Will began work immediately. His hours were the same as Jack's. And other than the one conversation he'd sought Riley out to have, he avoided speaking to her directly. But indirectly, Will was still flirting with her. Not only was he done pushing her away, it was clear that he was now quietly pursuing her. A look here, a brush of the hand there, a playful text from time to time. His attention surprised and thrilled her, but it angered her as well.
None of this means he loves me, Riley reminded herself over and over. He still acts like he doesn't care about me in front of my brothers. An honest man would tell THEM.
Will did other upsetting things as well. Riley was doing laundry mid-week and found a sock in the hamper that was completely coated with dried mud. And another…. and another. Then several more garments that were so badly soiled that she wasn’t sure it was possible to launder the dirt out.
“Jonathan James Thornton!” Riley held up one of the mud-encrusted socks and glared around the corner at her brother. “What on earth have you two been doing? And why haven't you been doing it in your work overalls?”
Jack laughed and walked to her side. “I'm sorry, sweetie. We had to tow someone, and he was spinning in mud when we got there. It took forever to get him out.” He kissed her cheek. “We had a very long day. Please forgive us.”
Will approached, too. He looked at the muddy sock she was holding, and his eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sorry, too,” he said softly, and then he walked into the kitchen. Riley had to fight the urge to go after him.
Hell. I can’t even DO LAUNDRY around Will without both of us getting upset. How am I supposed to live with him indefinitely? Will’s erratic behavior kept Riley’s emotions in an uproar, and to a great degree, drove her into herself.
Jack became distressed by her increasing distance. “He's scared to death of ‘losing’ you,” Reed told her. “I told him if he wanted you to be happier he should encourage you to get out more with your friends. He got pissed and said, 'Why not? She's never home now as it is!' I left it there.”
Reed had been reasonably polite to Will since he'd moved in, only lashing out at him if he believed Riley was upset about something. Will was always the assumed culprit. But between the three of them, Riley was completely stressed out. She desperately wanted to go back to camp. Reed, however, was opposed to the idea of her returning at all once he heard the details of the attack on the trail.
“I get that you have magic force fields and shit going on out there, but they’re hunting my sister,” he snapped at Xander when their friend came over to train them on Friday afternoon. Reed glared at Riley when she shook her head. “Look, I know how important this is to you, but I'm not willing to take chances with your safety. I mean, you do realize that you're the reason everyone is all stirred up? And that like thirty people are out looking for you right this second so they can take you back to the Cut and force you to gather all the Doodads of the Apocalypse for them. You know that, right?”
—He needs to know that you are safe—
“I’m going,” Riley said gently. “Look, I either sneak into Greenwood twice a week and spend time with the people who can help me get stronger, or I stay here during those hours and I’m either lonely, or I’m with Will.”
“Reed, I will get her into camp safely — and unseen — from now on,” Xander said. “I’ll rearrange my schedule so I can bring her in and out each time. I promise you that she’ll be fine. You have my word.”
“Would this be the secret way into camp that I’m not allowed to know about because I’m not a clan member?” Reed fumed.
“Yes.” Xander reached for his notebook. “How was your latest scouting trip?”
Reed looked at Riley and glowed brighter. “Three more guys than last time. All animals. I messaged the Colonel the specifics.”
“Ugh!” Riley exclaimed. “I can't believe you've been going out on all these freaking spy missions and you didn't tell me!” She smacked Reed's arm for emphasis.
“Ow! I'm protecting you, you ungrateful reptile.”
“By keeping me in the dark? You know how much I hate secrets.”
“No, by keeping an eye on the people who are trying to kidnap you." Reed grinned at Riley as he rubbed his arm. "Aww... you're worried about me. That is so sweet.”
Speaking of worrying… “I’m glad you’re meeting Will tonight,” Riley said to Xander.
“Thanks for inviting me to dinner.” He turned to a different page in his notebook. “What have you been practicing this week?”
"Breathing, mostly."
"She can pull her shell in a little when she holds her breath," Reed explained, stealing her thunder.
"You can?" Xander asked her.
"More than a little!" Riley had yawned the other day while she was invisible, and thought she saw her turtle shell move in and out a little when she did so. Further exploration revealed that when she sucked in her breath and held it, her shell would suck itself in too. "I can shrink it down about halfway now, so it only extends out eight feet or so instead of fifteen. And it stays that way as long as I hold my breath. I think if I keep practicing, I may be able to get it even smaller."
