“You okay?” Mica asked. She had almost half a pizza on her plate.
I forced a smile. “Just thinking about something.”
“What?”
I pushed around the slice with my fork. “Do we all go to pick up the new girl?”
“Yep, or at least, that’s what we’ve done so far. Flint doesn’t like us getting split up for too long. He thinks it’s safer that way.”
Of course he does. That only made my shoulders slump more. Flint felt responsible for everyone. His interest in me had never been any different.
Jacinda sauntered over just as Mica stood to refill her drink. Jacinda pulled out Mica’s chair and sat. Her expression seemed particularly coy today. “Talk to Flint much this morning?” she asked.
I shook my head and bit off a large bite of pizza. “No.”
Jacinda rolled her eyes. “Really, Little L, do you have to chew with your mouth open?”
A blush crept up my cheeks. I didn’t mean to have bad table manners. I forced my lips closed and tried to eat more daintily. It was hard. It didn’t seem the starvation mentality I’d acquired those first few months was wearing off anytime soon.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
Jacinda leaned forward. “Back to Flint. I just wondered if you saw how tired he looked this morning?”
I thought about the dark circles on his too-handsome face. “Yeah, I noticed.”
“Any idea why that is?”
I shook my head and took another bite. I was careful to keep my mouth closed through the entire bite. Seriously, I would get good at this.
Jacinda placed her forearms on the table. Her perfectly manicured nails curled around her elbows. “Do you know where Flint was last night?”
“No.”
“Care to take a guess?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, okay. I was just asking.” She sighed. “Well, just so you know, he spent the entire night outside our cabin. He didn’t sleep a wink.”
I cocked my head. “Why would he do that?”
“I think he was keeping watch, but he didn’t want us to know he was there. Of course, I still heard him. He made a racket every time he did one of his rounds.” She rolled her eyes, her delicate eyebrows rising.
“But why would he do that?”
Jacinda cocked her head. “I think to keep you safe.”
“You mean from whoever chased me last night?”
“I think so.”
That took me aback. “Don’t you think he wanted to keep everyone safe?”
Jacinda bit her lip. “I don’t think so.”
“Why don’t you think so?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. He’s been weird ever since you arrived.”
I tried to keep my voice even. “What do you mean?”
“The way he is with you. It hasn’t escaped my attention that he’s always avoiding you or only speaking to you when necessary. And he doesn’t hang out with us anymore. Before you arrived, we all hung out. Now that you’re here, though, he’s completely distanced himself. But then he gets all irritated when one of the cowboys grabs your attention. Not to mention, I’ve never seen him go so crazy when he thinks you’re in trouble.”
My mouth dropped. I shook my head. “Wait a minute, he doesn’t get irritated about the cowboys. What are you talking about?”
Jacinda smirked. “Do you think he likes how much time you spend with Dean?”
I had no idea what she was getting at. Flint didn’t know I spent my afternoons with the cowboy. He had no idea what I did. Right? But then I remembered the incident at the barn, when he’d known I’d been on a trail ride with Dean.
“But Dean and I are just friends.”
“Is that what you call it?” Before I could reply, she added, “You wouldn’t know this, but Flint hasn’t been the same since you arrived. He’s moody and withdrawn—more so than usual. Even Di’s noticed since he’s snapping at her now. He won’t tell her why, but personally, I think it’s because of you.”
I balked. “Jacinda, that doesn’t make sense. Aren’t he and Di together?”
“Together?” Jacinda’s eyebrows rose clear to her hairline.
“Like dating or something?”
She grinned and then laughed. She pushed to standing when Mica returned.
“What are you guys talking about?” Mica held a full glass of lemonade and took a drink.
“Nothing,” Jacinda said.
“So, are you gonna join us this afternoon?” Mica asked me. “Pete’s gonna show the guests how to use a lasso.”
I shook my head. My head was still spinning from all that Jacinda implied. “Um, no, I think I’ll join Dean for another riding lesson.” The truth, however, was that I wanted to get into the mountains. I needed some time to think. I couldn’t do that during a lasso lesson.
