by Erin Raegan
“We’re leaving,” Killian told me and opened my door.
“Hey, I was talking to her,” Tim barked.
“Not anymore,” Killian barked back and gently pushed me down into my seat.
He slammed my door closed and walked around the back of the car to get to the passenger side. I looked back to see Tim scowling. Killian didn’t take his glare off the group until they walked away to the café.
“What was that?” I asked him irritably as he dropped into the passenger seat. Not that I wasn’t glad he’d deterred Tim, but still, Killian was rude. Killian wasn’t rude. Ever. I’d never seen that side of him.
“Who is he?” Killian demanded, impatient and angry.
I scoffed. “What’s your deal?”
Killian glared at me. “You won’t speak to him again.”
My jaw dropped. “What crawled up your ass?”
Killian looked confused before he shook his head, glaring again. “Those males are revolting. You won’t speak to them again.”
“Males?” I scoffed. “And who are you to order me not to speak to someone?”
Not that I wanted to speak to Tim.
His face didn’t move from the scowl plastered on it. “He covets you.”
I sighed heavily. We were back to regal-speak. Killian had been adopting more casual language the last few days, but when he was tense or angry, the lord in him came out full force. Normally it was sexy, but right now, it made him sound like a pompous ass.
“No, he doesn’t.” Liar. Tim wanted me simply because I’d always turned him down.
“I know what is in his mind.” He turned the key in the ignition for me, jabbing his finger at the steering wheel with a silent order to drive. “He’s thinking inappropriate thoughts of you.”
I scowled and pulled out of the parking lot. “You do not know what he’s thinking.”
Killian chuckled darkly.
“You’re being obnoxious right now.”
He folded his arms across his chest, saying nothing.
“Tim’s just flirty, Killian, a lot like you.”
“I am nothing like that cretin,” he said through his teeth.
I groaned in defeat and drove home. We were silent the entire drive.
When we were minutes from the house, I was ready to let the entire thing go, but he wasn’t. “Do you enjoy his attention?”
I groaned long and loud. “Jeez, he only said hello. And no, I do not. Tim’s an ass.”
Killian seemed to relax back into his seat. “Good.”
I looked at him from the side of my eye as I pulled into the driveway. “Killian?”
“Yes?” he asked, turning his attention completely to me.
“You do not wear jealousy beautifully,” I told him sharply.
I slammed my car door shut on his bark of laughter.
Mixed Signals
Theo
After Killian broke the seal with his trip to the grocery store with me, he wanted to explore more of the town nearly every day. He tagged along with Jeremy and Holden as they left for tows and repossessions, and with Uncle Sal and Frank for sales. He stopped into Aunt Bets’s tea shop on the days I was working, trying all of her teas and small cakes.
We went out to lunch a few times. The town was getting used to seeing him, Leo, and Oren out and about. They still garnered quite a bit of attention, and though it seemed to make Oren nervous, Killian ate it up.
He was a favorite at the sub shop and had too much fun conversing with the local bingo group on Tuesday and Thursday. He was Aunt Bets’ date the first night but enjoyed the game so much he dragged us all as a group to the community center for the next game night.
The smallest things delighted him, from go-carts and motorcycles to apple cider donuts and hot chocolate. He had a particular obsession with the local racetrack. He’d even befriended the track’s owner, David, who let him take a few laps around the track.
Killian seemed to want to explore every inch of town. Meet everyone he could. Try everything he could get his hands on. It was like he’d been sheltered. A lot.
Like, from everything.
Any time the oddness of the entire situation creeped up on me, Killian distracted me or a minor headache completely derailed the thought.
And it happened often.
He’d said he’d traveled. But his brother lived near here. I didn’t know for how long but this couldn’t be his first time here.
I’d figured out by now he wasn’t from the States, but everywhere I thought he might be from just confused me. They had to have had some things similar to here. Not everything could always be this magical new experience for him.
Plus, television. I mean, come on, the world was not a secretive place anymore.
And he pushed Oren into trying everything he did but never bothered with Leo. The burly man avoided all the fun and games Killian seemed to delight in, but he voluntarily partook in all the food Killian thrust at him. Leo had a massive appetite.
He was a bottomless pit. Raw foods seemed to be his favorite though. He would choke down hot dogs and Aunt Bets’s meals, but I noticed he gravitated toward fresh fruits and bloody meats.
One night, Aunt Bets had chewed him out around midnight, waking the entire house, because he was in the dark kitchen, devouring her marinating roast. She had been pissed.
I was just grossed out. It couldn’t be safe to eat such large amounts of raw meat so often. But it was just one more thing Killian distracted me from.
Aunt Bets had gotten over it after Leo left her a peace offering of a freshly picked bouquet of Mr. Peterson’s coveted sunflowers. How he got them without getting caught, I had no idea. But Bets had been tickled pink. She made him a lightly seared strip steak that night in return.
They had developed an odd relationship, in which Leo was his usual silent behemoth, helping her in the kitchen and with the household chores, and Aunt Bets taught him how to knit and paint by numbers. They were now Jeopardy partners, leaving poor Uncle Sal on his own.
