Page 67 of Hand Picked
“If Ben Pond comes back to town,” Ms. Fortum said severely, “I’m going to give him a verylargepiece of my mind.”
“And now his mom’s coming to visit?” Marco gasped. “Lord.”
“Exactly. Just hang tight while I go take care of him, okay?”
“Webb,” Knox said, face creased in genuine concern. “If he’s having a panic attack, get him to focus on his breathing.” He hesitated. “If Gage and I can help…”
“I’ll let you know.”
“Take him home,” Drew advised. “Warm him up. I left a rhubarb pie cooling on the counter. The boy seemed real fond of my pies.”
“Or maybe a walk,” Em said. “Get him some fresh air.”
“Dad, can I help?” Aiden piped up. “Maybe he wants a hug.”
I hesitated at that one but shook my head. “Later, okay, bud? I don’t want to overwhelm him.” I was pretty sure he was already overwhelmed enough.
I barely waited for Aiden’s nod before I headed out the door, following Luke into the chilly false-spring morning. It wasn’t hard to locate him. He leaned his hands against the cafe’s exterior wall, huddled into his oversized sweatshirt, breathing fast and looking very much alone.
“Hey.” I didn’t think twice before reaching for him and pulling him against my chest. I felt my own anxiety go down the moment he was in my arms. “It’s gonna be okay.”
Luke immediately wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in the shoulder of my shirt, like he needed the contact as much as I did.
“I’m so sorry. I-I-I’m upset over nothing. So ridiculous.”
“No. Hush, baby. It’s not nothing. I get it. We’re a lot to take.” I ran a hand over his cowlicky hair. The strands felt like silk under my fingers. “Seven Sundays was plenty. Maybe too much. Add in that call from your mom and you must feel totally out of control. But we’re going to take care of the repairs, and things will be fine. You’ll see.”
I’d watched Luke’s stress level tick up like the pressure gauge on an engine throughout breakfast. The townsfolk all up in his business. My boisterous, teasing family. Ernie and his damn Hand-Fast Watch.
I’d hoped Luke would let me know when he’d had enough. That he’d speak up and call a time-out. But I’d forgotten one crucial detail—Luke had spent the longest time thinking everyone in town didn’t care about him. Maybe he didn’t feel like hecouldpush back. Or maybe he was just so unused to it, he didn’t know how.
“I-it’s not just that.” Luke sucked in an unsteady breath. “I just…ugh.” His fingers gripped the back of my shirt. “It’s fine. I’m being silly. Gosh, everyone must think I’m—”
“Every person at that table wanted to be sure you’re okay,” I said, leaving no room for misinterpretation. “That’s why it took me so long to come after you. Not a single one of them is judging you or upset at you. They only want to help. And if that means telling them all to back off and go jump in a lake—or maybe a very icy pond—that’s okay, too.”
He pulled back slightly, his gorgeous face a little red and damp. “No, it’s not that. They’re great. I-I like it! I just have so manyquestions, and my mind started racing, and I couldn’t— Oh. Good morning, Mrs. Graber. Yes, it’s a lovely day. No, I’m not sure if the groundhog saw his shadow. Maybe Google. Google would know. You too. Take care.” He rolled his eyes and huffed out a laugh. “I sometimes don’t know if I love this town or it’s going to drive me demented.”
“The mark of a true Hollowan,” I said wryly. “Come on. Let’s find a little privacy.”
I tugged him down the street and through the town common to where the gazebo stood as the sole, silent sentry over the empty park and nicely shoveled paths.
It reallywasa nice day, especially for March, but I doubted Luke agreed, so instead of sitting him down on the cold gazebo bench, I took a seat, pulled him onto my lap, and settled my arms around him.
He rested his head on my shoulder like he was collecting his thoughts, and I was in no rush. It felt really,reallygood to have him in my arms again, and I savored the feeling.
I wondered idly how many winters he’d have to spend in the Hollow before he got acclimated to the temperature, and selfishly, I hoped it wasa lot. I liked warming him up. It was a definite silver lining to being fake-handfasted.
“This is nice,” he said after a minute.
“It is. I missed you this week.”
His body tensed a little. “Yeah? I… I missed you, too. I wasn’t sure if you… if you’d want to… again.”
I tugged on the ends of his hair so he’d lift his head and look at me. “Was that one of the questions on your mind? Let me clear that up right now. I definitely, definitely do.”
He bit his lip. “Yeah, I kinda clued in when you kissed me. In front of everyone.”
I winced. I hadn’t even factored that into my list of Luke-stressors.
