel like this.You’d think with the way he’s acting, I had something to do with what went wrong between him and Sparrow.Sparrow’s bullshit was always causing me problems.Why should now be any different?

I don’t know what I thought would happen.Maybe he’d brush me off, act indifferent, treat me like some random customer.But this?This silent, heavy tension that coils in the air between us like a snake ready to strike?It’s worse.

Goose drags his gaze from me to my bike, his eyes scanning over it like he’s looking for a reason to ignore my presence altogether.When he speaks, his voice is gravelly and short.

“What’s wrong with it?”

I blink, caught off guard by the way he doesn’t say my name at all.Doesn’t ask why I’m here.Just straight to business.

Torque, sensing the tension, clears his throat.“Looks like her old bike’s about ready to give up the ghost.”

Goose doesn’t look at Torque.Doesn’t look at me either.

“How long’s it been stalling?”

I cross my arms, ignoring the way my stomach twists.“A while.”

His jaw flexes, and I swear I see his fingers tighten into fists before he shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

For a second, nobody says anything.The weight of whatever this is presses down on me, but I refuse to be the first one to crack.

Finally, Goose exhales sharply through his nose and strides forward, crouching beside my bike like this is just another job.Like I’m just another person.Someone he doesn’t even know.

And for some reason, that stings more than I thought it would.

Fine.If Goose wants to act like I don’t exist beyond the busted bike sitting in front of him, then so be it.

I square my shoulders and turn away from him, forcing my voice to stay light as I look at Torque instead.“Think you guys can fix it?”

Torque glances at Goose, then back at me, rubbing the back of his neck.“Yeah, we’ll take a look at it.Give us a couple days, and we’ll let you know what we find.”

I nod, shifting on my feet.That’s it, then.No reason to stick around and make this more uncomfortable than it already is.

“Alright,” I say, keeping my voice casual.“Guess I’ll check back later.”

I don’t bother looking at Goose.He made it clear enough where we stand.Instead, I turn on my heel and start walking away, my boots kicking up little puffs of dust from the gravel lot.

The late morning sun is warm on my back, but it does nothing to ease the cold, tight feeling settling in my chest.It shouldn’t bother me.The way he shut down, the way he refused to acknowledge that I’m not just some random customer.It shouldn’t matter to me so much.

But it does.

I push the thought away and focus on the sound of my own footsteps, steady and even as I head down the road.I don’t have to turn around to know.I can feel the weight of his gaze as I leave.

Goose

I wasn’t expecting to see her here.Not now.Not ever.

So when I stepped outside and saw Wren standing there next to that barely-running bike, shock hit me like a gut punch.

My first reaction?Anger.

Not at her.Not exactly.It’s Sparrow’s fault.She’s the one who tore through my life like a goddamn hurricane, leaving nothing but wreckage in her wake.

She’s the one who cheated on me, married that rich prick, and never looked back.Wren left town not long after that, if I remember right.At the time, I didn’t care where she went.I didn’t care about much of anything.I was too pissed at the world, too drunk to give a damn.

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