Page 43 of Where Roads Lead

“How was your trip to the hardware store?” he said, arms crossed as he leaned back against the kitchen counter.

“My what—?” I scrunched my face up. “My trip to the hardware store?”

“Yeah, how’d it go?”

“Um, fine?” I offered. “As far as ‘trips to the hardware store’ go, I’d say it at least made the top three.”

He snorted. “I doubt you stepped foot in a hardware store three separate times.”

“What can I say?” I shrugged. “It’s not often that I find myself with a hankering to tinker around with tools.”

“So, it was uneventful?” he asked pointedly.

It was clear he was searching for some specific answer from me. I just didn’t know what that might be.

“Oh my God,” I groaned. “It was fine. I don’t know? I’m pretty sure Ava hates my guts, but—”

“Did she say something to you?” he responded, gruff enough to take me off guard.

Shit. They were practically family. He might’ve eased up on the overt hostility toward me, but I doubted that bad-mouthing his sister would win me any favors.

“No,” I answered hurriedly. “I just meant—”

“What did she do? I’ll talk to her.”

“No!” I burst out. “God, no. It was fine. Really. Especially after we ran into her friend. She was in a much better mood after that.”

“What friend?” he asked.

“Some guy. I think his name was Theo or Thor or something?”

“Thor? Really?”

“I don’t know!” I threw my hands up. “I met him for all of two minutes.”

“Clearly he wasn’t very memorable, then,” he said, lightening up a bit.

“He was fine.” I shrugged, not wanting to offend him since everyone in this town apparently had some type of relation to each other. “He’s funny.”

“Funny?” Will frowned. “What, did he tell you a knock-knock joke?”

“No.” I huffed. “I just mean, he’s very charismatic.”

Will chewed on his lip, apparently thinking heavily on the matter.

“What’s with the cross examination?” I blurted out, anxious at the way he was watching me. “I feel like I’m failing some type of test I didn’t even know I was supposed to be taking! And trust me, I never did well on tests! Not even in high school when I had a chance to study! Which I never did, but that’s besides the point—”

“Sorry,” Will blew out, knuckles unclenching from their backward grip on the counter. “I should go.”

“Great, I’ll walk you out,” I told him, before my socks sent me sliding across the floor and nearly wiping out in the process.

I braced myself, closing my eyes against the impending impact, but before my head made contact with the hardwood floor, Will’s hand wrapped around my arm, tugging me upward in one swift pull.

“Geez.” He blew out a breath, as if I’d scared him. “Do you have any self-preservation instincts at all?”

I blushed again, wondering how I always seemed to embarrass myself around him. And how he was always saving me.

“Apparently I don’t need them with you around,” I said, then glanced down to where he was still holding me. “Thanks.”