Chapter 5
5
Daniel
D aniel pulled the truck door shut and leaned over to open his glove box. There had to be a pen in there somewhere. He needed a few things from town, and he couldn’t afford to forget anything.
Knowing how the last couple of days had gone, he wasn’t sure he had the brain capacity to recall everything, especially when Aria’s face popped into his head so often.
She’d made him supper every night so far, and on the second day, she’d brought a variety of groceries for him to manage his own breakfasts and lunch breaks. Sophia had gone overboard in requesting her cousin’s help. Daniel didn’t need, nor want, a babysitter. Aria wasn’t even good at keeping an eye on him. If anything, she was getting in the way. Last night, he’d had a hard time going to sleep because he kept reliving their first meal together.
No one had ever stirred the feelings in his chest that she managed to. He could still feel the heat from her touch, and it had been a few days.
He rubbed at the spot with his left hand, his frustration growing at not being able to track down a miserable little pen.
Knocking on the window glass broke him from his concentration and he startled. His head bumped against the sun visor that had been left down from the day before. Daniel turned to find Aria standing at his door, waving a hand at him.
That ridiculously fake smile was still plastered to her lips. He considered starting the truck and driving off before she could speak to him. He’d had enough of her to last him for the rest of the week. How many days did he have left?
She knocked again and pointed to the window.
He groaned, resting his head against the seat before he pushed the button to roll down the window. “What do you want, Aria?”
Aria pouted, though he could see the workings of a smirk forming on her lips. “Is that any way to treat the woman who feeds you?”
“I’ve got a lot of work to do today. So if you need something?—”
“Roman said you’re running to town to pick up something from the feed store.”
“Yes,” he ground out. “It’s on the schedule that Sophia left for me.”
“Great,” she chirped. Without another word, she hustled around the front of the truck. His eyes followed her until she stopped at the passenger door and tugged on the handle. Aria pouted again and folded her arms before pointing to the door.
Once more, he considered driving off. He already knew what she wanted, and he wasn’t interested in a tagalong.
For reasons beyond his understanding, he pressed a button and unlocked the door.
She beamed and pulled it open. She hopped onto the passenger seat and dragged the seatbelt across her chest before giving him an expectant look. “Well? Are we heading out, or what?”
“ We’re not doing anything. I’m going to town. I don’t know what you think you’re doing in my truck.”
She sighed as if he’d missed a conversation they’d had about this very topic. “I have to go to town, too. It’s kismet.”
“It’s what ?”
“You don’t know what kismet means?” At his blank stare, she patted his arm. He didn’t even bother pulling away. There was no use. This was apparently how Aria was. “It’s fate,” she explained. “You were heading to town anyway. And I needed to go. It was meant to be.”
He dragged a hand down his face. If this was fate, then fate was messing with him and had a terrible sense of humor.
“Come on, sweetheart. Put the truck into gear. Let’s get going.”
“And why can’t any of your cousins take you?”
“They’re busy,” she said as if it answered every question he might want to add to the one he’d already asked.
“ I’m busy,” he muttered.
“I know. So it begs the question, what are we still doing here?”
“I couldn’t find a pen.”
She stared at him, her lips curling into an infuriating smirk. “I have one.” She dug into a purse he hadn’t even noticed she carried. When she brandished a blue pen, her grin widened. “And it even matches your eyes.” She shoved it toward him. “See? Kis?—”
“Don’t say it.”
“Okay, but do you mind letting me ride along?”
He snatched the pen from her hand and dug around for a napkin in the armrest that sat between them. Daniel scribbled the few things he needed from town, not daring to look in her direction, already knowing she was watching him.
No matter what he did, he couldn’t escape her scrutiny. What was her problem? Did she expect to find something terrible about him that she could tattle to her cousins about? Well, the joke was on her. He didn’t have anything to hide.
“I guess you can as long as you don’t take too long.”
Daniel scowled from where he stood in line at the feed store. Aria had been cornered by none other than Brett Madison. The guy was just as big of a slimeball as he’d been when they were in high school.
As far as Daniel knew, the guy couldn’t keep any girl for long. Eventually, they all realized he had a black soul. There were rumors about the kind of guy he was with those women, but most of his rumored victims never came forward to confirm anything.
Daniel flexed his hand as he moved up in the line. Aria laughed with the guy. She reached out and touched his arm like she had with him that first night. Was she playing him? Playing them both?
His heart lurched, and it didn’t make a lick of sense. He wasn’t interested in Aria. She was currently the bane of his existence. And yet he couldn’t allow Brett to try and take advantage of her.
Aria glanced toward Brett briefly, her pretty smile never wavering. She pulled that blue pen from her purse and reached for his hand. Then she scrawled something on his skin, and he winked at her.
Daniel’s stomach roiled. His eyes followed her as she waved goodbye to Brett and returned to his side.
“He’s pretty cute.” She glanced over her shoulder, but Brett had already exited the building.
“Yeah, if you like men who give other guys a bad name.”
