“That’s the first time I’ve seen her. They don’t like to do ultrasounds until you get further along. I’m only four months. So, I hadn’t been able to see her. Wasn’t she the most beautiful baby you ever seen?” I ask Michael as we make it out to the truck.

In response, he gives me his trademark grunt. It makes me grin. A true grin. It’s one that makes me feel warm and happy. He seems so tough and cold, but I looked at his eyes as he watched the screen. Maggie got to him too. That has to mean I was right, and he’s one of the good guys. I’ve seen evil...I’ve lived with it and that is not who Michael is. I feel safe around him. That couldn’t happen if he was like the others. I was right in letting my guard down around him.

“If you hadn’t seen her before then how do you know she’s a girl?” Michael asks.

The tech didn’t reveal the sex of the baby. She said she was being shy.

“I don’t know for sure, but I just have a feeling. She’s definitely a girl,” I tell Michael, and his reply is a grunt, and I can’t stop myself from laughing this time.

I pull my eyes away from Michael, and watch as we turn back on the road. I expected him to head us in the direction of the house. Instead, he turns in the direction of town. Before I can question him, he grunts out—a word this time.

“Hungry,” he rumbles out, and there’s a moment of panic. I might be congratulating myself on letting my guard down and trusting my neighbor, but it’s panic just the same. Something about going out in public with him seems...scary. That doesn’t make sense. I mean we were together at the doctor’s office. I held his hand when I looked at my child for the first time. How can sharing a meal with him be scary? It’s still there though. That feeling of panic and flushed heat that makes my heart pound against my chest.

As he pulls into the diner, I try to convince myself it’s because we’re going to eat at the place I work. My co-workers will assume that he and I are dating. Which we’re not. That would be preposterous. I mean, all you have to do is look at him and you can see that Michael would never pick someone like me to date. We’re just friends. I’ll make that clear and everything will be okay. It’s just a lunch meeting with friends. People have those all the time...right?

Well okay, I don’t, because I don’t really have friends. But I’m sure for regular people, a lunch together would be…normal. I’ve always longed for a normal life and maybe that’s what is happening. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so panicky. I’m getting a real life, finally. One my brother can’t ruin, and one no one can take away from me. With that thought, I am out of the truck and meeting Michael in front of his truck the minute we park.

Michael gives me a frown, the kind that could make my knees quake—if we weren’t friends. But since we are, I just grin up at him. This earns me another grunt. He puts his hand on the small of my back and directs me toward the front door. His hand is warm against my back and momentarily flusters me as we go through the doors.

“Hey, Hayden, I didn’t know you worked today,” Liese calls out. I don’t see Charlie anywhere, which is unusual. I smile at Liese, who next to Charlie is probably the only one in town that really cares about me. She might even miss me if something happened to me. I haven’t talked to her a lot, but she’s been good to me and helped me before when I was in a jam. I’ve watched her little boy a few times, and I’ve given her some baked goods from time to time. Until Michael, that’s the only friendship I’ve ever truly worked at keeping. Liese is good people and though she doesn’t know my full past, I realize she knows some of it. She knows it, and she doesn’t judge me. She doesn’t shy away from letting others know that she likes me. That means a lot to me.

“I’m not. Michael brought me into town for my doctor’s appointment, and we decided to grab some lunch,” I tell her with a smile. I’d stop at the front bar and sit down so I could talk to her, but Michael keeps his pressure on my back. I go with him to the main back table. I usually like to hide against the wall on the few occasions I have ventured out. Michael doesn’t give me that option. Instead, he puts me in the chair facing the wall, while he takes the one against the wall across from me.

“What can I get you guys?” Liese asks, almost immediately. Michael looks at me pointedly—with another grunt. I swear I’d almost believe this guy was a caveman that was only recently unthawed from the ice. There was a movie about that. I think I’ll make it my mission to make Michael watch that someday...if I get the chance.

“I’ll have a chocolate milk, peanut butter and banana sandwich with melted cheese, and French fries,” I tell her.

“I’ll have the cheeseburger box,” his dark voice rumbles. “Lemonade for the drink,” he adds, and I can’t stop the gasp that comes out of my mouth.

Liese grins at me and goes back toward the kitchen.

“What?” he asks, when I don’t seem to form words soon enough to suit him.

“I just...it’s just that...”

“For a girl that talks so much, you have trouble forming sentences that make sense,” he grumbles, his voice cracking as he finishes, causing him to frown.

“It’s just you don’t look like much of a lemonade drinker, Michael.”

“They don’t sell whiskey here,” he answers, watching me closely.

“Well, no. But I figured you for soda or a beer man maybe.”

“What’s wrong with lemonade?” He eyes me, confused.

I shrug. “It seems so...cheerful,” I tell him, honestly, and for a second, I think he’s smiling. The muscles along his jawline moves and it could be entirely possible. It’s also impossible to know since he’s covered with so much hair.

“What the hell is a peanut butter and banana sandwich?” he asks, turning my question back on me.

“Elvis loved them,” I tell him, defensively.

“With cheese?” he asks doubtfully.

“I’m pregnant and apparently, Maggie demands them.” I shrug and there it is again. I’m pretty sure he’s smiling. I wish I could know for sure. “Can I ask you a question?” I propose, tilting my head a little, wishing I could see his lips. There’s a glimpse of them through the dark hair but that’s it. He gives me a heavy sigh, but he doesn’t say no. I’m going to count that as permission. “Does it hurt you to talk?” Shock comes over his face at my question. He wasn’t expecting it and it was probably a very rude question to ask, I couldn’t stop myself, however.

Liese brings over our drinks, and he stares down at his lemonade, completely ignoring me. I figure that means he’s not going to answer. I’m kind of ashamed that I just asked him that question so bluntly. I shouldn’t have pried. I hate it when people do that to me. I don’t know what possessed me to be that way with Michael. I, of all people, should understand there are just some things that you don’t want to talk about. While the question seemed perfectly innocent to me, I know he’s covered in burns, and I can tell it had to be horrific just from the scarring. Of course he wouldn’t want to talk about it. I’m an idiot.

“It doesn’t hurt, it’s just tight, and I hate hearing...I hate hearing the change in my voice,” he tells me, and I know he’s giving me absolute honesty. I cherish it, because I’m pretty sure Michael hasn’t spoken to people about this before. I don’t know why I think that, but I know enough to know he’s a solitary person, so I’d lay money on the fact that I’m right.

I decide to change the subject to something safer. “The hospital gave me your name when they were going through my papers. Connor Michael Jameson. It’s a beautiful name. Is there a reason you go by Michael rather than Connor?”

He grunts. Hmm...I have no idea what that means. I thought talking about his name would be safer than his scars or voice. My new friend is going to be difficult to get to know if this is any indication. I decide to give up and just stare out the window. He wants silence. I can appreciate that. Sometimes holding a conversation takes too much effort.