Page 101 of Wild Sanctuary

Maggie nods, then eats another piece of popcorn. I can see her reorganizing the entire conversation she thought she was about to have. She came in expecting gossip and maybe a budding romance, but now she’s recalibrating.

Then she surprises me.

“Okay, but the dress conversation isn’t over.” She points at me with a kernel. “You don’t end up barefoot in a man’s kitchen at dawn wearing something that nice without there being a story.”

I almost laugh, and it dislodges the tightness in my chest I didn’t realize I was carrying. “Deal.”

“And you.” She swings toward Wyatt. “You look like you haven’t slept.”

“I haven’t.”

“Eat something, for Christ’s sake. You’re useless to everyone when you’re runnin’ on fumes and self-righteousness.” She hops off the counter and tosses the popcorn bag onto the table. “I’m going to shower. I smell like amniotic fluid and regret.”

She pauses at the doorway and looks back at me. “Daisy.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Her eyes soften even as the hint of a smile threatens her lips. “And I’m glad you’re stayin’ where someone can keep an eye on you… even if that someone has the emotional range of a fence post.”

Then she disappears down the hall, and the kitchen settles into silence.

Wyatt picks up his coffee again, I pick up mine, and we stand on opposite sides of the counter and don’t talk about any of it.

He hasn’t touched me since I got out of his bed. Hasn’t come within arm’s reach.

Not once.

But he also hasn’t stopped tracking me. Every time I shift my weight, his eyes move. When I raise the mug to my mouth, his gaze follows my hands.

But I don’t push. I don’t ask where we stand or what last night meant now that Maggie’s out of the room. I just drink my coffee.

The back door opens again and I hear boots on the mat.

Colt comes through, hangs his hat on the hook, and comes to a complete stop when he sees me at the counter.

His eyes do the same inventory Maggie’s did. They scan the dress, my bare feet, and then encompass the kitchen. But where Maggie went for popcorn, Colt just raises one eyebrow at Wyatt and gets absolutely nothing back.

“Mornin’,” he says to me, like this is a perfectly normal start to his day.

“Morning, Colt.”

He pours himself coffee and leans against the fridge, and I watch him decide not to ask. It costs him. I can see the effort it takes to swallow whatever one-liner that’s formed behind his easy grin.

West comes in next, though he doesn’t react to me at all. He just nods once and moves to the stove, starting to pull out a pan, eggs, and butter in his usual no-fuss way.

June is last, hair still damp, smelling like vanilla and something floral. She takes one look at me and her mouth opens into a perfect O before she presses it shut, biting down on whatever she was about to say. She lightly squeezes my arm on her way to the coffee pot, humming to herself in an aggressively casual way.

Wyatt waits until they’re all in the room. I think he does it on purpose, so he only has to say it once more.

“Someone broke into Daisy’s cabin last night.” He sets his mug down, and continues through gritted teeth. “Place was tossed. Laptop was stolen. Sheriff’s been notified.”

The silence that follows speaks louder than words.

Colt’s grin is gone, and what’s underneath is a stillness I haven’t seen from him before. His eyes move to the windows, then to the back door, like he’s already mapping entry points.

West doesn’t look up from the eggs he’s cracking. But his hand has stopped moving.

June’s smile falters for just a beat before she hitches it back into place. “Well. They clearly don’t know who they’re messing with.”