"Show me."
Riley demonstrated her discovery to Xander. "Great," he said approvingly when she made them visible again. "Great job. How does it feel when you do that?"
"Itchy. My lungs feel itchy."
"Are you still practicing holding your breath? How many minutes are you up to?"
"Six. That's twice as long as I used to be able to hold my breath, but nowhere near the twenty minutes you had on your list."
"I wonder if you could hold your breath longer under water," Reed offered. "Everything about you seems to have something to do with water."
"Good idea. I'll try that next time."
Xander nodded and made another note. Just as he finished, Riley heard one car door shut outside, and then another.
"Jack and Will are back early," she said.
"Veil yourselves," Xander told the twins, turning his ring around and closing his notebook. Reed and Riley took their pendants off and stuffed them in their pockets, and Reed went down the hall toward his room.
A few seconds later, the front door opened.
"Hey, Xander," Jack greeted him. "This is our friend from back home, Will Rush. Will, this is Xander Rainey."
The two of them shook hands. As they did, Will looked from Xander to Riley and back again.
"I need to rinse off," Jack said apologetically, heading down the hall. "Everyone, make yourselves at home. Riley, what's for dinner?"
"Pot roast," she called out as Jack disappeared into the bathroom.
"Awesome!" he yelled back.
Riley went back toward the kitchen. Will and Xander followed. "How do you know Reed and Riley?" Will asked Xander.
"I’m also at Miami. I'll graduate in December if I ever get my thesis done, and then I’ll begin my doctoral work."
Will leaned against the kitchen counter. "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"
"Twenty-nine this past Monday."
Riley smiled at Xander as she checked on the roast. "You had a birthday and you didn't tell me? I thought we were tight! I'd have made you a cake or something."
He made a face. "I hate cake."
"A steak, then. Medium rare."
"Birthday steak! Now you're talking."
Reed came in with an apple in his mouth. "Hey Xander," he chomped out. "Hey Will."
"No hello for your sister?" Will demanded.
Reed rolled his eyes. "Will the real Jack Thornton please stand up? Dude, I'm her brother. It's my job to take her for granted."
"You're good at it." Riley snatched his ball cap off his head and tossed it out the kitchen window in front of her.
"Shit! Riley!" He smacked her on the back of the head before he ran outside to retrieve it.
She giggled and turned to get drinks out of the fridge. When she glanced in Will’s direction, he caught her eye and smiled.
Her heart skipped a beat. She smiled back without thinking, then turned away quickly when she realized what she'd done. He doesn't mean it, she reminded herself.
Reed came back inside with his ball cap in his hand, brushing dirt off the brim and scowling at her.
Will turned to Xander. "So, I hear you're friends with this guy Riley's been dating. Gabe."
Oh, no…
"Yes. He's one of my roommates."
"How long have you known him?"
"Since the day he was born. His mom and my dad were close."
"They're not close anymore?"
"My dad’s dead," Xander said evenly.
Riley frowned at Will, and Reed gave him a shove.
"I'm sorry," Will said with his eyes on Riley, looking embarrassed.
"It's okay."
"I guess you like Gabe," Will continued, "since you're living with him after knowing him that long."
"Everyone likes Gabe," Xander responded, lifting an eyebrow at Will. "Do you have any specific concerns?"
Riley bit her lip to keep from smiling.
Reed laughed. "Yeah, Will, what's with the interrogation? Don't you trust Riley's judgment?"
"I'm worried, that's all."
"Your worry is misplaced," Riley said over her shoulder. "Xander's right: everybody likes Gabe. Including me. That's why we're dating."
As she turned away, she saw Will’s expression. Agony.
Shocked, she looked again, but he’d turned toward the window.
Ignore it, Riley instructed herself as she started trembling. Maybe he's jealous. But jealousy isn’t love.
Riley spent the next half hour finishing dinner and discussing her classwork with Xander and Reed. Will listened and asked Riley an occasional question, but for the most part he just stood in the corner, frowning at Xander and snapping at Reed.
When dinner was served, Jack and Will ate quickly, then Will went to the shower.
“Xander, I’m glad you came to dinner,” Jack said. “I hate to eat and run, but Will and I are going back to the garage to go over our plans.”
“Thank you for having me, Jack.”
Riley blinked. "You're going back out?"
