Grant and I were seated at a local steakhouse for our lunch. He had ordered a ridiculous amount of food and was shoveling it in his face at the moment. The guy worked out every chance he got, and I suppose it was a good thing he did. I sipped a coffee, attempting to ease either a tension headache or a headache from not having filled my body with the black liquid fuel.

"You've been her knight in shining armor, what, twice now? I saw how you looked at her that first day in the office. I thought we were all going to learn together that you were dating or married or something crazy." Grant grumbled as he ate.

"You have a crazy imagination."

"Ok, so if you're going to dodge that topic, perhaps we should talk about Denise?" He sat back with a serious look on his face.

"There's nothing to talk about. That's done and over with and has been. I have no idea what she has up her sleeve asking me to be a part of whatever this deal is."

"Carrie says she wants you back, that she's been through all the guys at her office, and she realizes what she had."

"So what, you sit around gossiping with Carrie about me?" I couldn't help but laugh at the thought, and I knew that's exactly what they did. Grant was the worst gossip I'd ever met.

"I think you should meet with her, of course, all of us together in the meeting. Get it over with, see what her deal is, make your Dad happy, and then we all go on our way like usual." Grant shrugged as his phone rang.

I nearly rolled my eyes into the back of my head as I finished my food while he chatted animatedly on the phone. I decided to take a moment and send a quick text to Carrie and see how their shopping adventure was going.

"Hey man, I'm being called in to do some work for your Dad; he needs me immediately." Grant stood, looking more serious than I was accustomed to.

"Okay. I'll take care of this, go do what you've got to do." I motioned at the table. I stood, giving him a quick bro hug before he took off. I finished my meal, paid the ticket, and made sure to leave a decent tip before heading out.

I still hadn't received a response from Carrie, so I just headed toward the shop to get some work done. I hoped that Quinn would decide to stay with me again, it was nice having company even for a short time and Grant was right, I was interested in getting to know her.

I got busy in the shop and before I realized it, it was dark outside. I wiped my hands on my jeans and walked over to my phone. It was void of any notifications, texts, or calls. I thought that to be strange as usually I've heard from Grant, and considering Quinn's situation, I would have assumed I'd heard from her or Carrie as well.

After closing up the shop, I stopped for a moment in my office to give Grant a call. After several rings and his voicemail came on. I waited for a moment before trying Carrie. Fortunately, after a few rings, she answered.

"Hey." Her voice sounded strained.

"What's up? I haven't heard from anyone all afternoon." I sat back in my chair, closing my eyes while waiting for her response. It was silent for a moment before I could hear shuffling around. "Hello?"

"Sorry, I had to step outside for a minute. There's been a... a situation." She spoke, sounding unsure.

"Wait, a situation? Are you ok?" I immediately sat up in my chair, ready to head out the door to wherever she was.

"Yes, we're fine. It's not really my place to say too much, but Quinn has a very intense backstory."

"What the hell does that mean?" I was on my feet now, heading down the steps to my truck. "Where are you?"

"There's just been some developments. We're at my house; I'm not sure if you should come over. Let me ask." I again heard shuffling around.

"Ask? Ask who?!" I demanded. The caveman in me was in overdrive as I started the engine and headed toward Carrie's house on the other side of town.

"Would you calm down, Jesus." She fussed. I could then hear her talking with others, male-sounding voices. "Ok, it's fine, come on over. I'll see you in about five seconds, I guess, since you're already on the way." She ended the call, knowing me so well.

A little longer than five seconds and I was pulling into her driveway. As I drove up, I noticed a local sheriff's patrol car passing by me. When I got into the driveway, I saw Grant's car. I was beyond confused with the events unfolding.

"Nice for you to finally come to visit." Carrie joked when opening the door.

"So, what the hell is going on?" I pushed past her into the house, heading into the living room, where I found Grant seated on the sofa. Quinn was noticeably absent. "Where's Quinn?" I turned back around to face Carrie, who looked from me to Grant and back again.

"She's upstairs, freshening up. It's been a stressful afternoon for her." She started to explain.

"Why are you here? This is where you had to go? I'm so confused." I ran a hand through my hair in frustration, sitting down next to Grant.

"Your Dad asked me to bring the girls here and stay with them for the time being." His eyes didn't meet mine when he spoke. "I didn't realize exactly what was going on when he called; he just asked me to meet him immediately."

"This is about Quinn, right? Something's wrong?" I looked up at Carrie, who stood in the doorway, arms crossed. She nodded, looking over at the steps that led to her second floor. "Where's my Father?"

"He's at home, I suppose," Grant replied.

"Once Quinn comes back down, we can talk. It's not fair for us to talk about her when she's not in the room. We're all fine; we're all safe. There's just a lot of information to unpack, and well, your Dad was being cautious and proactive in making sure she was safe." Carrie came over to the nearest chair and sat down, crossing her legs. I leaned back against the sofa with a heavy sigh. I couldn't figure out what was going on that had this woman, Quinn Gordon commandeering our lives at this moment in such a way after having really just met her. It was a strange feeling, but I knew my friends, and even my Father already knew she was special, and we were all there for her.

Quinn cleared her throat as she entered the room. I couldn't help but notice her face was splotchy, I assumed from crying, and she looked exhausted. She was as beautiful as ever but definitely worn down. My heart immediately hurt for her, and I had to fight the feeling to rush to her side and see if she was okay. I was in deep, and I knew nothing about her.