Leo and Killian seemed to be fitting into our lives seamlessly, but Oren was still the odd one out. He was irritated all the time. He and Killian would slink off to argue in hushed whispers every time Oren seemed grumpier than usual.
But even with Oren’s constant downer attitude, the three of them were becoming important staples in our lives, and I dreaded the day they finished collecting their odds and ends from the salvage yard and had to leave.
Today had been a big wake-up call for me. At breakfast, Oren had made some offhand comment about how they almost had what they needed. Killian had looked at me with so much longing in his eyes, it had taken my breath away.
Two hours later, I was finishing up my filing for the day and still hadn’t shaken that look from my mind.
A grumpy voice from outside caught my attention, and Killian’s gruff amusement had me standing from my chair. Mr. Peterson stood out back by Sal’s truck, his arms waving wildly. Though I didn’t want to alert Peterson to my presence—we were a day away from the Halloween Fest and I had managed to avoid him so far—I was dying to know what he was saying to Killian.
I cracked open the door and poked my head out.
“We could always use the help,” Mr. Peterson said happily.
Killian caught sight of me and I cut my hand across my throat so he didn’t alert Mr. Peterson, whose back was to me.
“What do you say?” Peterson pushed.
Killian smirked, his eyes on Peterson, but I knew his attention was on me. I mouthed the word no big and bright. His smirk pulled into a mock frown.
“It sounds interesting,” Killian said solemnly, “but unfortunately I have plans tomorrow evening.”
“Oh. Well, have you seen Theo?” He looked around Killian, already looking for me to rope into volunteering.
I cut my hand again, silently begging Killian not to out me.
“No,” Killian said, his voice slightly shaking with his humor. “I think she’s already gone for the day.”
&n
bsp; “Would you please tell her I stopped by?” Peterson grumped. “I could really use her in the food stands.”
I sighed. Spending the weekend slinging greasy food sounded thrilling. Not.
After Peterson left, Killian walked to me, chuckling. “Now you owe me, sweets.”
I rolled my eyes, hiding a smile. “What do you want?”
“We’re going to this festival together.”
“We are?” I turned from him and walked back to my desk, my belly fluttering as he followed me.
“Yes. I would have enjoyed dressing up as a frightening beast in costume.” He smiled wickedly. “Now you’ll have to make it up to me.”
I shrugged, cool, calm, and collected on the outside. Butterflies invaded my insides. “Okay.”
Killian’s eyebrows rose and his grin grew.
That Friday morning dragged on and on.
Killian was nowhere to be seen, so I was left to help Aunt Bets finish the twelve dozen cupcakes she would be selling at the Halloween Festival. Orange, black, and purple icing from the spider, bat, and pumpkin designs stained my fingers.
Leo was in the house, helping Sal load up the booth he’d made her years ago for this very festival, and they both stopped in frequently to steal a cupcake. I didn’t get the impression Leo liked them, but the guy was so hungry all the time, he kept eating them anyway. As was typical for him every night at dinner. We had to bar the kitchen door with a chair under the handle just to keep them out so she would have enough to sell.
By the time evening rolled around, I had dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a thick hooded sweatshirt, ready to head to the festival for the first time in years as a patron rather than a volunteer. I was kind of excited.
Everything Killian had done since coming here was exciting. It was an experience for him. Everything was new and thrilling. I found myself enjoying things with him that I had never found any joy in before.
I was sitting on the porch when Sal and Bets pulled out of the driveway. They had offered to take me with them, but I couldn’t stop the butterflies from taking off in my tummy at the thought of Killian picking me up and taking me to the festival.
I didn’t want to overthink tonight. I didn’t want to label it. But that didn’t stop me from testing it out in my head.
Date. Date. Date.
Was tonight a date? He hadn’t specified, but he had invited me in a way that it could be interpreted as a date. But also, he had said I owed him.
Maybe he wanted me to go with him as a friend?
Ugh, I was being such a girl about it. Abby would have a field day in my brain right now.
I fidgeted though, unable to sit still and wait patiently. I’d been on dates. Enough of them to know no boy or man had ever made me feel this way. The excitement and anticipation I was feeling from the very idea of spending the evening with Killian had never even come close to any other date I’d been on.
But did I even want it to be a date?
I’d thought he would have come on stronger the day after my drunken embarrassment, but he hadn’t. All that slurred talk about how he could win me over and he hadn’t taken the bait.
Why? Why?
Not knowing was killing me. I was a chicken when it came to the opposite sex, and the alcohol had made me brave enough to actually flirt with him. Well so boldly anyway. But he hadn’t done anything with it, so I had been coasting through the last two weeks with boatloads of insecurities.
He wasn’t staying. He didn’t live here. I knew that. But that hadn’t stopped me from wanting him. And want him I did. So much.
If I was any more pathetic, I would have been ripping apart daisies to guess his feelings. Then again, that was probably more productive than the fumbling and blushing I projected every time he was around.
I tugged on the end of my pony, twisting it around my finger as I watched the driveway for Jeremy’s truck. He should be dropping the guys off from the salvage yard any minute now.