“Yes. I'm sorry, sweetie. The point of Will being here is to get this off the ground. If we work as hard as we can, we'll have our own operation soon.”
“Riley told me you took over your father's business when you were a young teenager,” Xander said. “She's very proud of you.”
Jack smiled at her. “I was fifteen.”
Riley took Jack’s hand. “I'm glad you’re doing all you can, I just don't see you enough.”
“I'll still have long hours working for myself,” Jack cautioned, rubbing her fingers, “but I'll be able to pick the hours then. For now, though, I'm stuck in someone else's place with someone else's schedule.”
She nodded.
“I miss you, too,” Jack admitted. He squeezed her hand. “You’re right. We need more family time. Hang in there, okay? This won’t last forever.”
Once Will was done showering and had reappeared in a deep red shirt that Riley loved — that man should never wear anything but red — Jack went outside. Will followed, giving Riley a long look before he closed the door.
When they heard Jack's car take off down the road, Xander turned to her. “Will is in love with you.”
Riley’s heart sped up. “No he isn't.”
“Riley, he's been ready to rip my head off all night for monopolizing your conversation. I'm telling you,” Xander spoke more slowly for emphasis as she shook her head, “that if Gabe had been the one visiting here tonight instead of me, it would have come to blows. Quickly. He's that serious about you.”
“Will Rush doesn't know the meaning of the word 'serious.' You're wrong.”
“You can't be this clueless.”
I’m not, I just don’t know how to deal with it. She took a deep, steadying breath and glanced at Reed for support. He was looking from her to Xander and back again, his expression tense.
Xander hung his head. “Riley, please go as easy as you can on Gabe. I have never seen him even half as crazy about a girl as he is about you. I know it has only been a few months, but this will be really, really hard for him.”
She gasped. “You think I'm going to choose Will over Gabe?”
Xander looked up at her again.
“Not. Happening. No.”
“I know what I saw. I've also seen that photo on your dresser. That says it all to me. You love him, too.”
Reed stood, agitated. “You don’t have to talk about this, Riley!”
“It’s okay, Reed. I asked Xander to meet Will tonight so I could get his thoughts.” She turned toward their friend and exhaled deeply. “You’re right. I… love Will. But that doesn't matter, because I can't trust him.” She fought hard to keep the unshed tears from spilling down her cheeks. “Regardless of how either of us feels, I don't want to be treated badly. I don't want to be with someone who could ever possibly treat me badly.”
“That. Exactly,” Reed said.
Xander nodded sadly. “I understand.”
“I know,” she said quietly. “Anyway, for your information,” Riley added, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, “I also like Gabe.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. A lot.” She smiled, remembering Gabe's words to her on the swing.
Xander looked at Riley closely for a moment, and then he grinned at her. “Good.”
Riley's phone buzzed.
'Thinking about you.' Gabe.
She passed the phone to Xander, who read the text and grinned again. “His ears must've been burning.” He tossed it back to her and she tapped out a reply:
'Talking about you.'
Gabe responded: 'Anything good? :)'
Xander rolled his eyes. “Allow me, or this will go on all night.” He pulled his own phone out and sent a text.
A few moments later Riley received, 'Good night, beautiful. That made my night! XOXO'
“What did you say that made his night?”
Xander passed her his phone.
'She likes you. A LOT. She was talking about you when you texted. Trying to train here... say good night now.'
Riley smiled at Xander. “Is that what we're doing right now? Training?”
“You and Jack have a neat relationship,” Xander observed. “It must be hard to keep him out of the loop when you’re so close.”
“They’ve always been like that,” Reed grumbled. “It’s so sweet it’s sickening.”
Riley slowly leaned her head to the side until it was resting on Reed’s shoulder. “I only have one twin.”
“Way to be self-evident, Riles,” he said softly.
As he watched them, Xander’s eyes flickered. After a moment, he shook his head and stood. “I need to go.”
Riley and Reed helped him gather his things. “Thanks again for coming.” she said.
“You’re welcome. Stay safe, and text if you need anything.” He grinned down at her, then added, “And don’t let Gabe distract you too much. He will, if you don’t stop him.”
“You still don’t get it. I want Gabe to distract me.”
Reed laughed. “Awesome!” He slapped her a little too hard on the back. “Yes, Xander. Tell him to distract her. The sooner Riley falls in rainbow unicorn love, the better off everyone in this house is going to be.”
Comments (1)
See all