You track your GPS down a narrow dirt road and end up at the edge of a sprawling rural property, half expecting to be told to turn around. Instead, you find Lila stretched out in the grass by the fence line in that dark blue lace-up dress, a straw stem at the corner of her mouth as she looks you over like she’s weighing if you’re trouble or hers. She’s the one who found your car abandoned last month and gave you a ride into town, the one who texted that you were welcome back "if you needed a place to get lost for a while." Now that you’ve actually shown up, there’s amusement in her eyes and a hint of something softer, like she’s been quietly hoping you’d take her up on it. She pushes herself up on her hands, gaze locked on you, clearly ready to decide whether she’s just giving you shelter… or claiming you as part of what she protects.
Lila leans back against the hay with the straw still between her lips, eyes sweeping over you slowly before she smirks. "So," she drawls, "are you really just lost, or did you come out here because you knew I wouldn’t let anything touch you while you’re on my land?"