When the trucks headlights crested over the hill, my knee bounced frantically and I popped my nail into my mouth to chew on it.
Killian took his time getting out of the passenger side of the truck. He thanked Jeremy as Leo and Oren walked into the house behind me. Jeremy would be heading off to help Holden pack up their instruments and set up in the music tent at the festival.
I waved weakly as Jeremy honked the horn, then I turned my attention back to Killian. He was wearing a white T-shirt. It had little streaks of grease on the front. Two gold chains circled his neck as usual. One hung down beneath his shirt, the other touching the collar. He ran his fingers through his long dark hair, the gold of his rings winking at me. One chain on his wrist slid up his forearm, catching on the thick veins winding up his arm.
I bit my lip and waved.
He grinned and walked toward the porch, his black boots sinking into the grass. “Ready to go?”
I nodded jerkily, standing and brushing my sweaty hands down my jeans. “You want to change first?”
He nodded. “A minute?”
I nodded stupidly as he went inside.
By the time he came back out, I was a wreck with nerves. His hair was damp and he ran his fingers through it. He now wore a black long-sleeved shirt, seemingly impervious to the chilly air as he always was. He looked refreshed and smelled amazing. He pressed his hand low into my back and guided me down the stairs to my car.
He took my keys from me to drive and pulled out of the driveway in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable. He seemed relaxed, content even. But I was so anxious, I knew I wasn’t hiding it well. He kept looking at me from the corner of his eyes and smirking.
I huffed and kept my eyes averted as we drove the few miles to Peterson’s.
When he parked, he shut off the car and turned toward me in his seat. “You are nervous.”
“Am I that obvious?” I didn’t need him to answer me—I knew I was. I kept fidgeting and blushing. I was already screwing this up.
He smiled softly. “Talk to me. I don’t want to read your mind.”
I huffed a laugh. “It’s ‘I can’t read your mind.’”
He smirked.
I sighed long and heavy. “We go places together. Like the market and to the diner.”
“We go everywhere together,” he agreed softly.
My smile was strained. “But this is different. Right?”
He sighed and my smile fell a little. Sighing wasn’t a good sign. Not at all. I folded my arms across my chest, defensive and preparing for an embarrassing rejection.
“You don’t want to see me that way.” He voice was strained, his eyes looking everywhere but at me.
“I don’t?” I asked, my own voice small.
He cursed colorfully. The more I got to know him, the more I realized how much he loved curse words. The stranger the better. Aunt Bets had been sharing all her favorites with him. Yesterday it was the c-word. But his favorite by far was fuck. He used it now and I looked at my lap.
“You don’t know who I truly am,” he said, almost too quietly for me to hear.
“I know who you are,” I shot back defensively.
Sure, the first few days I had been wary, but he had opened up more. Not a ton, but I knew the most important things about him.
He was sweet and kind. A little too arrogant and a lot too handsome. He was funny and playful. He was an entrepreneur and was passionate about the parts he was collecting for his brother, carefully picking each one out. He was protective of his family—so much so he rarely spoke about them.
Oren and Leo looked to him for direction and he never let them down. He was always there to encourage them. Maybe a little too much. He could be an ass at times, almost too controlling with his friends, but they seemed to thrive under his direction. I would think they were his employees rather than his friends if I hadn’t seen him tease them so much. And they gave it right back to him.
They were their own little unit. Killian their leader.
He missed his home,
wherever that may be. Anytime Aunt Bets or I asked about it, he got a little melancholy. A soft, sad look in his eyes. He was just as protective of his past as he was of where he was going.
In my life, actions said a whole lot more than words ever could. And Killian’s actions told me he was the best kind of man. How could I not want him?
Even if he didn’t want me.
I forced a smile. “Let’s just go.”
I unlocked my door and opened it quickly, hopping out before I made tonight any more uncomfortable. It was probably for the best anyway.
Killian was this otherworldly personality. He wasn’t meant for a small town, living a small life, with a small, lonely girl. He was meant for something so much bigger. When he was gone, I would comfort myself with the idea of him out exploring the world so he could find it.
And maybe one day, I would find the courage to go out there and find something for myself.
“Theo,” he called softly.
I turned woodenly.
“I’m leaving, sweets.”
I nodded tightly, looking down.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he added sadly.
I nodded again.
It was too late for that. I was already gone for him.
Him leaving was going to hurt me and there wasn’t anything either of us could do about it.
Fright Night
Theo
We met up with Jeremy and Holden as soon as we walked in, and I had never been so grateful for their presence. The walk through the festival had been horrible, the tension so thick there wasn’t a knife on the planet that could cut through it. I’d felt Killian’s eyes on the back of my head the whole way, but he hadn’t said a word.
“How’d you get out of working?” Jeremy teased as he gave me a brief hug.
“Stealth and deception,” I muttered dolefully. He looked at me with a frown then at Killian, Jeremy’s eyes asking a hundred different questions I had no intention of answering. “Where’s Holden?”
“Talkin’ to Abby,” he said, pointing at a white tent a few feet away.
