Page 16 of Knot Your Sugar Rush
“She was younger. Ran around town with her sister. Azalea.”
“Zae,” Jamie confirms, softer now.
I nod slowly. Memories unfurl—sun-drenched afternoons, the Vale twins skipping stones at the lake, their laughter bouncing off the water. Azalea was loud, radiant, the kind of girl who never whispered when she could sing. Cam was quieter. But her eyes missed nothing. They’d been younger so not of interest, but theirenthusiasm had permeated the town with something cozy, so of course I’d noticed them.
“She used to follow Zae everywhere,” I murmur. “Always had a notebook or candy in her hands.”
Dane sits down on the armrest across from me. “Zae passed, didn’t she? Few years back.”
“Yeah,” Jamie says. “Car accident, I think. Cam left town after that.”
And now she’s back. Stirring up the dust and memory like she’s always belonged here. Like the town waited quietly for her return.
“You’re brooding,” Dane says.
“I’m thinking.”
Jamie tosses a popcorn kernel at my head. “You’re always thinking. It’s exhausting.”
“It’s called being observant.” I protest.
“It’s called stewing in your own darkness,” Dane says dryly.
I exhale a sigh and look toward the window. The fields are gold and green this time of day, and the lake beyond the trees catches light like a mirror.
“Thinking of running again?” Dane asks, his voice low. Not judging. Just... knowing.
I shrug. “Maybe.”
Jamie leans forward, elbows on his knees. “You know you won’t find better coffee than mine out there.”
I snort. “That’s not a reason to stay.”
Jamie’s grin tilts. “What if I gave you one?”
I lift a brow, already suspicious.
I lift a brow, already suspicious.
“Cam needs help. Shelving. Fixtures. Electrical work. You’re the best at that.”
“Mm-hmm,” I say.
Dane adds, a little too casually, “Might be good for you to help someone who’s trying to rebuild. Might remind you there’s still good here.”
I narrow my eyes. “Are you two matchmaking?”
Jamie raises his hands. “What? No! We’re landlords. This is professional.”
Dane smirks. “Mostly.”
I look between them, reading the truth in their not-so-innocent faces. There’s something about the way Jamie can’t sit still and the way Dane keeps glancing at me like he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
My last relationship hadn’t ended well. They’d helped me rebuild, and I had to trust they had my best interests at heart. Even if that could also prove annoying.
“I’ll go,” I say finally. “I’ll check it out. Help her if she needs it.”
Jamie whoops. “Yes!”
