Page 69 of Hold Your Breath
The crowd was dwindling when Derek charged through the door and behind the counter. As she stared at him, mouth open, he grabbed her in a bear hug, lifting her off her feet.
“Why didn’t you call Artie and me last night?” he demanded, giving her a shake. Although Lou tried to answer, his arms squeezed all of the oxygen out of her lungs. “I just heard about your cabin. Shit, Lou, are you okay?”
Wiggling her hands between their bodies, she shoved against his chest. He finally got the message and set her on her feet. Taking a step back, he kept his hands on her shoulders, giving her a shake to emphasize each exclamation.
“I heard you weren’t hurt. That was true, right?” He eyed her closely. “You don’t have any burns that I can see. What caused the fire? Was it one of those candles of yours? Damn it, Lou, I knew you’d forget you had them lit one of these times. I didn’t see your truck outside. Did it burn, too? Ah man, you loved that truck.”
Lou took advantage of his tiny pause and grabbed his wrists. “Derek. Breathe.”
“But did you—”
Not waiting for a break this time, she just interrupted him. “Sit. I’ll get you a coffee.” Eyeing his face, she amended, “Adecafcoffee. Then I’ll tell you everything, okay? Right at this second, just know I’m okay. Cal’s okay. My stuff is gone, but it’s just stuff. Everything is going to be fine.”
Although he still looked a little wild-eyed, he did as she asked, circling around to the customer side of the counter with only a few fairly gentle nudges. As he plopped down on a stool, she poured his decaf coffee. Lou handed it to him, eyeing him carefully before deciding he was stable for the time being. Turning to the two people waiting in line who’d watched the previous scene with undisguised interest, she gave them a how-can-I-help-you smile.
“Hi, Lou.” Naomi, who worked at the outdoor-gear store down the street and came in almost daily for her early afternoon pick-me-up, leaned over the counter and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Are you dating Derek now? Isn’t he with Artie?”
“Of course not,” Naomi’s friend and coworker, Daryl, scoffed. He was jammed right up against Naomi so he could hear what she was saying, his floppy bangs not concealing the eager look in his eyes. “She’s practically living with Callum. Everybody knows that.”
“Becauseeverybodynever gets it wrong.” Naomi rolled her eyes. “Her house burned down, genius. She has to stay somewhere.”
Daryl blew a raspberry. “They were living togetherbeforeher place got torched. Dude, you are so out of the loop.”
“Don’t call me ‘Dude.’” Turning to Lou, who was watching their interplay with wide eyes, Naomi said, “So, Derek or Callum? Derek seems like more fun, if you want my opinion. If he’s still with Artie, though, you’d better put down the man and back away slowly. She could totally take you.”
Derek cleared his throat. “I’m sitting right here. I can hear you, you know.”
“Isaidyou were more fun.” Naomi sighed. “Why are you offended?”
“Did you two want some coffee?” Lou asked, a little desperate to redirect the conversation.
“Just the usual—medium soy latte, extra hot.” Naomi rattled off the order, even though Lou had made it dozens of times.
“Double-shot cappuccino.” Tossing his hair out of his eyes, Daryl asked, “Do you think whoever lit your place on fire is the one who tossed that headless dude in the reservoir?”
“Someonelit your place on fire?” Derek’s voice was back in the frantic range.
Focusing extra hard on steaming the soy milk, Lou shook her head. “I don’t think the two things are related.”
“Oh.” Daryl sounded disappointed. “You found him, right? The headless dude, I mean? How freaky was that?”
Her smile was strained as she answered. “Pretty freaky. Do you want anything to eat?”
“Of course. Who do you think you’re talking to? I’ll take one of those seven-layer bars.”
As she pulled out the pastry and set it on a plate, she asked Naomi, “How about you?”
“No, thanks. I just want to know which guy you’re knocking boots with.”
Lou could feel her cheeks reddening, so she spun toward the register to hide it. “Neither, actually.”
Making a scoffing sound, Naomi held out a ten as she narrowed her eyes at Lou. “Please. You spend all that time hanging out with these hot, buff guys, and you’re ‘just friends’? I don’t think so, unless you’re rocking a cast-iron chastity belt.”
Derek broke into a coughing fit, and they all looked over at him. “I’m fine,” he said hoarsely. “Coffee just…went down the wrong way.”
Turning back to making Naomi’s change, Lou prayed for the conversation to end, but it obviously wasn’t her day.
“Aren’t you worried about, you know, things getting awkward? If you guys don’t work out, I mean? It’s kind of a small town, so it’s hard to avoid people you don’t want to see.” Daryl spoke around a huge mouthful of seven-layer bar.
