Garth’s features softened. “You look like you could use some warming up.” He nodded his head to the side. “I live a couple blocks that way.” He waved his hand and started walking. “Come on.”

My feet moved on their own, my mind still stunned by my reaction to his simple question about my well-being. And like a lost little puppy, I followed Garth home.

Chapter Six

Garth waited for me to pass through the doorway to his condo before shutting the door. His place was on the Puget Sound side of Capitol Hill, as opposed to the Lake Washington side. He had a top-floor unit in a five-story building. It was an older building with a brick exterior, but the interior had to have been renovated sometime during the past decade. It was nice—clean and classy.

Garth locked the deadbolt, then turned to face me. “So . . . what’s up?” We’d been quiet during the walk, but apparently quiet time was over.

“Oh, you know . . .” Eyes wandering here and there, I passed by a small, open kitchen and through the living room to the two huge windows monopolizing the wall opposite the front door. “Quite the view,” I said, taking in the glimmering cityscape. From here, I could see I-5 at the bottom of the hill, the familiar Seattle skyline beyond it, and just a hint of the Sound reflecting the moonlight. It didn’t matter the angle, anytime I saw my city, I felt like I was home.

I glanced over my shoulder, quirking an eyebrow. “I didn’t know they paid you guys the big bucks.”

Garth flipped a light switch on the wall under the kitchen cabinets, and my view of the city dimmed as the lights in the kitchen flared to life. “I got a good deal. Besides, the place is small.” He turned his back to me and opened the cupboard over the microwave, reaching up to pull out a bottle of Jameson. “It’s just me and Eva, anyway,” he said.

“Eva?” I made my way back to the kitchen, moving between a microsuede sectional and a black-stained coffee table. I dropped my backpack off on the couch as I passed it, glancing at Garth’s left hand as I walked. No ring, so it didn’t look like Eva was the name of his wife. “Girlfriend?” My brows drew together. “Or daughter?” He’d never mentioned any family. Well, besides his ancestors and his relatives over on the Port Madison Reservation. But no SOs or kiddos.

“No, nothing like that.” Garth pulled two glass tumblers out of the dishwasher, then met my eyes. “I ran it this morning. They’re clean, I promise.”

I shrugged, stopping at the narrow kitchen island. The quartz countertop gleamed, a stark contrast to the dark-stained cabinets and stainless steel appliances. It wasn’t like I could die of food poisoning, anyway.

A cat jumped up on the counter, settling on the edge like a gargoyle, her luminous green eyes locked on me. The feline was on the smaller side, its fur mostly white but mottled with patches of gray and orange. Its slim tail was wrapped around its feet, the end twitching every few seconds.