She nodded and shifted in her seat. “So you’re his friend?”
He had to wonder how long she would be stuck here and how much she would find out. If she mentioned she had a connection to Michael, she would likely get all the gossip she could never want. Still. He had to take into account what Michael would want her to know. “Yes, we’re friends. He’s actually starting a new job out at the lodge I work at. It’s part time and temporary, but he might like it. It’s security so it’s in his wheelhouse.”
Her nose wrinkled up. “Oh, he wasn’t security. What Michael did best was track people down. That was what I always found sad about his last assignment. He didn’t usually work protective services. Jessie liked those jobs. He liked to find people who didn’t want to be found. He was excellent at it. The protective duties always seemed to bore him a bit. It was one of the things they fought about. He wanted to concentrate on fugitive apprehension, and she liked where they were. He switched departments for her. I think Michael thought Jessie would settle down and want to start a family. Well, he thought that because she said she did, but she kept putting him off.”
“Do you think she was lying to him?”
“I think eventually she might have wanted to get married, but mostly I think she would have done anything to keep him with her, including embellishing the truth about what she really wanted from life.” She sat back again, her eyes trailing to the side, watching the road. “Which was apparently a ton of money and him.”
He turned at the river, starting into town. “Well, I think Michael needs some more time, but I promise I’ll let him know what we’ve talked about and the position your family is in. For now I think it’s best that I take you to a motel. I don’t think you’re getting out of Bliss tonight.”
“Yeah, I was starting to get that feeling.” She frowned as she stared up the road. “Are you taking me to that movie place?”
“Yes, you’ll like it. The rooms are comfy, and I think he’s running Back to the Future this week,” he murmured.
“I don’t…I can’t stay there,” she whispered, her eyes wide.
Because that was where her sister had died. Fuck. He hadn’t even thought about it.
“Of course you can’t.” He started to look for a place to turn around. “I’ve got somewhere I can take you. You’ll like it.”
The lodge was big enough that it should be okay.
He hoped Michael agreed.
* * * *
Lucy wondered if Michael was going to talk at all as they drove through the snow toward the lodge. He’d been quiet since the moment he’d picked her up. Was he regretting the decision to stay up at Ty’s place? Had going back to his cabin made him want to stay there? Alone?
“Maybe we should stop by River’s place and get my car.” If he was going to change his mind about staying with them, she would rather have the option of her own transportation.
“I don’t think you want to drive up to the lodge in your car. It’s not meant for mountain driving, and I’m pretty sure it’s leaking oil,” Michael said, his eyes on the road. “I talked to Jax earlier today, and he’s going to check it for me. There’s a stain on the parking space you normally use.”
Well, she’d known she was leaking oil for a little while, but she didn’t have the cash to fix it. She would in a couple of weeks. “I’ll let him know he doesn’t have to bother. I’ll take it to Long-Haired Roger’s in a few weeks.”
“Or you can use mine or Ty’s while you save up some money to get a better car. I’ll look around for something safe, something you can afford.”
It was the first time he’d talked about doing anything beyond the next few days. “So you’re staying?”
He turned into the parking lot of the lodge. The big main building looked warm and homey against the gorgeous winter backdrop. He pulled around to the employee lot that led to the wing the staff lived in. “Why wouldn’t I stay?”
Frustration welled. It had been that kind of a day. She was in the midst of a bunch of possibilities, but with that came uncertainty, and she didn’t handle that well. She liked to know what was going to happen, what to expect. Much of her life had been spent walking a knife’s edge, and now she craved peace and stability. She wasn’t sure she could have that with Michael. She might not be able to have it with Ty. Her insecurities had crept back in all day. “I don’t know. Neither one of you showed up for lunch, and then you pick me up and you haven’t said more than a couple of words to me.”
“I explained that something came up,” he replied with a huff.
“We have two different definitions of explain,” she shot back.
He was quiet for a moment. “I think I might be having a grump.”
“What?”
He pulled into a space and put the SUV in park before turning to her. “It’s something Ty came up with to describe my brooding nature. I’m sorry, Luce. I ran into a problem today, and I needed some time to think about it.”
“A problem?”
His face went stony. “I don’t want to talk about it. It doesn’t involve you, and I would prefer to keep it that way. I’m sorry about lunch. I really am. I’m sorry I had to bring Ty into it. I would really like to go inside and maybe we can go to the café for dinner. Ty should be back soon. I thought we could have dinner and then maybe watch some TV. I already did all the paperwork for this weekend, and I made sure I’m working the same shifts you’re working. So we’ve got the whole evening free, and I promise not to grump.”
She wanted to tell him he could talk to her, that he didn’t have to shove down whatever it was he was feeling, but she rather thought what he needed was support more than anything. She believed that he felt bad about missing lunch, and he’d texted her rather than leaving her to sit there wondering or forcing her to get in touch first. She had to give him some grace. “Okay.”
He stopped for a moment, staring at her. “Just like that?”
“Just like what?”
“I didn’t show up for our date and now I won’t tell you why. Shouldn’t you be angry with me?”
Put like that it made her sound like a doormat. She wasn’t casually excusing everything he did. She’d considered how he’d handled the situation and how what he’d been through could change the way he behaved. Had Ty not wanted to talk about something, she would have poked him until he did because that wasn’t who Ty was. But Michael needed a different approach. “Did you skip lunch with me because you found something more fun to do?”
His face fell. “God, no. It sucked. It was a shitty, shitty day. And me not talking is…”
“You’re trying to decompress.” She knew that feeling well. “It’s okay. If you wanted to talk about it, you could talk to me, but I’m also not going to nag you until you do. Something bad happened, and you need to process it. Me forcing you or holding out until you give me what I want wouldn’t help the situation. It would make it worse. I care about you so I’m not going to do that.”
He stared at her as though trying to figure out what kind of game she was playing. “You’re simply going to accept that I didn’t skip lunch to hurt you and that I’ll talk to you when I’m ready.”