Chapter Thirteen #2
“I’ll finish up feeding and”—Laken glanced down at himself—“then go get into some dry clothes.” His eyes met mine and he allowed the slightest curl of his lips, the kind of grin that showed he wanted to say more but couldn’t. “I’m glad you didn’t burn today.”
I swallowed. The fact that everyone around could’ve felt the tension between us made it so much worse. I couldn’t hide my awkwardness, my mumbling, my loss of words. “You sure you got it here?”
He nodded. “I think I can manage.” How did he answer so fluently? He wasn’t bothered, shaken, or distressed. He didn’t even seem to care.
“Okay, well… see you tomorrow.”
“Bright and early,” he replied, leaving me and my friend to reunite and catch up. Right then, I noticed the slip of his smirk and how he shoved his hands in his pockets. He wasn’t bothered because he liked it. He liked that I asked, that I cared.
So I could never do it again.
Unfortunately, the accusing expression on Maggie’s face heated my cheeks like the sun’s rays on a summer day.
“What was that about?”
I bit my lips. “What was what about?”
Her features dropped into a deadpan frown. “You know exactly the that I am talking about.”
I moved past her, leading her up to my room so I could change and get Blaze out of my bed. “There is no that to talk about, so perhaps you are confused.”
“I am not confused.” She stormed after me up the narrow wooden stairwell. “And for you to seriously insinuate I am is highly offensive, Reece McCarthen. You stop right now.”
I stopped, turned to her in the threshold of my door, and clenched my jaw.
Maggie watched carefully, tracing my stance with her eyes as if reading my damned body language. Her lips curled into a shaming grin and I braced myself. “Have you slept with him yet?”
What? “Yet?” Busting into my room, I tore at my dress. “No, I haven’t slept with him. Why would I?” The words were moaned and groaned as I struggled way too hard to get these straps off my shoulders.
“So what did you do?”
Halfway tangled in a drenched dress with one arm free and the other losing circulation, I caught her stare. How long I waited before answering, I wasn’t sure, but I also wasn’t sure how to answer. What did I do?
“I didn’t do anything.”
Maggie narrowed her eyes. I scooted past her as I nearly dislocated my arm yanking it through my straps. “I’ll get it out of you eventually, I have time.”
Hiding my reaction by digging through an extremely unorganized closet, I shuffled through skirts, tunics, and pants until I yanked out a light-blue shirt and brown pants.
The thing was, I knew Maggie would get it out of me.
She had a way of doing that, but I didn’t feel like having that conversation yet.
“How is everything else going?” She plopped onto my bed.
I turned to her—trying to withhold my pathetic laughter—and thought about lying.
However, before I decided, my mouth opened.
“You mean aside from cleaning chicken shit out of my boots, losing half my skirts to the hellblazers’ spite fires, constantly being covered in mud, sweat, and tears”—I stopped to breathe—“and the twelve thousand–mac debt notice?” My voice rose and water ironically lined my eyes. “We’re good here, we’re doing great.”
“Debt notice?”
“Yeah, the old man had to screw things up for me even more. But Laken and I have it worked out. We’re going to fix it.”
Her nose turned up. “How?”
“We’re going to do small jobs here and there.
” I carefully danced around the part about Laken being an assassin.
“We’ll do what we can, and with the help of his mother, we’re going to have a fundraiser.
Like an event for the town, though I’m not expecting much to come from that.
” Half-dressed, I faced Mags as she offered a sympathetic smile. “Everything is going to be fine.”
I couldn’t see her reaction while pulling my shirt over my head. It’d been a week since I got that notice, meaning my thirty days were already down to twenty-three. Or twenty-four? I’d have to check the calendar.
“Laken sure is awfully invested in this sanctuary.”
Her words struck me. Standing frozen by the closet, I vaguely heard her rambling.
Laken did seem invested. He insisted it was to protect the creatures, but with everyone in town thinking he’d be running it, where would they have gotten that idea if he hadn’t led it on?
My father had trained him when he wouldn’t even train me.
Maggie stared at me, noting my silence, and changed subjects. “Are you eating regularly? Drinking water?”
I hadn’t realized how much I’d lost it until her questions made me laugh. “Yes, mother. I am eating and drinking water.”
I dropped the tension from my shoulders and limbs, sulking. “How’s Dirty Hoes?” Plopping on the bed next to her, I grabbed my good shoes.
“It’s good, actually; we’re making it quite well. Spring season is here.” Reminiscing on my three springs at the shop, I didn’t miss the busy season. Sometimes I thought I’d be just fine if I never saw another daisy in my life. “I brought in some help.”
I snapped up. “Help? Who’d you bring in?”
“Tommy.”
My jaw dropped. “Tommy from three dates ago?”
Maggie grinned, nodding as though she didn’t believe it, either.
“Are they sleeping in my old bed or yours?”
My friend, happy and shameless, said, “Oh, they’re definitely sleeping in mine.”
“Maggie James! You were waiting to give me the boot, weren’t you?” She relished my reaction and I let her. I did feel glad for her, she deserved not only happiness and love, but also a decent manager because Gods knew I’d tried my best and still came in below average. “How long are you here for?”
“Just the weekend, you have me today and half of tomorrow.”
“Right.” I stood from the bed, finally dry and decent. “Alright, ready to go?”
“Where are we going?”
I smiled and offered my hand. “I’m giving you a proper Honey Brooke tour, free of charge.”