Joe woke slowly, the sound of rain pulling him from sleep before his eyes even opened. It was steady and soft, tapping against the window in an uneven rhythm. For a few seconds, he didn’t know where he was.
The mattress beneath him was too soft.
The air smelled of rosewater and mint, but also lavender and vanilla.
He stiffened instinctively, senses sharpening. Something rumbled in the back of his mind.
Then he felt her.
Abby’s head was resting over his chest, her hair spilled across his skin in a tangled curtain. One of her legs was thrown over his, anchoring him in place. Her palm was splayed just below his ribs, fingers curled slightly like she had fallen asleep holding on.
His body relaxed in pieces.
Right. They’d left Green River. Come to her childhood home. Her mother nearly
