Page 49 of Healer’s Betrayal

He walks away without taking it, and I follow after him. “It’s literally the least I can do after you paid for everybody’s sandwiches and our breakfast this morning and all the groceries!”

He stops in front of the soda machine. “I’m not taking your money, Kayla.”

The way he says my name sends a wave of nervousness through me. When I realize he’s not going to budge on this, I put the twenty back in my wallet. “Well, thank you then.”

He turns to me then. “It’s just a sandwich.”

“Yes, and it’s one I didn’t pay for. So, thank you.” I refuse to back down on this.

“You’re welcome,” he says gruffly, and it sort of makes me smile.

I pull out my phone. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to take them a while to make all those sandwiches; we’re going to be late.”

“I texted Bryce.”

“Oh, did you call Ransom about Noah?”

“I reached out to him as well,” he says.

“And he’s okay to do that?” I ask.

He nods. “He has to finish up a job he’s doing, and then he’ll go over and pick up Noah.”

“Okay.” I pull up my contacts. “I’m going to text Renee to let her know. What time do you think he’ll get there?”

“About forty-five minutes.”

I nod. “Okay, I’ll let her know.” I text Renee and let her know and get a thumbs up in response. The lady at the counter hands him a sandwich, and Jackson picks it up and brings it back to me.

“That one’s yours, so you can start eating.”

“Oh, I can wait until everybody else—” the words die on my tongue at the look in his eyes. “Orrrr, how about I eat now?”

“Good idea.”

Chapter 20

Kayla

I don’t realize how hungry I am until I take the first bite. I feel absolutely famished but try to pace myself so I don’t choke or get sick. Jackson pulls out the chair across from me and sits. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” He doesn’t say anything, and I can tell he’s not super happy about my comment. “Did you get all your sandwiches?”

“They’re finishing the last ones now.”

I nod. “As soon as they’re done, we can go.” I hold up what’s left of my sub. “I can finish in the car.” I take another bite of my delicious sandwich and level a look at him. “Who were those people last night?” I put up a hand. “Better yet, who are you?”

He frowns. “I’ve told you who I am.”

I continue to stare at him. “You know I'm not buying that right? You show up in this small town at the café I work at and then seek me out. Now, you have these friends or acquaintances or whatever they are show up. I know something’s up.”

“Order for Jackson,” somebody calls out.

He studies me a moment before he stands up and walks over to the counter. I stand as well and wrap the rest of my sandwich and head to the front door. Jackson walks towards me, a paper bag in each hand. When we’re in the car, I look at him expectantly. “I want to know what happened last night. Who you are, who those people are.”

“Have you healed before?”

His question out of left field surprises me, and I pause to think about my answer. “How did you know?” I finally ask.

“I sort of figured it out, but it was Noah that told me for certain. He also told me I could never tell anybody.”