7. Eric
Chapter 7
Eric
T he way she’d looked wearing my shirt was near criminal. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she casually strolled out of the bathroom and into the lounge room, the hem reaching her knees. Behind the perfected makeup was a naturally beautiful young woman, those big blue eyes captivating. I’d ground my teeth in irritation. It had taken me hours to get to sleep as I considered why she might’ve been passing through town. Not that I cared but some of her answers didn’t sit right with me. I had the niggling sense that she was in trouble, but I didn’t know what kind and what she might’ve brought upon our town. And yet I also considered what those blonde curls might feel like wrapped around my fist, or how soft her skin would be, or what those lips would taste like.
After hours of wrestling with the discomfort of someone else in my space, sleep finally took hold. And then when I’d woken up, she was making me an omelette? I wasn’t sure what to think about this little snowflake that had waltzed into our town. But the sooner she left, and I could fall back into my routine, the better. Her staying her for only one night had already distracted me beyond measure.
Driving down the mountain she said very little, unlike the nervous chatter she’d filled space and time with on the way up. When I dared a brief glance her way, she was looking outside the window, deep in thought. I noticed her fingers wringing each other. Was she still nervous around me or was something else upsetting her?
My thoughts drifted to her cell being suspended. Was she in some financial strife? She didn’t look like the penniless type, but I’d learnt over the years appearances weren’t always what they seemed.
Lori had already opened shop and as I’d promised Cassidy, her car had remained on the street untouched.
“We’ll check on the update about the tree and see if you can get through yet,” I said, turning the engine off. Her head whipped up, shaken from her deep thought and she gave me a beaming smile.
“That sounds great, thank you,” she said, unbuckling her seat belt.
She jumped out of the truck, opening the back door for Shadow.
When we walked in, my face slackened at the sight of my youngest brother, Thomas, swiveling on the barstool. A mischievous smile stretched his goofy handsome face and I knew the shit I was already in.
“So it’s true that you took in a young lady for the night? What a gentleman,” he charmed, standing to attention. I threw Lori a threatening gaze. She just laughed, shrugging her shoulder casually as if she were none the wiser. And certainly not the instigator.
“I’m Thomas, Ricky boy here’s youngest brother.” He offered his hand out to Cassidy. Shadow growled at him in warning—and I wanted to join him. I hated that name he called me. What annoyed me even more was the way Cassidy seemed charmed by his introduction.
“Ricky?” she queried. I ignored her, walking past my younger brother and rounding the counter, the chance of me being in a good mood today, gone.
“You want a juice, hun?” Lori asked Cassidy.
Cassidy’s smile faltered. Yea she certainly wasn’t a fan of the one poured straight out of the carton yesterday. She thought I wasn’t looking when she’d poured her to-go cup down the sink in the cabin. “No but I’ll have a green tea, if you have it?”
“Coming right up,” Lori charmed. It was abnormally quiet at this time, usually by now a couple of locals would’ve stopped by for their coffee and breakfast rolls.
“I apologize sincerely that you got stuck with my brother for an entire night, he isn’t exactly friendly-making material,” Thomas jibed.
“Oh no he was very hospitable,” Cassidy quickly countered.
Thomas raised an eyebrow and looked in my direction. “You’re probably the first that’s ever used that definition to describe him.”
Cassidy seemed unsure what to say.
“Any update on the log blocking the road?” I asked Lori, purposefully ignoring him, although I kept an uneasy eye on Thomas and Cassidy. It irked me how well they already seemed to get along. Thomas always had been charismatic in that way, probably the type she was used to fawning over.
“Yea about that,” Lori said as she poured hot water over a tea bag into a mug. “They’re not going to be able to get rid of it for another day or so. Apparently, we’ve got some heavy snowfall on its way. Most of the locals are preparing for it.”
I frowned; most mornings I’d usually check the reports to see what the weather was doing but this morning I’d been distracted. I eyed the reason for that. Cassidy was absentmindedly brushing through Shadow’s fur as she laughed at a joke Thomas had made at my expense.