“Oh,” Mica said, shoulders slumping.
I turned to Jacinda. “You should go with Mica. You could learn how to rope calves.”
Jacinda’s nose wrinkled. “No, thank you.”
“Are you sure?” Mica asked.
Jacinda looked as if she’d rather drink paint than work with cows. “Not for me.” She turned her gaze back to me. “Have fun with Dean.”
I rolled my eyes. “Goodbye, Jacinda.”
I followed Mica out of the dining room, but Jacinda’s comments still lingered in the back of my mind. It also didn’t escape my attention that she never replied to my question about Flint and Di.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Dean and I went on another trail ride. We spent a few hours meandering through the hills. I often wondered how Dean got any work done since he spent the majority of his afternoons with me. However, he continually assured me that he rose early and did most of his work then.
Jacinda’s comments made me wonder, though. I studied Dean while we rode. He was being friendly because he was my friend. Or at least, I’d always thought so.
Scents of leather filled the barn as we wiped down the heavy, western saddles.
“Want to sit together at dinner tonight?” Dean asked as he lifted his saddle to its post.
My hand stilled. It wasn’t the first time Dean had asked me to join him. Of course, most days he asked I was working. Since it was my day off, however, I was free.
Still, I paused. “Uh, sure,” I finally replied.
Dean grinned.
When dinner finally rolled around, I couldn’t believe how nervous I felt. I inwardly cursed Jacinda. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have thought twice about eating with Dean. As it was, my hands sweated like a glass of ice water on a hot summer day. I kept rubbing them against my jeans as I walked to the main house.
“This isn’t a date. It’s not a date,” I whispered as I entered the dining hall. If it was a date, Dean would have picked me up at my cabin. He didn’t. Therefore, it wasn’t a date.
“Lena!” Dean called. He sat at a table.
Oh crap.
He’d obviously showered and was dressed in the nicest clothes I’d seen him in: clean jeans and a clean flannel. I walked stiffly forward until I was at his side. A waft of cologne drifted my way, the dust and horse smells that normally clung to him absent.
Even though this was feeling more and more like a date, I couldn’t stop my smile. I’d never seen Dean without a cowboy hat. The tan on his face was pretty amusing. The upper half of his face shone white, the lower half deeply tanned.
I swallowed a smile and sat beside him. “Hi.”
He cocked his head. “What’s so funny?”
I hurriedly coughed. “What? Oh, nothing.”
His gaze twinkled. “Come on. I’m not letting you off the hook that easy.”
I smiled again but this time couldn’t stop my laugh. I pointed at his face. “That’s an interesting tan you have there.”
He reached up, as if not understanding. I brought my hand to my nose and placed it horizontally across my face.
It clicked. He chuckled and then
laughed deeply. “Oh, yeah. It’s from the cowboy hat.”
“Figured as much.”
“You should get a hat. Then you could look as cool as me.”
“You’re right. It is a pretty fashionable tan. I should look into that.”
Dean laughed again and all of my nervousness melted away. Jacinda and her stupid comments. Of course Dean and I were only friends. We always acted this way.
“You look nice,” he said.
I glanced at my simple jeans, T-shirt and flip-flops. “Uh, thanks.”
“Shall we?” He waved toward the buffet table.
Di was topping off the water pitchers at the end of the table. She eyed me curiously when Dean and I filled our plates.
Jacinda was another matter entirely. I swear she kept approaching our table just to torment me. She winked when I mouthed at her to go away and snickered when she walked back into the kitchen.
Dean took a bite of his steak. “How do you like your job here?”
“It’s good. I mean, we all really like it.”
“How long are you staying?”
“Hmm . . .” I cocked my head. Country music floated through the air. Snippets of conversation from the other tables drifted to us. I spoke louder as the din in the room grew. “I know we’re employed until October. Not sure beyond that.”
“You know . . .” He cleared his throat and set his utensils down. “They sometimes need help through the winter. Maybe you could stay on year round. We could spend the holidays together.”
