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But no, I paused to peer out the blackened glass at the stillness of the ranch, itching like a beast. Wanting to dig out my phone, call her, and demand to know where she was.
Find out if she was safe.
If she was okay.
A flicker of something caught my attention in my periphery.
My eyes narrowed as I more perceived the movement than saw it.
I stepped closer to the glass, peering out into the nothingness that echoed back.
But still, it felt like something.
Intuition kicking.
Unease wrapped me in a bow of adrenaline. I moved back for the door and slipped out onto the front porch.
My eyes darted through the wisping shadows that breezed through the night.
Trees whooshed with the summer storm that threatened at the far end of the horizon, and blankets of lightning struck against the sky above.
Stillness whispered through the breeze, the intermittent whinny of a horse woven in the gusts.
Nothing seemed out of place.
Yet something felt…off.
Unsettled.
An omen that hung like venom in the air.
I slowly climbed down the porch steps, gaze narrowed as I took another pass over the areas of the ranch I could see.
Nothing.
Clearly, being in Seattle had set me on edge.
That edge lessened when I heard the rumble echoing somewhere in the distance. Finally, hazy lights came into view at the top of the hill that enclosed the valley, that monstrosity growing louder the closer it got.
I watched as she wound closer, passed by the barns, and eased along the sprawling lawn before she pulled to a stop off to the right side of the house. Silence held fast when she cut the engine, then she stepped out, slowly, peering at me through the crack in her open door.
White hair billowing around her shoulders.
That chaotic recklessness sparked in the darkest places inside me.
The girl a match.
A perfect flame.
“Am I late?” The tease curled from her decadent mouth.
I fought a grin. “I had begun to wonder if you were going to return.”
“And here I am.”
“And here you are.” It came out like possession as I began to ease that way.
She remained rooted to the spot as I rounded the front of her truck to come to her side.
Her teeth raked her bottom lip, her features glowing in the glinting beams of the moon, her aura effervescent.
Blankets of lightning flashed in the distance, and a low rumble rippled through the air.
Standing that close to her, everything enclosed, the heavens drooping so low I thought I could drag my fingertips through the abyss and stir the stars.
Reshape the constellations.
Rearrange their meaning.
God knew, I’d do it if I could.
Take back what I’d done.
But my mistakes were all written there, carved in the firmament.
I needed not to forget.
But somehow, I stood there wanting to kiss her again.
Dip my fingers into her flesh and my body into her soul.
“Let me help you get your things.”
Suspicion arched her brow. “Were you standing out here waiting for me?”
“No, I was checking on things.”
Not that I wouldn’t have come running the second I heard her coming up the drive.
“Ah, and here I thought you were being chivalrous.”
I took a step toward her, towering over her gorgeous frame, my hand catching on the edge of her door to keep myself from getting too close. “Is that what you want, Ms. Dae? Chivalry?”
Vulnerability slipped into her expression. “I honestly don’t know what I want. Have no clue what I’m doing here.”
“Makes two of us, Little Riot,” I mumbled beneath my breath, forcing myself to step back.
I moved to the back of her truck, pulled out the bag she’d left with that now appeared to be stuffed twice as full, and handed it to her before I grabbed the two suitcases she also had back there.
We started toward the house. The woman trailed behind me by one step.
Her presence consumed.
So potent I felt like I was breathing her.
Her energy.
Her goodness.
That chaos that wouldn’t let me go.
It only increased when we got inside and climbed the staircase.
“Is Evelyn asleep?” she asked so quietly as we hit the second-floor landing.
“For a couple hours now.”
“Would it be okay if I went in and talked to her?”
“I think that would be good. She was upset after you left.”
I glanced back at her as I set her suitcases in front of her door. Regret filled her expression. “I hate that I left that way.”
“She did, too.”
Understanding passed between us before she quietly tiptoed into Evelyn’s room. I stopped in the doorway as she knelt at her bedside. She barely nudged her awake, her voice held in hushed sincerity as she whispered, “Evelyn. It’s Ms. Dae. I’m here.”
“Ms. Dae?” It was a confused, sleepy question. “Are you back?”
Paisley brushed her fingers through Evelyn’s hair. “Yeah, I’m back.”
“Because you missed me?”
“Yes, I missed you.”
“Good because I would miss you so much, too.” Grogginess filled her voice, and her eyes drooped closed again.