I wasn’t at all comfortable with the way Shadow sat at her feet, in that protective way he had always and only ever done with me. Why had Shadow chosen this woman? He didn’t get along with anyone other than me. Traitor, I glumly thought.
“Did you hear that, hun?” Lori asked as she handed Cassidy the mug of green tea. “You’re not going to be able to head out today either. We have a bit of a nasty snowstorm on its way so no one can drive from the neighboring town to chop it down.
“Oh.” Cassidy frowned. She stared at her tea.
“Don’t worry you don’t have to stay with this grump,” Thomas jokingly said. “If you want you can crash with me?”
“Absolutely not,” I growled. They all looked at me, surprised. A playful smile jerked at Thomas’s expression which pissed me off even more.
“Why not? Don’t think I’m dependable enough?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. He and Lori were enjoying this way too much, and it was grating on me.
“She’ll be staying with me,” I growled out. Taking in her startled reaction, I felt the need to add, “I don’t think she wants to stay with you and the twins keeping her up all night.”
Thomas offered a sly knowing smile.
“The twins?” Cassidy asked.
“Our other brothers. Worse than this one, those two are.” Lori pointed a finger at Thomas, who seemed affronted by her accusing finger. “And maybe she doesn’t want to stay at all. She could still go back.”
“Not if the snow will be picking up shortly,” I piped up. All eyes were on me again.
“Sounding a bit bossy and possessive there, Ricky boy,” Thomas teased.
My jaw tightened. “I’m not. It’s just in Cassidy’s best interests. That car isn’t the safest on these roads and we all know it.”
A silence fell over the room. Especially on the back roads; lives had been lost with even the most experienced drivers losing grip and crashing.
“Um, if it’s okay and safer, I’d rather stay the night,” Cassidy said quietly. “I’m not the most confident driver.” A protective tug in my stomach. Maybe it was because of all those we’d lost previously, and I didn’t want the same thing for her. “But would it be possible if I could call my friend off someone’s cell to let her know I might be a few days late?”
Before Thomas could scoop his cell out of his pocket, I offered her mine. “You can call off this.”
I could feel Lori’s and Thomas’s gazes burning into me. Why wasn’t I letting Thomas help her? Wouldn’t that make it easier for me to go back to my daily routine and be free of her? But I wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of trying to hook up with her either. His arrogance in that way annoyed me.
“Thank you,” Cassidy said carefully as she plucked it out of my hand and glanced around at the interested onlookers. They were making it damn uncomfortable, but that was to piss me off and had nothing to do with her. Comparatively her hand was half the size of mine. Delicate, was the best description. I mean she was easily half my size, after all. She’d be like throwing around the weight of a shoulder bag. I cleared my throat, pushing away the thought of throwing her around in anyway.
“Why don’t you show her around the town today before we get snowed in?” Lori suggested as she put a few utensils away. “Thomas and I have got it covered here. I don’t think it’ll be much of a busy day anyway.”
“If we’re going to be snowed in, I should cut some more wood for the locals.”
Lori rolled her eyes. “Please I think everyone has enough wood to last them the month.”
“Or if you’re busy, I can take her?” Thomas suggested with a nonchalant shrug. I could feel the muscle at my temple pick up in tempo. He was purposefully pushing me today.
“I think they have enough wood,” I gritted out, agreeing with Lori.
I could sense Lori’s smirk as she turned around and through to the kitchen. I didn’t much like what these two were up to.
Not that there was a lot in Rosefield to show her, but I certainly wasn’t going to let Thomas sweet talk her for his own amusement. But didn’t that make more sense? They were around the same age. A hot irritation ran through me. This wasn’t like me. This was meant to be my escapism from everything, so why was I creating a busier schedule to accommodate this strange woman who’d randomly found herself stranded in our town? And yet I wanted to wipe that smug expression off my younger brother’s face immediately. Man, my family knew how to get under my skin.