I almost blew water through my nose. I hastily set my glass down and grabbed a napkin. Coughing vigorously, I wiped my face. Had he really just said we could spend our holidays together?
Dean clapped me on the back, a frown on his face. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” I managed through the coughing.
Dean rubbed my back. The coughing had subsided, but Dean didn’t remove his hand. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Heavy energy abruptly pulsed through the air. I stiffened. Dean still rubbed my back, oblivious to who just entered the room.
I didn’t have to look. I knew Flint just walked in. His energy was so strong it felt as if a hot ribbon wrapped around me and slid along my limbs. I inched away from Dean, but Dean’s hand stayed put.
“Do you want me to get you more water?” Dean’s hand moved down to rub my lower back.
“No. I’m good.”
I tried to inch away more, but it didn’t help. Dean just smiled as he softly rubbed my muscles. He started saying something else but stopped. I wasn’t listening anyway. Between Dean’s hand and Flint’s energy, my senses were overloaded.
Dean’s gaze trained on the door. I followed it. Sure enough, Flint stood by the door, staring at us.
I switched my vision. His orange and blue cloud pulsed and grew around him. It seemed to double in size every second. I hurriedly snapped my vision back to normal.
My breath sucked in when Flint strode toward us. His steps were purposeful and strong, his shoulders tensed, his hands fisted. My gaze dipped lower. His shoulders tapered to a toned waist that was as hard as the rest of him.
Desire flowed through my veins. It came out of nowhere. But seeing Flint like that, hot with rage, purposeful and strong, did something to me. It felt as if fire licked my insides. My hands gripped the table tightly.
My senses flooded with his nearness and scent. Spice, wood and tangerines. His scent only made me want him more. I tried to keep my voice even.
“Hi,” I said a little breathlessly when he stood beside our table.
“Hi.” He scowled at Dean before coming back to me. “Can I talk to you?”
I blinked. “Talk to me?”
“Yes.”
Dean stopped rubbing my back but didn’t remove his hand. “We’re kind of having dinner right now.”
“I’m aware of that,” Flint replied tightly.
“What do you want to talk about?” I asked.
“Can we go outside?” Irritation lined Flint’s words. His dark eyes bore into mine. For a fraction of a second, he let the curtain fall open. Deep emotion swirled in those inky irises. With a blink, it was gone.
Despite trying to control myself, I started to cave. I inched closer and wanted to soften into him, to wrap my arms around him. My heart ached to be with him, if only for a second.
All of sudden, I realized what I was doing. I abruptly straightened. I hated that I couldn’t control these emotions, especially when he so easily ignored me.
“No, not right now,” I replied.
“No?” His eyebrows shot up.
“Like Dean said, we’re having dinner. Can we talk later?”
The power off Flint soared. He gritted his teeth, turned and stalked away.
The rest of the dinner passed awkwardly. Flint sat at a table over from us. Hot energy pulsed toward me the entire time. Dean chatted away and acted as though Flint wasn’t there. Meanwhile, I squirmed and fidgeted. All I wanted was to run to Flint. I knew, however, that I’d look like a pathetic girl falling all over her first crush. Not to mention, Dean and I were having dinner. If I left, that would be rude.
When dinner finally ended, Dean smiled. “There’s another bonfire tonight. Want to go?”
Jacinda’s head whipped toward mine. She stood over twenty feet away, cleaning up the buffet, yet I knew she heard him. She was trying to hide a smile.
Between how Dean’s hand had lingered on my back and his now eager expression, the hundred percent certainty I’d felt that he and I were only friends dipped down to ninety percent.
“Um, I think Flint wanted to talk to me.”
Dean’s mouth tightened. He glanced toward Flint. Flint was currently attacking his steak. Literally. It was as though he thought the thing was still alive from how he stabbed it. The knife’s blade actually bent.
“Can’t you talk to him later?” Dean asked.
“Ah, I guess so.”
