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“All of them,” he said. “Including your brother.”
“But you didn’t.”
He held her eyes. “If he’d kept up with that lighter, I might have.”
She swallowed, but nodded.
She looked so tiny in the front seat of his father’s work truck. Michael couldn’t believe she’d faced down her brother and his friends with a putter. “Are you still afraid of me?”
She shook her head.
“Good.” And he leaned over and kissed her.
CHAPTER 7
Emily sat with Michael near the water’s edge, at the far side of the quarry, hidden among the clumps of trees. He’d been right: Despite the creeping darkness, a dozen kids were swimming at the other side, where the cliffs weren’t as steep and the depths were free of debris.
Here, though, the trees were silent and the water still, and it was easy to pretend the mess they’d left had never happened.
Especially with Michael’s fingers wound through hers, the taste of him still on her lips.
“Are you still hurting?” she said.
“I’m all right.” He turned to look at her, and the fading sunlight caught his eyes. “I was worried they’d follow us.”
Emily shook her head. “I don’t think so. I slashed Tyler’s tires.”
Michael’s eyes widened, and then he laughed. “You’re definitely not predictable.” A pause. “In a lot of ways.”
“It took me a minute, or I’d have been back sooner.” She reached up to touch his chin, where the skin was darker and a bit blistered. “I’m sorry Tyler did this.”
He caught her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “He’s definitely predictable.”
She reveled in the feel of his breath against her skin. Every time he touched her, his gentleness took her by surprise.
“Will you tell me what really happened last week?” she asked. “With Tyler?”
Michael looked back out at the water. “It’s not important.”
“It is to me.”
He sighed. “The twins were cutting through the woods to walk home. Tyler and Seth roughed them up.”
She frowned. “So you went after Tyler to get back at him?”
“I never went after Tyler.” His sudden fury was palpable. “Believe me, I’d leave you all alone if—” He stopped short. “Forget it.”
“Tell me.”
“In the woods, Nick got away. He ran all the way home and got me. By the time we made it back to them, they’d ganged up on Gabriel. Tyler and Seth ran when I got there.”
Emily frowned. “But Tyler had a black eye—”
“Yeah. You know who gave it to him? Gabriel.” He shook his head. “Of course he’d say it was me. Can’t be running around telling people he got decked by a twelve-year-old.”
She wasn’t surprised to hear her brother was a liar and a bully. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t start this fight, Emily.” He looked down at their joined hands. “Even this ... it won’t work.”
