11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
Luna
I’m not sure if Carson is aware, but a rather large man has been stalking us in the shadows the entire walk back.
I don’t know why, but it doesn’t scare me.
When we get back to the cabin, he finally speaks. “So, turns out my parents were home.”
“Oh no. I hope we didn’t wake them.”
“No. They were just getting ready to have their nightly snack.”
He doesn’t say anything else about it.
“Are they? I mean, are they okay with me staying out here? Because I can leave.”
“No,” he says, stopping us abruptly and shifting to face me. He holds my hand up to his mouth. “You are welcome here.”
“You didn’t tell them?”
He slides his hand along the side of my neck. “Not yet, but I will. Tomorrow.”
My stomach falls. Why do I care whether or not he told his parents? It doesn’t matter. It’s probably for the best. I don’t need to get attached to anyone like I did Robin.
“Okay, well, I should get to bed,” I say, yawning into my hand. I take a step back and his hand falls away.
“Luna.” He follows me over to the fire. “I would have told them, but it was late and I didn’t know if you were up to meeting anyone.”
He’s right. I did tell him my social battery was running low. Between him and Cole this has been more interaction than … well, than I’ve ever had.
“Thank you. I am feeling drained.”
He begins to douse the fire with water. The steam rises up between us.
“We’ll go up there tomorrow,” he says confidently, and I don’t doubt he has every intention of introducing me to his parents.
I putter around, cleaning up our mess as he continues to make sure the fire is out.
When there’s nothing left for either of us to do, we stand awkwardly. “We’ll leave the door unlocked,” he says, pointing up to his house.
“Yeah, okay, thank you.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He pauses in front of me. “Good night, Luna.”
“Good night, Carson.”
He hesitates for a moment longer, and I think he’s going to kiss me again, but it doesn’t happen. I’m both relieved and saddened.
“I’ll wait until you’re locked up.”
He doesn’t move until I’m safely inside. I watch him walk up to the cabin. The big man following us watches with me from behind a tree. It’s his dad. I’m sure of it. He’s built exactly like his sons.
He’s worried about them. Somehow I know it.
I roll over and stare at the ceiling, thinking about the sunflower garden he and his wife built.
“What did you wish for with your Jinny Joe?” I ask my mother.
She had just finished explaining to me that the white puffy-headed dandelions were called Jinny Joes by children in Ireland.
She smiles, the dandelion stem still in her fingers.
“You can’t tell anyone your wish, or it won’t come true,” she says, brushing her long wind-blown hair out of her eyes. “It’s your turn.”
I close my eyes, blowing at the same time I make my wish.
We lie back on the blanket, staring up at the clouds. “How long will it take for our wishes to come true?”
“I don’t know, but probably when we least expect it.”
There’s a knock on the door of my van. I open it, expecting to see Carson, but it’s not him, or his brother. It’s their dad.
He holds his hands up. “I’m Carson’s dad,” he says.
“Really? You look nothing like him.”
A full minute passes before one side of his mouth tugs into a grin and he chuckles. It sounds just like Carson’s. “My wife and I would like to invite you to supper tomorrow at six,” he says, and then he begins to walk away. I guess it wasn’t a question.
“Wait!” I call, jumping out and hurrying after him. “That’s not really why you came to my door, is it?”
“No, but I got the answer I was looking for anyway.”
“Which was?”
“What Carson sees in you.”
My feet stop moving.
He waves his hand over his head. “See you tomorrow, hon.”
I take a step back. It’s coming true. All of it.
Oh my god.