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She cleared her throat, breaking eye contact. “It’s a great honor that she chose you. It means she feels comfortable with you and trusts you.”Like I do.
“I didn’t really do anything. Just talked to her, tried to give a motivational speech that’s got me through some tough times,” he joked, smiling at her.
“You did good too,” Rebelle teased, and he stared at her before she wiped the smile off her face.
Will eased the blanket back into the box, careful not to dislodge any kittens. Parfait immediately tried to find her way back to Will, even picking up one of her newborns and bringing it to him. Rebelle was stunned. Usually cats were very protective of their newborns but the fact that she was bringing them to Will was truly astounding. The birth must have really bonded them, and Rebelle was devastated she’d missed it.
“What do I do?” he asked, concern pinching his brow.
“I don’t know. Maybe just put it back and we’ll leave so she can have some peace.”
Rebelle placed Parfait back in her box and Will put the kitten on her side and eventually it latched on to feed and Parfait stayed down, just peering up at them padding her paws and blinking.
They left her to it, the home suddenly feeling very small with Will’s broad shoulders taking up all the space.
“Thanks so much, I really appreciate you doing this. I know it must have been hard coming in here what with your memories and everything,” she said.
He shrugged. “Yeah, there are memories, but it was a long time ago and you have to move on eventually. You can’t be scared of something forever, it’s just not feasible. It helps that now I have a really beautiful memory of being here. And like I said, I would do anything you asked me to.”
There was so much weight to his words that Rebelle struggled to breathe for a moment. His eyes held hers and her skin pebbled under his perusal. Arousal fluttered to life inside herand for a moment she wondered what it would be like to act on it.
She jolted, shocked at the thought. “Anyway, I won’t keep you. Thanks again.”
He smirked at her, like he knew exactly where her thoughts had travelled but thankfully didn’t mention it and headed for the door.
When he left, he took all the air out of the home with him and once again she was struck by how a place could feel so empty without him.
Chapter 12
It was a packed Friday night at the bar which Rebelle really should have expected, but it still took her by surprise. Luckily, she had Ben and Taylor helping out.
“I can jump behind if you need me to?” Kayleigh called from her seat at the bar, putting down her notepad and pen. Ben leaned across the bar and dropped a kiss on her cheek.
“No way, bad girl. You quit, remember?” he shouted over the noise.
Rebelle had only worked with Kayleigh briefly before she quit, but Rebelle had enjoyed her company. She didn’t understand why Ben called her bad girl though, she was incredibly sweet. She also hadn’t realized that Kayleigh and Ben were a couple. Her eyes flicked between the two of them and she spotted the tender look on Ben’s face before he went back to serving customers. Rebelle wanted to ask them how they’d gotten together, eager for more stories of couples falling in love but she didn’t want to be nosy.
For some reason, Rebelle was so curious about everyone’s love lives, what a healthy relationship looked like and understanding the mechanics of how they broke that boundary and became something more.
“Hi Rebelle!” Justine called as she appeared through the crowd. Blake was clearing the way to the bar, glaring at everyone until they moved to let his pregnant fiancée through.
“How are you doing?” Blake asked, his intense stare running over Rebelle like he was checking for any injuries.
“Good, Taylor is taking good care of me,” she replied.
“What about Will?” Blake grumbled before Justine elbowed him in the stomach.
“Ignore Sheriff Broody, how are things?” Justine asked, her eyebrows raising in meaning. “Anything or anyonebeen making you smile recently?”
The eagerness in Justine’s face had Rebelle fighting a smile. She didn’t know how Justine did it, but she managed to always soothe Rebelle’s prickly nature and get her to drop her walls. She shook her head and refused to answer, turning away to fetch Blake a whiskey.
“And what would the pregnant lady like?” she asked when she returned.
“Just some apple juice please,” Justine pouted. Rebelle turned away to fill the glass and when she turned back, Will had entered the bar and was heading their way.
Even though she had only seen him a few hours earlier, when they made eye contact, she felt herself relax. That feeling in itself had her pausing and questioning what it meant. It unnerved her so much that she moved down to the other end of the bar, leaving Taylor to serve him so she could pull herself together.
She avoided him all evening but kept him in her periphery. Unease trickled through her as she became aware of a constant need to look over at him. What was going on with her? She noticed how many people approached him, and annoyance plagued her that people continually wanted something from him. Why couldn’t they leave him alone? And why did it make her angry to see the volume of women draping themselves over him? She watched as he gently removed some woman’s unwanted arm from around his waist.
