Page 80 of Caught in the Axe
I nodded. “Officer Fielder texted me and asked me to assure you he was okay. He’s at the hospital now.”
Sandra blushed at the mention of Officer Fielder.
Huh. Interesting.
Lila straightened and wrapped her arms around herself. “How does something like this even happen?”
I shrugged and tucked my phone back into my pocket. “He met with Gus a while back, I guess. Gus didn’t recognize him until the police showed him a copy of his driver’s license. I think he works in the area.” I didn’t mention that Chief Souza now wanted to question us about our company’s relationship with him or how that would only add to the dozen issues I was already dealing with.
Sandra smoothed Lila’s hair and kissed her once more. “I’ll call Bernice. Tell her you need tomorrow off. It’ll be good for you to take a day to rest.”
“I should go.” I could use some time to myself to process how the woman I loved had stumbled upon a man beaten unconscious on my family’s property, only yards from where I sat working. And I wasn’t sure I could even get into the complete shit show that was going down at the office right now.
“You should stay,” Lila said.
I shook my head. “Your mom’s got it covered. Can I bring you ladies anything?”
Sandra shook her head. “This one should probably get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll take it easy and have a Hallmark marathon.” She smiled at Lila. “Do it right. Full cozy girls’ day. Popcorn and snacks and PJs?”
“I’m fine, Mom.” She waved her off. “You don’t have tofuss.”
“Text me if you need anything.” The offer was lame, but what I really wanted to say was that I’d take care of her forever if she let me, and I was pretty certain that wouldn’t go over well.
Lila walked me to the door, and once I had my jacket slung over one arm, she looped her arms around my waist. I held on for a moment too long, soaking her in, just fucking thankful she was safe. Being chased by a moose and finding a man clinging to life all in one day was a lot, even for someone as tough as her.
She popped up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek. “Thank you, Owen.”
With one final goodbye, I walked back to my car, trying to make sense of my life.
In the last couple of weeks alone, she’d witnessed my panic attack in the closet and we’d had life changing, mind-blowing sex. And now all this.
This wasn’t the linear progression I was used to when it came to relationships. We’d never even had an official date, but our lives were intertwined in so many ways. I’d shown her parts of me that no one else had ever seen.
On paper, we made no sense. But when I was in her proximity, I felt more alive than I ever had. In the light moments, while we laughed about orgone and the Leech Museum, and the dark ones too.
The pain I still felt from the trauma and the anger and confusion over what my father had done to this town, the Gagnons, and our family, lessened when she was near.
The only thing that grew was the sense that the life I’d built away from my family and this town was a hollow one.
This was too much for me. I thrived on being in control, on having a plan and setting parameters and boundaries.
I entered and stayed in relationships on my terms and never pushed myself too far.
But this time, I’d gone too far, and there was no going back. I was in love with Lila Webster.
Chapter 27
Lila
Despite it being May third, I was snuggled up in a cardigan and old sweats and drinking hot tea. Outside, it was still cold and cloudy, and the mountains in the distance were still capped with snow.
It had been a while since Mom and I had time to just be together. We’d both been working so much that I’d barely seen her in months.
As much as I couldn’t wait to start my life somewhere else, the knowledge that my time with her was running out made my heart heavy. I’d moved back here to help her, to spend time with her, and I’d failed at it miserably.
Because the weather was getting us both down, all the movies we’d lined up for our Hallmark movie marathon were set at the beach or in other sunny locations. We’d pulled out all our favorite snacks and planned to do nothing but snuggle and zone out all afternoon. Despite my mother’s protests, I’d gone to work this morning, and my feet were aching from abusy shift at the diner and my mind was spinning with thoughts of Owen.
In the week since we’d returned from Boston, I’d been unsuccessful in putting emotional distance between us. If anything, the incident yesterday had brought us even closer.
