“Fine. Since we’re closed today, I’m heading out to the workshop.” The security company had been here all morning but had realized that they needed more sensors than they had originally brought with them. Two of the guys had gone back to Seattle and would return late this afternoon to finish the job. I thought it was a waste to lose an entire day’s business, but Ford had insisted, and he was the boss.

Ford glanced out the back door to the workshop. “Do me a favor and lock yourself in there.”

My spine stiffened, but when I took in the genuine concern in his features, some of the tension melted away. “I will.”

“Thanks.”

I nodded, heading for the shop. I didn’t know what to say to Ford anymore. But as I walked away from him, my body seemed to revolt, my stomach turned, and my heart sank. “Get used to it,” I muttered to myself. Ford might be growing tired of LA, but he wasn’t going to stay on Anchor either.

I unlocked the workshop and stepped into the space, relocking the door behind me. The scents of sawdust and sea air eased something in me. Sometimes, I blared music while I worked, drowning out the world. But today, I needed silence. Needed the space to let my thoughts cycle themselves out so I could finally release some of my worries.

I got to work putting my first coat of paint on the credenza, a gorgeous teal tone that was a little out there but perfect in my mind. I lost myself in the back and forth of the brush against the wood, in focusing on reaching every piece of surface perfectly. It was a meditation of sorts. A clearing of my mind. Nothing worked as well as this.

I lost all sense of time as I painted, losing myself in the work. I startled as I saw movement at the door, but sighed as I took in Ford’s form as he entered. “What is it with you sneaking up on me?”

“What is it with you and not paying attention to your surroundings?”

Ford’s rough voice seemed to both make my anger heat and my skin tingle. “I locked myself in. I thought I was safe from distraction.”

“I just came to tell you that the security company is gone. Everything’s all set up.”

I glanced outside. At some point, the sun had set, and we were now deep into twilight. I pushed to my feet, arching my back in a stretch. “That’s good.”

Little lines appeared between Ford’s brows. “You hurting?”

“Just a little too much time hunched over.”

He took a few steps forward. “You been working on this all afternoon?”

I nodded. It had been just the ticket. When I lost myself in making something whole and new again, nothing else existed, only the work in front of me.