Grae rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait to watch him fall.”
“Could be fun to witness,” Caden agreed, wrapping his arms around her.
Now that the sun had dipped beneath the horizon, it was freezing. The bite of the cold was a welcome relief. I’d felt on edge since the moment Aspen walked through the door. Any hint of discomfort the frigid air brought distracted me from that.
“How are things at Fish and Wildlife?” Caden asked.
“Good.”
He stared at me for a bit. “Care to elaborate?”
I fought the urge to shift in place. I wasn’t good at chitchat. Normal. So, instead of trying, I turned to Grae. “Where’s Aspen from?”
Grae’s brows flew up. “She lives here. You know that.”
“Before that,” I pressed. I wasn’t sure when Aspen and Cady had moved to Cedar Ridge. I only knew they hadn’t been here all their lives. I’d kept a low profile the past several years, avoiding crowded, touristy spots in town like The Brew. The only things I knew about Aspen were tidbits I remembered Grae, Wren, and Maddie dropping.
“I’m not sure. Somewhere in the South. Why?”
Something about Aspen’s reaction to crowds and how she’d braced when we were alone in her barn had me on edge—tweaked my radar because I recognized it. I knew what it was like to look over your shoulder constantly. It made a phantom energy that you couldn’t turn off run through your system. Because you knew there were shadows everywhere.
My back molars ground together. “You don’t think it’s odd you don’t know where she’s from? What about family? Other friends?”
A need had dug into my gut. A compulsion to figure out what was going on with the redheaded beauty. I told myself it was because she was friends with my sister, and the last thing we needed was Grae in danger, especially after almost losing her a month ago. But the rational part of my brain called me a liar.
“You sound like the Spanish Inquisition over there,” Grae clipped.
Caden’s expression had shifted from relaxed to alert. “You think something’s going on?”
I mentally cursed. I didn’t want my entire family on Aspen’s case. I only wanted to uncover the truth. Shrugging, I met Caden’s gaze. “I just think it’s weird no one really knows much about her.”
A grin spread across Grae’s face. “You like her.”
“No,” I protested.
Her grin widened into a smile. “You do. You should ask her out. She’s the kindest. Super funny. Loyal. Protective.”
That last word had my radar dinging again. You weren’t protective for no reason. It was built into you because of an experience. Because people around you got hurt or you had been. The idea of someone hurting Aspen made my gut clench in a foreign way. I shoved it down and stared at my sister.
“Enough.” The single word lashed out, making Grae’s eyes widen.
“Chill, man,” Caden warned.
My teeth gnashed together. The last thing I wanted was to hurt my sister. But what was new? I was constantly saying or doing the wrong thing. It was better when I was quiet, removed.
“I’m not interested in your friend. Just leave it be, G.”
Her expression softened, sadness slipping in. “Okay. Sorry.”
And I hated myself even more.
7
ASPEN
I glanced over at Grae. She kept staring at me as the girls holed up in the family room while Kerry had the boys helping her prep dinner. We’d gotten caught up in watching Charlie and Cady put on some cross between a ballet and a battle. I finally turned to face my friend. “Do I have something on my face?”
Grae winced. “Sorry.”
A hint of worry trickled through me. “What is it?”
“Roan was asking about you.”
I stiffened. What were the chances that my gruff savior was Grae’s big brother? I’d heard her speak about him with affection and frustration more times than I could count. Had been curious what the only Hartley I hadn’t met was like. But the fact that he was asking questions about me put me on edge.
This was why I hadn’t made friends or connections of any kind since I’d left Jackson. Because it was a risk. When you let people into your life, they wanted to know about you. Your past. Who you really were.
Until Maddie started working at The Brew, I’d been content with casual acquaintances—mainly my regulars at the café. But Maddie had worked past my defenses.
Maybe it was because she reminded me so much of Autumn. Her kind gentleness and her situation at the time. I couldn’t seem to keep her at arm’s length. Then, Wren and Grae stormed in right behind her.