Page 46 of Tragic (Lark Cove 3)

He popped into my mind, like he often did.

In the two weeks since he’d surprised me with his first late-night visit to my camper, we’d fallen into a routine. Every other day, he’d come over after dark. We’d have sex until the midnight hours and then he’d return home.

Two days was as long as we’d go without seeing one another. Like clockwork, he’d knock on my camper door just before the forty-eight-hour timer would run out, shooting my three-day rule right to hell.

I hadn’t been back to his cabin or his shop in the last two weeks. We hadn’t shared a meal, or conversation for that matter, so at least our relationship was limited to physical closeness only.

But I’d taken to staying up at night, waiting for his faint knock. I sat on the couch even on the nights when he wasn’t due to come over, just in case. And during the day, he crept into my thoughts on an hourly basis.

Who was this man who’d swept into my life? What was his story? We’d agreed on casual, but feelings were beginning to stir.

Did he feel them too?

Spending time with him, kissing him and holding on to one another, was something I’d come to depend upon. I reveled in his company, his smell in my bed and his hands on my body.

Kaine chased away the homesickness. When he held me in his arms, I wasn’t alone.

When he was in the room, I wasn’t the loneliest person there.

He was.

Kaine never mentioned family or friends. I hadn’t seen another person come to his house except me. But something had caused him to retreat inside himself. Something had caused the severe pain that lingered behind his eyes.

What had happened to him?

I doubted I’d get the answer to that question. Kaine kept his demons locked up so tight they were silently wreaking havoc on his soul. He seemed determined to fight that battle alone.

My wish for him was to find friends or confidants, like the ones I’d found here.

“I’d better get home and check on Roman.” Willa drained the last of her water glass.

Her son was only seven months old and she was still nursing. Her mom had volunteered to watch the baby tonight so Willa could have a little adult time.

She’d come down to eat pizza with me and Thea—and because she liked to visit when Jackson was working. But dinner had long since ended and even with the fun we were having, I didn’t blame her for wanting to get back home.

“I’ll walk you out, babe.” Jackson rounded the bar. “Thea, you good for a few?”

“Take your time,” she told him. “I’ll hold down the fort.”

We all hugged Willa good-bye, and I waved as Jackson escorted her outside. As soon as the door closed behind them, Thea went back behind the bar.

She’d only come to the bar tonight for some girl time. It was technically Jackson’s night to work. But that didn’t stop her from serving customers or making drinks. Just like I couldn’t go into Logan’s office at their house and not jump into my work, Thea couldn’t be in this building without doing something.

“So . . . I did a thing,” Thea announced. “Made a thing, actually. In my workshop.”

“Yeah?” My shoulders perked up, excited to hear about her latest art project. She wasn’t just a successful business owner and wife to a billionaire philanthropist, Thea was also an incredibly talented artist.

If I didn’t love her so much, it would be easy to be jealous.

“Do you remember that day we went to look at your house for the first time? And we hiked the ridge?”

“Sure.” That was the day I’d seen Kaine for the first time.

“You know the man we saw up there?”

I nodded. Intimately.

“I kind of couldn’t get the image of him out of my head. So I used it for a piece. I brought it tonight.” She held up a finger and hurried down the length of the bar to the hallway that disappeared behind the bar to her office and the kitchen. It didn’t take her but a moment to come rushing back out with an unframed canvas in her hands.