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“I didn’t realize Miguel was back in town.”
Chase’s gruff voice makes me jump in surprise. “Dammit, Chase!” I chastise, turning around to face my brother. The hairs at my nape stand at attention from the scare he just gave me. Not that he cares. No, he just lifts his brow in a silent question as he keeps staring at me.
I thought he was already in bed, considering the house was empty when I came inside, but I guess I was wrong. Or maybe he simply couldn’t fall asleep, just like me. Although the demons haunting us were vastly different.
Letting out a shaky breath, I turn my attention to the water slowly heating on the stove because, yes, I’d rather watch water boil than face my brother. Not that it helped much. I could feel his probing gaze on the side of my face. A lot of things have changed about my big brother since he got back home, but he was still as intuitive as they came and could read people like an open book.
I tilt my head in his direction so he can easily read my lips. “You’d know it if you bothered to go into town and talk to people every once in a while. It’s the only thing people have been talking about for the past week.”
Chase scoffs. “Hard pass.”
I look up so he can see me roll my eyes at him. “Why did I thinkotherwise?”
Chase was always on the grumpy side, but he’s become a downright recluse since he got back home. If it didn’t have something to do with his doctor’s appointments or the rescue dogs, he didn’t want any part in it. I tried to understand him and give him the time he needed to heal, but some days, I just wanted to shake him and knock some sense into him.
Chase shrugs as he goes for the coffee machine, pouring a healthy dose of black gold into a mug.
“That won’t help you fall asleep, you know,” I point out, but he chooses to ignore me, taking a sip from his mug.
“What did he want?”
Why couldn’t he just let this go?
The kettle starts whistling, so I turn off the stove. My teeth sink into my lower lip as I pour the water over the bag of lavender and chamomile tea. The intense scent of herbs reaches my nostrils almost immediately. The tea was done locally, and it was one of the only things that helped me when my anxiety became too much. God knows I needed it today.
I swear I could still feel Miguel’s mouth on mine. The firm press of his lips against my own burning my skin with their touch. Those calloused fingers roamed my skin as his hands slid under the hem of my shirt. The spicy scent of his cologne, sweat, and something else. Something masculine and all Miguel.
Stop it!
I shouldn’t be thinking about the kiss. Hell, I shouldn’t have kissed him in the first place. What was I thinking?
I wasn’t. That’s the problem. I was too wound up and vulnerable after everything that had happened. Mom disappearing, looking for her, having to deal with her questions about Dad… Every time she got like that, it was like she was scratching at the barely healed wound, ripping it open once again.
And then he came, and it was like I was thrown back intime. It was so easy to forget everything that had happened between us. I could lean on him like I’ve done so many times in the past. Miguel was the only person who I allowed to see me like this. The only person who knew how to put my pieces back together.
If he wasn’t the one dealing the final blow.
I should have never let things get that far.
“Becky?”
Giving my head a shake, I push those thoughts back. Curling my fingers around the mug, I lift it to my face, inhaling the sweet scent.
“He heard about Mom, so he came to help. That’s all.”
Not a complete truth, but Chase didn’t have to know that.
“Oh, is that why he was mauling you on our front porch? My bad.”
My head whips in my brother’s direction at the snarky comment. His face is completely impassive as he watches me intently.
“I…” My lips part, tongue sliding out and darting over my dry lips.
Chase’s brows raise. “You what? Didn’t think I saw it?”
No, I knew better than that. Did I think he’d bring it up? Not really. More than talking in general, Chase hated discussing mushy stuff, and this definitely fell under that category.
I glare at him. “Being a nosy busybody doesn’t look good on you, big brother. Maybe this town is affecting you more than you’d like to admit.”