We stood, our chairs scraping loudly. I felt Flint’s gaze burn into my back on my walk out of the dining hall. Flint’s energy grew to an entirely new level. It was seriously making my head spin.
Outside, I took a few deep breaths as the world returned to normal. I didn’t understand how nobody else could feel what I did from Flint. Just now, it had been so strong, it felt like a living life force all on its own.
Oblivious to my turmoil, Dean smiled and reached down. His fingers brushed against mine.
I stuffed my hands into my pockets. Make that eighty percent.
“Um, I can’t stay out too long. I’m got to . . . um . . .” I released a hand from my pocket to pull at a curl.
Dean just smiled. “I’ll walk you home whenever you need to get back.”
Dean led me down the pavers that cut into the front lawn. When we reached the gravel, the wind picked up. His cologne wafted toward me again. Another grin spread across his face as we started to walk.
“We should go to the creek tomorrow on the horses,” Dean said. “There’s a nice picnic area there. Maybe we could pack a lunch.”
“Ah, I usually eat lunch in the kitchen while I’m working.”
“Oh.” His smile dimmed. “Maybe on your next day off.”
Guilt pummeled me as we walked to the bonfire. Had Jacinda been right? Did Dean like me more than a friend? I chewed my lip. I hated everything about this. Dean had only ever been nice to me. Why couldn’t I like him instead of Flint?
The smell of wood smoke filled the air the closer we got to the fire. It was also getting dark. I shivered as the temperature slowly dropped.
“Cold?” Dean asked.
I shook my head. “No, I’m fine.” I plastered a grin on my face. Dean was already unbuttoning his flannel. A crisp white T-shirt appeared underneath. “Really, I’m fine.”
“Oh, sure.” He re-buttoned the top.
The next thirty minutes passed entirely uncomfortably, completely opposite to how I’d initially felt at dinner. I didn’t know if Dean w
asn’t taking the hint or if he thought awkward side steps and mumbled responses were the norm on “first dates.” I groaned inwardly. How had I gotten myself into this?
I was about to throw myself into the fire when I felt him. I stiffened and almost dropped the stick I roasted marshmallows on.
Flint’s energy pulsed toward me. My head whipped around. When I couldn’t find him, I switched my vision. His cloud gave him away.
He stood off in the trees. A large oak almost hid him, but his shoulders were broad enough that it didn’t hide him completely, and his pulsing orange and blue cloud glowed around him.
I snapped my sight back to normal. Since it was so dark, he blended into the night. If it weren’t for his energy and glowing cloud, I’d have never known he was there.
“Um, I should probably turn in.” I hastily stuffed the marshmallow in my mouth.
Dean straightened. “I’ll walk you back.”
I forced a smile. “I’ll be fine. Really.”
Dean frowned. It was the first doubt I’d seen flash across his face. “I’d feel better if I saw you home.”
I remembered Di’s order for none of us to walk alone at night. Besides, Dean deserved better than for me to ditch him at the fire.
“Okay, thanks.” I smiled genuinely.
He perked up and placed his hand on my lower back. He kept it there until we returned to the gravel driveway.
The entire walk to my cabin I felt Flint follow. I didn’t know who he thought he was fooling. He was silent. I’d give him that, but I swore I’d feel his energy a mile away. At least, when it was flowing this strong.
On my porch, I turned to Dean to tell him goodnight. His lips descended over mine and his arms encircled my waist before I knew what was happening. He pulled me closely to him, his soft lips molding to mine. I froze, stiffening in his arms like a board.
“Dean . . . I . . .” I jumped back, breaking our kiss and pulling free from his arms.
Flint was at my side in a second. “I think Lena’s ready to turn in.” Flint towered over me with fisted hands and tensed shoulders.
Dean hastily stepped back and blinked. The bewildered expression on his face made my guilt flow stronger.
“Flint?” Dean shook his head a few times, as if he wasn’t sure if he was seeing things. Dean glanced around. “Where the heck did you come from?”
The Complete Lost Children Series Page 13
