Page 11 of Where Roads Lead

Will

“Oh.” The redhead blanched, her eyes drifting between Ava and me with a knowing look. “I didn’t know that you two were—”

I rolled my eyes. She didn’t know shit.

“We’re not,” I said, shaking off Ava’s touch.

I hated when she did that.

Hated when anyone did it, really.

Put their hands on me. Touched me. I had an almost unnatural aversion to it. Like an itch crawling its way across my skin that I couldn’t shake off fast enough.

I could offer a solid handshake, but that’s about as far as I could comfortably go without feeling like a stiff cardboard figure.

Ava cleared her throat, moving away swiftly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. It was her attempt at making it look natural, trying to regain control of the situation.

“Oh, you thought the two of us were married?” Ava let out an airy laugh, as if she hadn’t a clue what the implication of her hand on my chest would look like. “I’m sorry. I can see why you would think that. What with the last name and all.”

I snorted.

Among other things.

She offered the Cliff Notes version. “I was married to his brother.”

“Was?” the redhead asked, still looking between us as if trying to size up what exactly our relationship was.

Hell if I knew. I’m sure my answer would vary wildly from whatever Ava had to say about it.

“He died,” Ava said lowly. “A few years ago.”

I looked off into the distance, not wanting to get into the intricacies of my family history with a stranger.

I’d gotten so used to everyone in town knowing my story that I hadn’t had to go out of my way to explain anything about my history to anyone in a very long time.

My brother was dead. It was a fact everyone here knew. But hearing it said out loud for the first time in who knows how long? It hit me in the chest, as if I were mourning him all over again.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, her eyes darting to me, and to her credit, she sounded it. Not just a passing line because it’s what people said, but almost like she really meant it.

“Thank you,” Ava said, stepping closer to fill the space I purposely put between us. “It’s been hard, but I’m lucky that Will’s been here to help me through it.”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. She was my sister-in-law. I’d always look out for her. But you’d think after all these years she’d give it a break.

“Yeah,” the girl—who irritatingly had yet to introduce herself—commented. “I hear he’s big into that. Helping people and what not.”

I guess her moment of sympathy had faded, transitioning directly back into her quippy, little loaded comments. But when I shot her a glare, in response to the accusation I was expecting to find in those green eyes of hers, I was surprised to see something else.

Playfulness, maybe? A spark of humor? Whatever it was, it was a hell of a lot better than the looks she’d been throwing me before.

She looked pretty when she wasn’t calling me an asshole. Hell, she looked pretty even when she was.

Not that it mattered what she looked like. I still wasn’t going to run around town to help someone who was only passing through. I had enough to deal with already.

Besides, she seemed capable enough. Clearly not the type to be easily intimidated. She had no issue going toe to toe with me despite her barely even reaching my shoulders. I’m sure she’d be fine.

“Anyway, I better be going,” she said, throwing a thumb behind her as she gestured toward the door. “I’ve got a gas station to get to.”

Gas station? I thought, wondering if it hanging around odd places was just another one of her bizarre quirks.