Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty One: Grounded
By the time Rowan got back to her booth, she had forced her breathing back under control. Mostly. The expo felt louder now. Busier. The space filled in completely, conversations overlapping, movement constant. Normal. She needed normal.
Jess dropped into the chair behind the table, exhaling.
“…Okay,” she said. “We’re working now. We’re being normal people.”
Rowan nodded, already reaching for a stack of brochures.
“Normal people,” she repeated.
Jess grabbed her coffee again.
“Who run small businesses and definitely aren’t being stalked by… whatever those two are.”
Rowan didn’t respond to that. She couldn’t. Because the moment she stepped back into her space, something shifted again. Not pressure. Not presence. Awareness. Different. Lighter. But just as focused. She straightened slightly, forcing her attention onto the booth. A couple approached. Easy conversation. Product questions. Pricing. Lead time. Rowan moved through it automatically, muscle memory taking over. Smile. Answer. Engage. Close. It grounded her. Helped. For a while. Then the next person stepped up. And everything stilled. Not visibly or dramatically, but enough. Rowan looked up. The woman standing in front of the booth looked completely normal. Mid-twenties, maybe early thirties. Dark hair pulled back loosely. Casual but put together. Nothing flashy. But her eyes, they didn’t scan the booth. They didn’t look at the products. They went straight to Rowan. Focused and assessing. Like she had skipped every other step. Rowan felt it immediately. That same recognition, but different from the others. Less controlled. More instinctive.
“…Hi,” Rowan said.
The woman smiled slightly.
“Hi.”
A pause.
Then
“You’re new.”
Rowan blinked.
“…Excuse me?”
Jess looked up.
“New to what?” she asked.
The woman’s gaze flicked to Jess briefly, then back to Rowan.
“To being seen,” she said.
Rowan’s stomach dropped.
Jess went still.
“…Okay,” Jess said slowly. “We’re not saying that casually.”
The woman tilted her head slightly.
“You don’t know?” she asked.
Rowan forced her expression to stay neutral.
“Know what?”
Another pause. Longer this time. The woman studied her more carefully now. Not just looking, reading. And something in her expression shifted.
Realization.
“…Oh,” she said quietly.
Jess leaned forward.
“Oh what?”
The woman exhaled once, almost like she was resetting.
“Nothing,” she said smoothly. “Wrong assumption.”
Rowan didn’t buy that for a second.
“Yeah,” she said. “I don’t think so.”
The woman’s mouth curved slightly.
“Fair.”
Jess crossed her arms.
“Okay, we’re doing this part now,” she said. “Who are you?”
A beat.
Then
“Taryn,” she said. “Taryn Hale.”
Rowan watched her closely.
“Rowan.”
“I know.”
That landed.
Jess blinked.
“…Of course you do.”
Taryn didn’t react to that.
Her attention stayed on Rowan.
“You’ve had a day,” she said.
Not a question. Rowan let out a quiet breath.
“You could say that.”
Taryn nodded once.
Like that confirmed something.
Jess looked between them.
“I feel like I’m missing several steps in this conversation.”
Taryn glanced at her again.
“You’re fine,” she said.
Jess raised an eyebrow.
“That’s not comforting.”
Rowan leaned slightly forward.
“What did you mean,” she asked, voice lower now, “about being seen?”
Taryn held her gaze.
Measured.
Careful now.
“Normally,” she said, “people don’t draw attention like that unless they already know what they’re doing.”
Rowan’s pulse ticked up.
“And I don’t,” she said.
Taryn’s expression didn’t change.
“No,” she said. “You don’t.”
Jess let out a short breath.
“Okay, great. Love that for us.”
Rowan didn’t look away.
“Then explain it.”
Taryn hesitated. Not because she didn’t have an answer. Because she was choosing whether to give it. Then she shook her head slightly.
“Not here,” she said.
Jess immediately nodded.
“Agreed. We have officially passed the ‘not in public’ point.”
Taryn’s gaze flicked once more across the room. Quick, instinctive, then back.
“You’ve already got attention,” she added.
Rowan felt that settle.
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I’ve noticed.”
Taryn’s mouth curved slightly again.
“Not all of it is bad,” she said.
Jess crossed her arms tighter.
“Good to know there’s a scale.”
Taryn looked at her this time, really looked. Something about her expression softened just slightly.
“You’re staying with her,” she said.
Jess didn’t hesitate.
“Yeah.”
Taryn nodded once.
“Good.”
Jess blinked.
“…Why do I feel like I just passed a test?”
Taryn didn’t answer that.
Her attention returned to Rowan.
“If you want answers,” she said, “I can help.”
Rowan studied her. Every instinct she had was split. Trust her and don’t trust anyone. Ask questions or walk away. One thing was clear. Taryn knew something.
“Why?” Rowan asked.
Taryn didn’t hesitate this time.
“Because you’re already in it,” she said.
Jess let out a quiet breath.
“Okay, that’s becoming a theme I don’t like.”
Rowan nodded slowly.
“Alright,” she said. “Then we talk.”
Taryn glanced toward the aisle again, then back.
“After this,” she said. “You still have a booth to run.”
That almost pulled a real smile from Rowan. Almost.
“Yeah,” she said. “I do.”
Taryn stepped back.
Not leaving.
Just giving space.
“I’ll be around,” she said.
Jess watched her go.
Waited until she was out of earshot. Then leaned in.
“…So,” she said quietly, “new mysterious friend who knows things she shouldn’t.”
Rowan exhaled slowly.
“Yeah.”
Jess nodded.
“Cool. Love that for us.”
Rowan glanced back out across the expo floor. At the people, the movement and the layers she couldn’t unsee anymore.
“Yeah,” she said quietly.
“Me too.”