Page 78 of By Your Side
“Didn’t,” I said. And that was all I gave them.
I could feel their eyes on me, but they didn’t push. We’d been raised knowing when to pry and when to leave well enough alone. Still, Spencer’s face softened into something quieter, something knowing, and Deacon’s jaw tightened like he already had an idea where my head had been all night.
I threw myself into work—bolts, grease, the steady rhythm of tools in my hands. But the motions didn’t quiet my thoughts. Every turn of the wrench, every scrape of metal just brought me back to her. The way she’d looked at me last night. Like she wanted to let me in but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Like my feelings were too much for her right now, and she wasn’t ready to carry them.
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it stuck.
Deacon passed me a socket set, watching me carefully. “Hunter,” he said finally, low. “You don’t have to tell us, but don’t burn yourself out trying to carry something alone.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
By midmorning, the shop was loud—air compressors hissing, classic rock spilling from the radio, Deacon cursing at a stripped bolt—but underneath it all, I still heard her.
Chapter 24
Paige
It had been a few days. Long, restless, twisting-in-circles kind of days.
I missed Hunter. I missed the way he filled a room without even trying, the quiet steadiness of him, the way I felt less alone whenever I was with him. And now, with him keeping his distance, it felt like I was being pulled in too many different directions at once.
Eli’s bullshit threats. My feelings for Hunter—loud, consuming, impossible to ignore, no matter how hard I tried. And then the kids, the center of everything, the ones I had to protect above all else. But most of all, I needed too much. I was unsettled, my life was in turmoil, and I had to stop taking advantage of him.
I knew I’d hurt him. I’d seen it in his eyes the night the cooler broke, even though he hadn’t said the words out loud. And I was so angry with myself for it. I hated that I was too scared to give him what he deserved. The guilt sat heavy on my chest, pressing down with every quiet moment I had to myself.
When I headed to work that morning, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The bar had become such a minefield—problems with equipment, Eli’s shadow hanging over me, and now Hunter’s absence. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t know if I even wanted to unlock the door.
But when I pulled into the gravel lot, the lights were already on.
Piper. The party. How could I have forgotten?
Inside, I froze just past the doorway.
Piper and Lucy were there, moving around like they owned the place, half-buried in decorations. Piper balanced on a chair, looping brand new twinkle lights across the beams above the bar, while Lucy fussed with a bouquet of balloons and muttered about proportions. The tavern smelled faintly of leather and lemon cleaner. It looked different. It looked almost new.
Brand new light fixtures glowed overhead, brighter and warmer than the old ones. From the back, appliances that were clearly not mine hummed steady and strong, no longer threatening to drain me dry with repair costs. And a new margarita machine, gleaming, shining, andquiet—not the banshee-voiced relic I’d been cursing for months—sat proudly in its place. Even the jukebox was new, flashing with playlists that weren’t stuck somewhere back in 1987.
“Surprise,” Piper called without turning around. “Don’t freak out, just go with it.”
I slipped out of my jacket and set it over a barstool, my eyes wide as I took it all in.
“Spencer and Deacon were here all night,” Lucy explained, not even trying to hide her grin. “Brody and Tucker were here for a while, too. The cooler is fine. Spencer got new parts, and they’ll last for a long time. But the freezer was crap, so now you have a new one—happy birthday from me! They installed the new light fixtures and even programmed the jukebox. Don’t ask how they did it all so fast. Cassidy magic.”
My throat tightened. Cassidy magic. No—Pipermagic. God, I freaking loved my sister. She hopped down from the chair, dusting off her hands. “See? You thought I was just being bossy about this party, but it wasn’t about cake and balloons. It was aboutthis. You never ask for help, so I asked for you.”
I stared at her, my eyes filling up with tears faster than I could blink them away. “What?”
She spread her arms like she was unveiling a masterpiece. “This was the plan all along. New lights, working appliances, a margarita machine that doesn’t sound like it’s clawing itself out of the grave, a jukebox with songs from this century. The party is just the excuse. You’d never let us do it otherwise. Happy birthday, grand opening, Paige-is-forty-extravaganza day!”
Lucy smirked at her. “I thought you were calling it emotional camouflage day.”
I let out a shaky laugh, gripping the edge of the bar. Emotional camouflage. Of course, she’d come up with that.
Because it was true, I’d waved off offers, insisted I could handle everything by myself. But now, standing here, surrounded by things I hadn’t dared to hope for, I couldn’t deny how much lighter I felt.
And underneath it all, I could see Hunter. Not here, not looking at me with those gorgeous blue eyes, but in the quiet fixes, the mended places, the things repaired and replaced without me asking. My chest ached with guilt and longing.
Piper was talking about centerpieces and cake, but all I could think about was how badly I wanted to see him. How badly I wanted to tell him he mattered. That maybe I was finally ready to stop hiding how I really felt about him and let everyone know we were together.
