The welcome was cheerful and friendly, the same as his sister’s, and Jade joined him behind the desk. Both had soft freckles dotting fair, rosy cheekbones. Both were slim and attractive, and radiated a relaxed, almost carefree attitude. Standing side by side, even their height was similar, both easily half-a-foot shorter than the Magpie. There was a playful smirk on the man’s face as he rested an arm around his sister’s shoulders. Somehow, though everything else about the pair screamed twins, that one look and the sparkle in his eyes made him seem much more youthful.
With a chuckle, he waved the father and daughter over. “Mr. Miller?” Jade corrected him and he nodded. “Ah, sorry. Sam. I’m Jackson Glass, but everyone calls me Jack or Jackie. My sister's away during the day, but I’ll be here most of the time, so just let me know if you ever need anything.”
Leaning over the desk again to get closer to Ellie, he flashed her a grin. Unexpectedly, she shifted forward slightly, her blue eyes a little wider.
“Aren’t you precious,” he said sweetly. His sister told him her name and he nodded again. “Ellie. You let us know if you need anything, okay?”
She barely nodded back and the Magpie took in a quick breath, then huffed out an inaudible laugh.
“I guess she likes you.” He kept his voice low to mask his curiosity. Of all the people for Ellie to find interesting, she chose this man?
“Yeah?” Jack turned to him and grinned again - a bright, happy grin that made him pull back, his curiosity turning to surprise. “I’m glad. I like her too.” He grabbed a set of keys from a thin cabinet on the wall behind him. “Your room is up the stairs, then take a right and go straight to the end of the hall. Since you’ll be here a while, we gave you the VIP suite. Which in this house just means the slightly larger room on the end.” He winked, handing the keys over. “It does have a great view, though.”
Without responding, the Magpie took the keys and picked up his suitcase, but Jack nodded with a smile anyway. The man clearly liked to nod. And smile. The Magpie was struck with a strange feeling looking at him, but couldn’t determine exactly what it was. His smile seemed both genuine and exaggerated, and there was a hint of something sad in his dark green eyes. Something that had been there a long time. His sister, on the other hand, was entirely sunny, her own green eyes always shining. It would be best to stay wary of them both. He might be in this house a long time and need their help, but friendly was the same as nosy. He didn’t want to give any unnecessary information away.
Carrying Ellie and the luggage up the stairs, the boards protested at each step. Everything in this house made noise – door hinges creaked, floors groaned under the smallest weight, and the open space carried and echoed every sound. Sneaking in here would be difficult. These old houses were large, but also cramped, with many oddly-shaped rooms and long, thin halls. Good for hiding, but bad for escape.
Heading down the hallway, he heard a light laugh, then Jade’s voice quietly asking, “What kind of face is that? You’re too obvious.”
“What? I can’t appreciate a good-looking man?” There was a little chuckle from Jack, followed by a heavy sigh. “With those dark brown, brooding eyes... Did you see the size of his neck and shoulders?”
“Well, I thought he was kind of scary. Like he could be really dangerous if he wanted to be. And his little girl's big eyes just staring blankly... Weird family.”
Jack huffed at his sister and the floor whined under his feet as he left the desk. “You know nothing about them. Don’t be so judgmental.” There was a pause, then the footsteps started again. “I’m gonna check and see if they need anything.”
As quickly and as quietly as possible, the Magpie slipped the rest of the way into his room. Tossing the suitcase on the bed, his eyes darted around the space, trying to find the most convincing ‘I wasn’t listening to your conversation’ place to stand. By the time Jack made it down the hall, he was staring out a window with Ellie snug in his arms.
“Nice view, right?” The question was mostly playful and rhetorical, said just as contrast to the other less impressive features of the room, but there was also a hint of eagerness, as if he really wanted his new guest to be pleased.
The Magpie could only grunt in response, not caring either way, and turned to join him at the open door. As soon as they were close enough, Ellie reached a hand out toward Jack’s face, so he leaned in to let her touch it. She poked at his cheek, then stared at him with a dull curiosity.
“Freckles,” he explained lightly, flashing her that warm smile from before. “You’ve never seen freckles?”
Without responding, Ellie moved her finger to his earlobe, where he wore a single star stud. Then she pointed to her own silver piercing and looked to him for a reaction.
Jack chuckled and nodded. “Yes, we match. Yours is very pretty.”
Then she stretched out for his hair, snatching and tugging the strands at the side of his head.
“Ah, ouch.”
She drew back, her hand curling into a fist but her blank expression and curious eyes not changing. Pulling the elastic tie out, Jack let his hair fall loose, the ends landing below his shoulders. She reached out and tugged again, but this time he only smiled as she played.
Still wearing his same cold expression, the Magpie huffed out another quiet laugh. “She normally hates men… But she’s interested in you.”
Jack smiled up at him, delighted to hear it, but he avoided the gaze, his eyes back on Ellie. He was interested too, in how this single stranger could be the exception to what seemed like a deep-rooted source of trauma. Maybe he also wondered what was hiding behind that smile and those sparkling green eyes, but he would never admit that. It was lucky the man didn’t cause panic, and both he and Ellie could use some luck right now. Best to leave it at that. Going any further would just cause problems
Gently pulling his hair from between Ellie’s fingers, Jack stood and tied it into a messy ponytail. “I came to see if you needed anything.” When the Magpie shook his head, he nodded. “Then how about a tour, since you’ll be here a while? You can meet me in the foyer whenever you’re ready?”
“Okay.”
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