Slowly, she turned her focus to him and lifted a brow. “You’re not jealous, are you?”
He ground his teeth. No. He wouldn’t lower himself to her level. “Of course not.”
She flashed him a smile. “Good, because he asked me out dancing at that country club on the outskirts of town. I’ve been begging Sophia to take me, but she always had excuses.”
That was probably because Mateo didn’t like his sisters going out when he couldn’t protect them from the rowdy guys in town, but Daniel didn’t need to point that out. Aria likely knew already.
“You shouldn’t go,” he muttered, moving up in the line.
Her smile faltered, shifting into irritation. “I’m sorry, but when did you become my big brother?”
“I’m not,” he snapped a little too loudly. People nearby glanced in their direction. Aria stilled. For a second she might have looked scared. Then her eyes narrowed, and she lifted her chin. “Then it shouldn’t matter who I choose to spend my time with. Mateo and Sophia asked you to watch their horses, not their cousin,” she spat out as she marched from the store.
Great. This was just great. He didn’t trust Brett to keep his hands to himself. Keeping her safe wouldn’t be his priority.
It looked like Daniel would be heading out to Shane’s country club—and the prospect was already setting him on edge.
Daniel had forgotten how hard it was to blend in when he was nearly six-foot-five. He was pretty sure he was the tallest member of the Copper Creek community, and whenever he went anywhere, he got strange looks. Children either stared or they ran when they saw him coming.
Aria had been one of the first to size him up and seemingly decide that he wasn’t nearly as scary as he thought he was.
He stood against the brick wall in the ballroom area and held tight to the bottle of coke he’d purchased. His eyes followed Aria as she danced with Brett for nearly every song—fast or slow. He was here as part of his favor to the Palmers. Mateo would have insisted Aria stay home if he’d known that she was going out with Brett Madison.
The guy was as sleazy as all get out. Why couldn’t Aria see that? When they danced to the slow songs, his hand kept inching lower and lower. It took everything inside Daniel not to march across the dance floor and rip the guy’s hand from his arm.
His grip on the bottle tightened and he glanced away. One such slow song blared through the speakers. Aria had made it clear she didn’t want his interference tonight. She’d actually confronted him when Brett left to get her a drink. He could still feel the sting of her glare when she’d accused him of spying on her.
Well, he’d do what she asked for now. But if he noticed even one wrong move from Brett, then he wasn’t against getting involved.
For the Palmers.
After the dance, Aria and Brett moved toward the balcony doors. Cool air wafted into the ballroom, and she actually looked flushed. Daniel watched them go, his eyes following their movements. He should stay put. She wouldn’t want him to follow.
And yet?
He knew he couldn’t let her go out there alone with that man.
Part of him wished he could let her be, like she requested, but it seemed his feet had a different plan.
Daniel moved closer to the door, and the second he stepped through, he saw Brett attempting to kiss her.
“Brett, no. I said I didn’t?—”
Daniel stalked toward the couple. He vaguely noticed the way that Aria seemed to short-circuit. Her hands had dropped to her sides, and her eyes shut tight when Brett grabbed her upper arms to pull her close.
Fury sparked in Daniel’s gaze and his vision turned red. His hand wrapped around the man’s collar, and he yanked him away from Aria only to release him. The momentum had Brett landing on his backside with an almost comically stunned look on his face.
Daniel whirled to face him, keeping his back to Aria as he stared down the man who didn’t seem to know the meaning of the word “no.” He breathed in deeply, his chest heaving.
Below him, Brett’s startled expression shifted into fury as he scrambled to his feet. “Keagan,” he spat, “I know this might be a new concept to you, but you can’t steal anymore. You’ll be tried as an adult.” He dusted himself off, then sneered at Daniel with clear disdain. “If you’ll kindly leave us, I’d like to get back to my date.”
“Think again,” Daniel ground out.
The man had the gall to laugh and then tilt his head in an attempt to see Aria better. “Sweetheart, come on. Another song started.”
Daniel moved between them, then took a swift step toward Brett, who scuttled backward. Oh, how the tables had turned. His former bully’s eyes flashed with warning. But when Aria didn’t immediately run into his arms, he huffed. “Whatever. There are prettier girls inside anyway.” He spun on his heel and left them alone.
Before Aria had a chance to speak, Daniel muttered, “Come on. We’re leaving.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Home. Now .”
“If you think I’m getting in the truck with you right now, you’re wrong.”
He turned to face her. “This isn’t up for discussion.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“If I have to throw you over my shoulder to get you to my truck, I will. I’m not spending another second here, and neither are you.” He reached a hand out to her. She stared at it with venom in her gaze, then huffed and pushed past him.
Thankfully, she moved through the country club toward the exit. He followed close enough behind to ensure Brett wouldn’t try anything. They drove home in silence, and when he left her at the door, she gave him one last poisonous stare before she charged inside and shut the door behind her.
Why she was mad at him, he wasn’t sure. Except that maybe she didn’t like the fact that he was right about Brett.