Lauren looked out the window. “It’s my friend.”
Celine stepped out the passenger side of the black truck. Her curly ponytail swayed as she walked toward the house.
“I’d better go.”
“Go?” She grabbed his arm. “You don’t have to. We can trust Celine.”
“I don’t want to get anyone else involved, especially your friends. Don’t tell her about me.”
“But you need food and supplies.”
“I’m not going far.” Reid’s hard kiss silenced her next objection. “I’ll come back when she’s gone.” He slipped out of her grasp and ran out the doors to the deck.
A knock echoed.
Lauren took a calming breath, pasted on a smile, and opened the door. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
Celine gave Lauren a hug. “Ari’s orders. She said you’ve been out of the loop for almost forty-eight hours.” The horn beeped. Celine smiled and threw a kiss at her boyfriend. She’d started dating him two months ago. She’d gone from grief to happiness almost overnight.
He backed out of the driveway.
“Wait. Where’s he going?” Lauren shut the door. “When is he coming back? I thought you were in Myrtle Beach?”
“And hello to you, too. He’s going to town to pick up a few things. I told him we needed some girl time.” Celine, cute as always in heels, crisp jeans, and a white blouse, strolled to the kitchen. She dropped her red designer tote on the island. “We were in Myrtle Beach. Ari said she hasn’t heard from you in a while, and you didn’t answer your phone. We got worried. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Great. Everything is fine. You shouldn’t have come.” Lauren inwardly cringed. She sounded ungrateful. Celine had driven hours because she cared, but she had to go.
“Oh, look at you.” Compassion grew in Celine’s brown-eyed gaze. “You’ve been crying. Ari was right. You’re hiding your feelings. Well, not anymore.” She kicked off her heels. “Good. You’ve got merlot. Point me in the direction of the wineglasses.”
Crap. “But I’m really busy.”
“And you’re taking a break. You look tired.” Celine found glasses in the cabinet and poured wine. “First we talk. Then you can put me to work.”
Lauren took a glass and sat on the sofa. Where was Reid?
“Now tell me.” Celine took a seat next to Lauren and curled up her legs on the couch. “What’s keeping you up at night?”
Over six feet of wonderful. She shouldn’t have gotten upset at Reid. Then she’d brought up that stuff about her father. Celine’s expectant expression pulled her back to the question. “I found a few unexpected things.”
“Like what?”
“Well…camping gear, tools, sketching supplies.”
“Camping gear and tools, well, that’s obvious, isn’t it? Sketching supplies…your father did paint. Maybe he planned on doing more of it during his retirement.”
“You know. You’re right. I didn’t think about that.”
“Nice try, Lauren, but that’s not it.” Celine gripped her arm. “You were just starting to know your dad when you lost him. It’s okay to still be sad or upset that you didn’t get a chance to build a relationship.”
Hollowness opened in Lauren’s chest. History repeated itself with Reid. Was that her fate? Any man who brought something good into her life would leave. Duty had left no room for her in her father’s life. Reid didn’t know his future. Once he did, what would take him away? Panic filled the hollowness. No. She couldn’t even define what she and Reid had as a relationship. She didn’t have a claim on him.
Thunder roared.
She couldn’t stop herself from glancing out the French doors.
Celine gave her a hard stare. “Okay. What’s going on? You’re acting weird.”
Denying it would only bring more questions. Celine knew her too well. “My father, being here at the cabin again. It’s a lot for me to process. I need more time before I can talk about it.”
“So I should leave.” Celine’s hurt expression spurred guilt.
“I love you guys for caring about me, but this is something I have to figure out on my own.” Not a complete lie. She’d come to the cabin to process her father’s death. And Reid, she honestly couldn’t talk about him. At least not until after he’d left. Had Celine showing up changed his mind about staying longer? He wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. Would he?
Celine sighed. “Then I guess I better call Thane and tell him to turn around and pick me up.”
After Celine called him, silence followed them into the kitchen. Lauren washed their glasses. Celine dried them. They passed time with a stilted conversation about Thane and Celine’s drive from Myrtle Beach.
A knock sounded at the door.
“I’ll get it.” Celine opened the door. Her tall, brown-haired, broad-shouldered boyfriend walked into the cabin. He immediately swooped in and gave Celine a kiss. As he slipped his keys into the pocket of his jeans, the couple stared at each other. It was easy to interpret the meaning in the silent exchange. Love.