Page 32 of Untamed Heart

She shrugged that off and started up the walkway, her heels clicking against the concrete. “I have a gift for reading people,” she stated simply. “And my gut tells me you’re a good fit.”

She unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping aside to allow me to enter ahead of her. The house had been emptied of any furniture or personal belongings, but I could see from all the natural sunlight pouring through the big bay windows why she liked the place so much.

“There are no utensils or anything, so you’d have to bring your own. I hope that isn’t a problem.”

I shook my head as I entered the kitchen, dragging my fingertips across the cold stone on the island. The countertops and upper cabinets were a clean, gleaming white that brought light into the space. The lower ones a deep navy to offset and make the space even more inviting. The appliances were a few years old, but all stainless, and, according to Iris, they still worked perfectly.

Standing in the middle of the open, airy kitchen, I felt like I finally found the piece of myself that had been missing since I returned to Ashland.

No, that wasn’t right. I felt like I found the piece that had been missing even before I left Adam. I felt like I belonged in here, like it was meant to be. That wasn’t a feeling I’d experienced in so long. If I really let myself think about it, I hadn’t felt that kind of connection since the first day Roe came into my life.

The lack of pots and pans wasn’t a problem for me at all. Poppy had been kind enough to let me store all my kitchen stuff in a storage room off the laundry facility. It had been a relief that I didn’t have to leave all that expensive equipment in my car or have the boxes crammed into my room, taking up all the available space. Looking around at the counters and cabinets, even the pantry, I could see that there was more than enough space for all my stuff.

“So? What do you think?”

I turned to face Iris, a slow, beaming smile taking over my face. “If Lennon’s really cool with it, I think we have a deal.”

She let out a sharp squeal of excitement and shimmied her hips in an adorable little dance. “Oh, she’s totally cool with it.”

Looked like I needed to get my ass moving, because I owed these ladies some serious tasty treats as a thank-you for helping me get my sanity back.

SIXTEEN

DAKOTA

“Oh my god,”I groaned through a full mouth, collapsing back against the vinyl booth and placing a hand on my stomach. “I’m so full it’s actually painful.” I hadn’t been eating much since I got to town. Emotional upheaval was a hell of an appetite suppressant. Turned out, two slices of pie and a plate of fries might have been going a little overboard.

Lennon groaned, taking much the same position as me. “Who are you telling? I’m two seconds away from unbuttoning my jeans. I feel like one of those tubes of cinnamon rolls about to pop open.”

I let out a giggle. Despite eating way too much, I felt lighter in that moment than I had in days. In the hour I sat in the booth in the back of Al’s with Lennon and Iris, the two of them had firmly cemented themselves as friends. It was impossiblenotto like them. They were genuinely good people. As much as I didn’t like him—or told myself I didn’t like him—I was happy that Pope found a woman as great as Lennon. She seemed happy, and she sure loved him like crazy, so who was I to judge.

Then I remembered what Iris said earlier, and I couldn’t shake the sense that I was missing something. Something major.

“I can’t believe I’m talking about food, given how full I am, but I’m so excited to see the first video you release in my own kitchen. I bet the rest of your followers are as well.”

She wasn’t wrong. I’d gotten countless messages from people asking when I was going to start posting content again, and now that I had a place worked out, I planned on getting started as soon as possible.

“I usually practice a recipe at least once before I film it, to make sure I get it right. I’m always looking for guinea pigs to test my meals before I make them for the public. If you want?—”

“We want!” they both shouted out at the same time.

I threw my head back on a laugh as the bell over the door jingled. It took a second for me to get a hold of myself and realize the air around our booth had changed, and when I looked over at Iris, I saw her rapt attention on the door, a look of longing on her pretty face.

I followed her gaze and felt my stomach bottom out at the sight of the man who’d just walked in. I didn’t recognize him from my time here, but the fact he was wearing an Ashland PD uniform didn’t exactly give me the warm fuzzies.

“Iris?” She didn’t hear me the first time, so I tried again. “Iris, you good?”

She blinked, giving a little jerk before her gaze focused on me. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m good.” The way her eyes traveled back to the cop, that longing coming right back, made me question the truthfulness of that statement.

I felt eyes on the side of my face and turned to find Lennon watching me. “That’s North Hastings,” she said, like she read the uncertainty on my face. “He moved here a couple years before me.” She leaned in and lowered her voice in case someone was listening. “He’s a good guy.”

I didn’t know if I believed that. Apparently I didn’t hide my doubt very well, because Iris saw it and explained further,“He’s a good man,” she said in a soft tone full of adoration. “An honorable man.”

The determination in her voice as she said that last sentence had me thinking maybe I shouldn’t jump to judgment.

“He really is,” Lennon assured me with a gentle smile. “I know the department has a reputation.” I couldn’t help but snort at that. “And I’ve heard all about the Bradys. But North isn’t one of them. He’s one of the only good ones in the whole place.”

“People are even talking that he might run against Tolliver in the next election.”