AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I felt my jaw was still hanging open and I shut it. “Hi, Kevin.”
The pig grunted at me.
“What is he…is he supposed to be…”
“He’s sort of the bar mascot,” Jimmy explained. “Or I should say co-mascot, with Skittles.”
“Skittles?” I questioned.
“The parrot.”
“Right.” Why did it even surprise me that there was a pig and a parrot at the bar? This town was filled to the brim with quirky characters, it made total sense that that would extend to the animal population. It truly did feel like Firefly Island was a town where a fairytale had come to life. If Kevin Bacon had started talking, I don’t know that I would have even been shocked.
“Time?” Cheyenne questioned as she read the paper. “What does she need time for? What secret?”
Jimmy turned his attention toward Cheyenne. I could see the concern brimming in his light-brown gaze. I tried not to let his response affect me, since it had nothing to do with me, but my heart swelled at the care and worry I saw there.
“Does this mean?” Cheyenne looked between all of her brothers. “Do you think I’m the secret?”
I wondered if I could slip out the door without anyone noticing. But I didn’t feel like I should leave without saying goodbye to Cheyenne. My brain was battling over whether I should stay or go.
“This doesn’t change anything,” Billy assured her.
Cheyenne let out a forced laugh. “Well, it changes who my father might be.”
Yep. That was my cue. Go now. I decided I wasn’t going to announce my departure. Instead I just turned and left quietly. I’d apologize to Cheyenne later. Thankfully, I made it to the door and out without anyone noticing.
I was halfway out of the parking lot before I heard footsteps behind me. Somehow, I knew who it was before I even turned around. I kept walking.
“Bella,” I heard Jimmy say behind me. “Wait.”
It looked like this time I wasn’t going to make a clean break. The third time was not the charm for me.
I turned around. “You should go back inside with your family.”
“They’ve got it handled,” he dismissed my plea. “You really don’t like saying goodbye, do you?”
I’d wondered if he was going to call me out on that. “Normally, yes. But these have all been situations with extenuating circumstances. You really should go back.”
“Sorry, darlin’ it’s not gonna happen.” The look in his eye was causing all sorts of feelings that I had no business having for my friend’s brother while she was going through a crisis.
As tempting as it was to keep this banter up, I didn’t want to have to answer Cheyenne when she asked why her brother had come after me. “Jimmy, just go back inside. Please.”
“I’m under strict orders, from my sister, to escort you home and get your number.” He lifted his hands in surrender. “For Cheyenne, although I’d be lyin’ if I said I wasn’t going to program it into my phone as well.”
The boyish half-grin that had first caught my attention on the boat was back, and it was no less potent than the first time I’d seen it. If anything, it had become even sexier.
“I’m just going back to my room.” His eyes darkened and I quickly clarified, “That wasn’t an invitation.”
His smile grew even wider. “I would never assume it was.”
I felt silly being so defensive considering our…history. But that history happened before he was a real person, not just a fantasy come to life, which is the category I’d put him in. Which made perfect sense considering both of our interactions were straight out of a porno.
But now he wasn’t a handsome stranger I felt comfortable with. He was connected to someone I knew. All of the embarrassment that I’d been shocked I hadn’t felt sooner flooded through me now. I turned and started walking toward Mrs. B’s.
He easily kept up with my pace. “So, you and Cheyenne went to school together, huh?”
“Yep.”
