Jerry’s loud bellow broke the tension, his barked, “Hawthorne!” filling the café’s interior.
Blowing my cheeks out, I swore under my breath, counting to three in my head before pushing the kitchen door open. Rebecca followed, her curiosity like a fire against my back. At the bar, Heathcliff’s head shot up, his gaze passing from his brother to me.
Chris ignored him, a smile transforming his features. He was as thin and tall as he’d been when we were in high school, his goatee a blemish on his chin.
“Hey, Hawthorne, I’ve got something for you.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out an envelope and offered it to me.
I stared at it as if it were a snake ready to strike. Mams didn’t give me things. Unless you counted the money she’d collected to help with college.
Rebecca stood over my shoulder. “What is it?” she asked.
Accepting the envelope, I glanced at Chris, my gaze troubled. “Thank you.”
Rebecca bumped me with her hip. “You don’t want to know what’s in there?”
My fingers tightened on the paper. “Not here.”
“It’s okay,” Chris said suddenly, causing everyone to freeze. There was something about the way he looked at me that caught me off guard. “You can open it now.”
By the way Rebecca tensed, it was taking everything she had not to squeal.
“I don’t know,” I said slowly. “I’m not sure—”
“Just open it, Hawthorne,” Heathcliff suddenly interrupted, his voice full of irritation.
My startled gaze shot to his, a blush blooming across my cheeks. Without another word, I lifted the envelope and ripped over the top. There was something heavy resting within, and I turned it over. A key fell into my palm.
I knew even before I heard the café’s door slamming behind Heathcliff’s retreating back what the key belonged to.
I’d visited the hooch in the woods quite a few times since returning home, but I’d been unable to enter it, the padlock impenetrable.
Now, I held the key.
Chapter 28
Like the day Heathcliff followed me home from school, I chased him out of the café. He was climbing into his new truck, a scowl on his face, and I ran to the passenger side, my fingers gripping the handle before he could lock it.
“Wait,” I called.
Pulling open the door, I stared into the cab, my gaze finding Heathcliff’s, his scowl deepened by an overhanging street light.
“I don’t want it,” I told him, holding out the key. “I don’t even know why she’d want me to have it.”
Heathcliff’s hands gripped the steering wheel, his jaw tense as he gazed out the front windshield. “Don’t you?” he asked.
My eyes fell to the truck’s leather interior. It still had that new car smell. “Stop,” I breathed. “Just stop.” My gaze lifted to find Heathcliff’s startled eyes staring back at me. “I’m not here to mess your life up. All I did was come home.” Climbing up into the truck, I placed the key Mams had given me in his cup holder. “This,” I pointed at the two of us, “isn’t up to them. If you want me to be a part of your life, you’ll invite me in.”
I started to retreat, my descent stopped suddenly by Heathcliff’s fingers around my wrist. “Hawthorne …” He glanced out the window again, his jaw tensing and relaxing before tugging on my arm. “Take a ride with me.”
It wasn’t a question, but it wasn’t a demand either. It was an invitation. I should have walked away. I should have said no, but I didn’t.
Instead, I glanced at Caffeine’s. “Your friends?”
“They can ride with Chris. He’s parked on the side.”
My gaze searched Heathcliff’s face, the turmoil there hurting me more than I wanted to admit. There’d been a lot of things between Heathcliff and me in the past, but turmoil wasn’t one of them.
My decision made, I settled into the passenger seat and slammed the door behind me, pulling the seatbelt across my chest.
Heathcliff started the truck, his arm going to the back of my seat as he backed out of the parking lot. The proximity filled my body with heat, and I fought not to squirm.
Darkness sped past the window, trees becoming headlight-induced ghosts that sneered at me as Heathcliff drove. Headlights from other vehicles stared at me like angry monsters warning me to turn back.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked.
The surroundings were familiar, and yet they weren’t. We passed the city limit sign, driving until we entered the next county.
“Are you scared?” Heathcliff shot back.
My fingers found the door, and I gripped it, my doubts growing with each mile. Lights sparkled as Heathcliff took the exit to the town next to ours. It was bigger than our town, with a shopping mall, restaurants, and entertaining venues that weren’t available in our community.
The pickup pulled into a hotel parking lot. It was a nice hotel, the nicest one near our hometown, and I glanced at Heathcliff.
Putting the truck in park, he pulled the keys out of the ignition.
“I’ve got a room here,” he explained.