Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Something about this entire situation seemed too coincidental. Things lined up in a way that gave me the same feeling that Aunt Laurel used to call tail-flicking energy under a sideways moon. Neither of these two had the same type of vibe as the rest of the town’s citizens.
Dissecting the turn of events in my head, it was becoming all too clear why the hair on the back of my neck was bristling with something resembling instincts warring between fight or flight.
Exhibit A: Beth had just left for home, and I just so happened to run into two guys I hadn’t yet met in a town so small that the mayor was also the only accountant and the local locksmith.
Exhibit B: These two guys who appeared to be a couple of years older than I was, and looked like they had just been ripped out of a heartthrob magazine. The energy they were bathing in screamed something I couldn’t place just yet.
Exhibit C: My inner feline was poofing up its fur and sharpening its claws.
“And here I thought I had met everybody in town already,” I dryly noted. “I’m Harlow. My family and I just moved here a few days ago.” I shook Corbin’s hand firmly enough to give off confidence without crushing his grip and not lingering long enough to give off the wrong message.
My eyes locked onto Corbin’s lightly colored hues, which reminded me of a caramel apple pie. Warm, glossy, inviting with a hint of spice amongst the sweetness.
There was this feeling of familiarity, almost a sense of déjà vu. I hadn’t met him before, right? No, I was certain that his entire look would have stuck out.
There weren’t too many folks here who looked like they aspired to be a modern-day rock legend, oozing with sex appeal and bad decisions. I half expected adoring fans to come screaming around the corner at any moment.
“We tend to stick to ourselves,” said the other one in a gravelly tone.
The one who looked like he was going for farm boy chic.
A bit of vintage mixed with modern-day style.
Just enough of his dark blonde hair peeked out from the bottom of the vintage cap he was wearing.
His blue eyes stood out like cornflowers in a meadow of wheat.
Despite his friend’s clear effort to keep space between us, he stepped closer anyway. The invasion was close enough to notice the scent of something earthy and crisp coming off of him, but just barely far enough that I wasn’t ready to knee him in the balls. Yet.
Leaning his face in a fraction more, Bale dropped his tone into something quieter but still rough at the edges. “That is, until we find someone worth spending time with.”
His fingers wrapped around my hand, cradling it in his palm like a rare treasure. Raising my knuckles to his lips, he stopped just shy of contact.
Something coiled low in my core at the proximity and the heat of his breath that breezed over my skin.
Then, he abruptly released my hand and stepped back with a smug look on his face. “Too bad you don’t fit the bill, kitten.”
Something seized up in my chest, causing my heart to stutter.
Defensively, I snapped my arms into place, crossed in front of me. The curve of my nails bit into my biceps through the material of the sweater.
Glancing over at his dark and broody friend, I got the feeling he didn’t share the same sentiment. Or perhaps Corbin just realized how fucking rude his buddy was.
It was gratifying to know that I wasn’t the only one casting daggers with my eyes at Bale.
“You’re not my cup of tea either, patch.” I gave a jerk of my chin and a pointed look at the stupid newsie cap he was wearing with mismatched swatches of fabric sewn all over it.
A rumbling chuckle came straight from the center of his chest. “Clever,” he murmured before he turned to look at his friend. “She’s got spunk. I like her.”
Corbin looked like he was torn between committing murder and dry heaving in disgust. I wouldn’t blame him if it were both.
Instead, in a strained tone, he turned to look at me with something softer in his gaze. “My apologies—again. Bale comes from a long line of individuals with sticks up their asses.”
“Better than coming from a family of dodos,” Bale shot back under his breath, but unmistakably audible.
It prompted an exasperated huff from Corbin. “They’re not even remotely in the same famil—” He cut himself off and pinched the bridge of his nose instead.
When he continued, several deep breaths later, it was with what came off as practiced patience that he ignored Bale. His focus was fully on me, as if I were his entire universe.
“Look, Harlow, we don’t get a whole lot of fresh faces here. Sometimes we forget what it’s like to be the new person. Let us make it up to you tonight at the opening ceremony of the town’s fall festival.”
The genuine interest in making things right caught me off guard. My shoulders dropped slightly, and my grasp on my arms loosened.
Bale stood there silently, waiting and perhaps judging what my response would be.
