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“Reid!”
Lark jolted, pulling away from me so fast she almost fell right into my desk. My whole body tensed as August’s voice came closer.
“Reid, are you in here? Ma says if you’re working during family night that you’re grounded.” I felt his presence in the doorway behind me as Lark’s wide eyes flicked toward him. “Oh,” he said, and my eyes fluttered closed as a sigh escaped me.
Slowly I turned, trying to wipe any sort of embarrassment from my features. Now that the tension between Lark and I had been completely torn to shreds, my brain was starting to clear. What was I doing? Had I really just tried to kiss Lark?
“What’s up?” I knew full well my voice sounded as off-kilter as I felt.
August’s gaze shifted to Lark and then back to me. “Sorry.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You weren’t interrupting. I was just showing Lark the office. She’s never seen it.”
He didn’t even try to hide his doubt. “Right.” He shook his head. “Well, Mom was looking for both of you and was getting worried.”
“We were just about to leave,” I lied.
“Uh huh.” He didn’t sound convinced at all as he turned around and headed back toward the door. “Don’t take too long or things will look suspicious,” he called, his tone drenched in sarcasm.
I groaned and turned to Lark. “Sorry about that.”
She shook her head, her cheeks red. “Don’t be.”
I quickly hurried around the office and made sure the lights were off, before Lark and I exited the building and locked back up. Lark was completely silent as we trekked back toward the house. An awkwardness settled between us and with every step I took, I regretted what had almost happened between us.
Lark didn’t need me coming on to her. I shouldn’t let myself even come close to crossing that line with her. I wanted her to feel safe with me. I wanted her to trust me, and I didn’t need to lose control with her.
As the main house came back into view, another thought struck me.
Lark Meadows was off-limits. Not only because she was my sister’s best friend, but she didn’t even have plans to stay here. After she figured things out with her mother, she was going back to the life she’d built in the city.
There was an even bigger reason I couldn’t be kissing Lark. No matter how much I wanted to think that I could protect her, the truth was that I couldn’t.
I’d failed at that once already, and she’d almost died. I wasn’t going to ever put her in that position ever again.
Lark didn’t stay much longer after we returned inside the house. She gave my parents a quick goodbye and gave Hailey a big hug before I walked her to the front door. I grabbed her coat from the closet, and she slipped her arms inside and shrugged it on.
She turned to me, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets.
“It was nice to see you tonight, Lark.” My mouth pulled up in a warm smile. Her shoulders tensed, and my smile disappeared as she looked down at her coat. “Are you okay?” I asked.
Slowly, she pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. “Oh,” she said, her voice sounding distant. She glanced back up at me, the expression on her face a mix of fear and apprehension. “This probably isn’t the best time to bring this up, but I thought you’d want to know about it.”
She held the paper out, and I took it. “What’s this?”
“Someone really doesn’t want me back in Ember Hollow, and they’re making it very clear how they feel about it.”
17
Reid
Every muscle in my body tensed at the note. My back teeth clamped down so hard my jaw ached. Instinctively, I stepped closer to Lark as I read the words over again.
Leave Ember Hollow before you get hurt.
It was obviously a threat. “Where did you get this?” I managed to ask between clenched teeth.
Her expression hardened. “On my car windshield. I found it tonight before I left to come here.”
