The sneeze blasts straight into my face.
We both freeze, staring at each other through a new, even thicker haze.
I blink. “That might’ve been the most intimate thing I’ve ever experienced.”
She blinks at me and then bursts into laughter, her body shaking beneath me. The sound is glorious.Thisis the Cybil I remember. The one I—
The rest of my thought is interrupted by a bright light that temporarily blinds me and cuts Cybil’s laughter off instantly.
I blink a few times, trying to focus—and then I see them. A pair of boots I know all too well. There stands Cybil’s uncle Buddy. Plaid pajama pants. White T-shirt. Rifle in hand. And that look on his face that says,Onewrong move and I’ll bury you behind the barn.
I shove myself off the floor, Cybil and I untangling ourselves as fast as humanly possible.
“What in the— Oh my.”
Cybil’s aunt Renee’s voice cuts through the tension, and I glance up just in time to see her cover her mouth with her hand. But it’s the smile peeking through her fingers that throws me.
Wait... is she horrified? Or amused?
I flick my eyes back to Buddy, still standing there with his rifle—but not pointing it at me, which feels like a small miracle. He’s helping Cybil to her feet and someone behind him is belly laughing.
Rex steps around his dad, grinning. “Bro.” He stretches down his hand to help me. “You both look ridiculous.”
“No thanks to you!” Cybil shoves her cousin in the shoulder. “You didn’t tell me”—her eyes land on me—“he was going to be in the house.”
“You didn’t ask.” Rex chuckles unapologetically. “I thought it would be a nice way for you to reunite after all these years.”
If he only knew.
I catch Cybil’s sideways glance, and I know she’s thinking the same thing. It feels like we have a shared secret, and if it weren’t so freaking dangerous, I might’ve enjoyed the moment more. She quickly throws her arms around her aunt and uncle. She exchanged her cocktail dress from earlier tonight for a tank top and a pair of joggers, and my eyes—traitors that they are—lock on the lean muscles across her back and sculpting her arms. No wonder she managed to drop me. She’s solid.
“Ahem.”
My gaze jerks up. Buddy’s watching me like a man who knowsexactlywhat I’m thinking—and is daring me to keep thinking it. The man practically raised me, but the warning in his blue-gray eyes tells me he won’t think twice about putting a boot where the sun doesn’t shine.
I open my mouth to explain, to say it’s not what it looks like... but yeah. It’sexactlywhat it looks like. My lip throbs. I touch it and wince—it’s already swelling. I’ve taken hits from fists before. But never from a bag of flour.
“I’m sorry about the mess,” Cybil says, already gathering the groceries that spilled from her bag. She picks up a can of something dented, and I silently thank the Lord thatwasn’tthe first thing she grabbed when she came at me like a ninja. “I didn’t know anyone else was going to be in the house,” she adds, glancing at me, “and he startled me.” She gestures at the battlefield of bruised fruit, leaking eggs, and flour-dusted everything. “I’ll clean it all up. And I’ll replace the food before the party tomorrow.”
“Don’t you worry about it,” Renee says, taking the can from Cybil’s hand and setting it on the counter with a soft smile. “Rex can help Ben clean up in here.”
“But I didn’t make the mess,” Rex grumbles.
We’re nearly thirty, full-grown adults, but one look from Buddy is all it takes to remind us respect isn’t optional.
“Don’t argue with your mom, son,” Buddy grunts, then pivots on his heel, following Renee and Cybil back to the main house. “G’night.”
With Cybil gone, the space feels oddly empty. I turn on Rex. “What were you thinking?”
“What?” Rex is all fake innocence. “Cyb always stays in the guesthouse when she visits.”
I find a broom, toss it to Rex, and grab a rag to start wiping the counters. “How often does she come back to visit?”
Rex begins sweeping, but I catch the sideways look he sends me. “Why?”
Because ever since I saw her again, I’ve been starving for pieces of her life—who she became, what she’s been through, and what led her down a path that ends with Edmond, Ramirez, and her life in danger.
But I just shrug and keep wiping. “Just wondering.”