After a standstill of charged silence, he finally sighed with a scaled-back level of annoyance. “You scared that you might actually have a good time?”
Scoffing, I couldn’t help but smile in disbelief at this guy’s ego.
“I don’t scare easily.” I allowed confidence to seep into my tone despite the current lack of any when it came to these two.
“Good, it’s settled.” Corbin straightened up, a smile stretching over his lips that put his boyish dimples front and center. “The courtyard at seven, we’ll meet you by the tractor.”
“Tractor. Seven o’clock,” I repeated back. “See you there.”
I moved forward, walking between the two of them. My fingertips brushed Corbin’s. At the same time, my elbow softly bumped into Bale’s arm. The dual contact made my feline side snap to attention.
The sensation evoked a vibration deep in my bones like the purr itself was trying to force itself through cracks in my years of practiced discipline.
My carefully curated control splintered at the force of something downright primal inside me.
Instincts were torn between wanting to curl up in the warmth of the sun that poured off of Bale, while the excited chirping sounds echoed in my skull from Corbin’s presence.
Collectively, all our breaths hitched.
Did they feel it, too?
With a jerky movement, I finally broke out of my temporary state of paralysis. Each step away from them was a herculean effort, an invisible tether being drawn painfully taut and threatening to yank me right back.
Yet, I stubbornly pushed through the sensation and hurried off to Falston’s General Store to escape the air heavy with their scents: freshly fallen leaves and clouds blurring into the sunset-streaked autumn sky.
Before I rounded the corner, I heard Bale call out one last time.
“Don’t be late, kitten! I’d hate to have to chase you down!”
Minutes later, escaping into the General Store, I leaned back against a wooden display. My breaths came out far more unevenly than they had any business doing.
The shoddy craftsmanship of the shelving wobbled, threatening to send a few jars of locally-made preserves off the edge. Sharply, I reared back from the display, my hand already jutting out to stabilize a pint of apple butter before it could take a dive onto the floor.
Exhaling in relief, I collected myself enough to take in the surroundings of the store. At the register, a bored thirty-something-year-old woman was leaning over the checkout counter, flipping through a magazine. The only other sound besides the pages crinkling was the occasional snap of her gum.
“Whatcha looking for?” she muttered without looking up.
I drew a blank.
At my lack of response, she finally looked up from her reading material and shot me an unamused expression.
“It’s in aisle five.”
Confusion set in, and I blinked slowly. “What’s in aisle five?”
“Everything that nobody realizes they’ve come in here for. It’s always in aisle five,” she stated matter-of-factly.
My brows furrowed, but I nodded and walked toward said aisle. Turning the corner, I nearly pissed my pants when I saw Corbin standing halfway down. He stood there, looking at the label on the back of a bag of birdseed.
How in the hell…
I looked behind me, half expecting Bale to be here as well.
As if reading my mind, Corbin spoke up, drawing my attention back to him. “He left to grab a bite to eat. Bastard gets crotchety when he hasn’t eaten a solid meal.” Finally meeting my eyes, he gave a lopsided grin.
“I didn’t see you come in. How did you get here so quickly?” I eyed him suspiciously.
He gestured towards the back of the store.
“Everybody knows to cut through the barber shop—quicker.” He paused and grinned as his eyes drifted over me like an accusation while adding, “Except you, apparently. Don’t be giving away our secrets now, okay?”
I almost laughed. This whole town reeked of secrets.
Continuing with small talk, Corbin raised the birdseed in his hand and gave it a shake. “Forgot that I promised Mayor Dennison I’d pick up bird feed for the kids’ arts and crafts table.”
Clearing my throat, I nodded and walked deeper into the aisle, glancing at the shelves. “That’s thoughtful of you,” I said while I pretended to be interested in the selection of miniature flashlights.
Without missing a beat in the conversation, he casually asked, “You want any?”
I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Birdseed?”
“Kids,” he said with complete seriousness if it were the most appropriate conversation in the world to be having with someone you just met.
Meanwhile, I stood there choking on my own saliva.
“I… Maybe. Not that it’s any of your business.” I glared at him, casting a warning that he was on real fucking shaky ground.
He hummed to himself. It was the type of sound that made him seem like he was some sort of scientist observing an unexpected result in a science experiment. Like my response had intrigued him instead of discouraging him.