CHAPTER SIX #2
“And a true conversationalist on top of it.” Amusement laced my words, but it was accompanied by a soft intake of breath.
Because Kol? While he didn’t touch me, he got closer than anyone else.
Not in a way that crossed boundaries but in a way that said he was comfortable, that it was easy being around me. And God, that was a gift.
“Apartment?” he asked.
“One word,” I muttered. “Progress.” I handed him my phone. It wasn’t as if I had any secrets.
He scrolled down the listing, zooming in on the photos of the small space. As each second ticked by, his frown deepened. “Way overpriced.”
“I think everywhere here is.” It was surprising for such a small town, but landlords pulled it off because Starlight Grove was a tourist haven in the spring and summer months. They could make more with weekly rentals during that period than long-term leases year-round.
Kol offered my phone back to me, studying my face as I took it. There was something about his stare. It was as if he could see invisible truths tattooed on my skin.
“You ready to move out of the cabin?” he asked as I slid my phone into my jeans pocket.
He didn’t ask if I wanted to. He wouldn’t because he already knew. I’d confessed to him nearly a month ago that it was yet another place where I couldn’t breathe. And Kol? He always remembered—even the tiniest of details.
I looked out at the twilight horizon, the stars coming out to play in the farthest corners of the darkening sky. “It’s time.”
Kol was quiet for a long moment. “You don’t seem entirely sure.”
Of course he somehow heard the uncertainty beneath those two words. And just like always, he pulled the truth from my lips. “I’m scared.”
He was quiet again, letting that truth breathe between us. He waited for more, but he didn’t fill the silence, afraid of some awkwardness. He just waited, like his superpower was patience.
“I know I need space, or I’m going to explode. I hurt Brae tonight, and I’m just going to keep doing it. But …”
“You’re scared,” he said, simply echoing my words back to me.
“I’m scared.” Somehow, saying the words after Kol gave them a little less power. The shame they brought still coated my skin, but it didn’t hold me hostage any longer.
Kol pushed to his feet, shoving off the side of the deck. “Come on.”
“You know I’m not a dog, right, Boss?”
His lips twitched. “Come on, please?”
I let out a huff as I pushed off the deck, landing on the grass below. “Slight improvement.”
Kol’s gaze found his daughter. “Sky, I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. You know the rules.”
“No animals after dark unless there’s an adult that’s not Uncle Mav,” Skylar began.
I snickered at Mav’s banishment to the kids’ table.
“Nothing sharp, explosive, or dangerous. Always stay in sight of the tree house,” Sky finished.
The Archer brothers had dubbed the ranch house the tree house, thanks to the oak growing out of it, and it had caught on.
“Love you to infinity,” Kol called.
“Infinity times infinity,” Skylar yelled back.
Apparently, Kol’s lack of conversational skills didn’t pertain to his daughter. I absolutely adored that. And maybe I was a little envious, too. He spoke the L-word so easily when it always seemed to get stuck in my throat. Even for the people I knew I felt that way about.
I followed him around the side of the house to where an ATV was parked. It looked like a cross between a golf cart and a four-wheeler. It was military black, except for the glittery pink bow someone had affixed to the hood. I had a feeling I knew who.
Kol climbed behind the wheel and started it up with keys that had been left in the ignition.
I slid in next to him. “I like your ride.”
He just grunted again.
“God, stop talking already, would you?” I complained.
I stole a glance in Kol’s direction as he reversed out of his makeshift parking spot and swore that beautiful mouth twitched.
He was quiet as he drove us down a gravel road I hadn’t been down before, deeper onto ranch property. As the darkening sky closed in around us, my fingers dug into the seat.
You’re breathing.
It was both a command and a promise. I was breathing. I was alive. The darkness didn’t hold me prisoner any longer.
Kol shifted as he made a turn, his body leaning ever so slightly toward me. That scent of forest and clean air filled my nose. And the fear eased.
Because that smell was uniquely Kol and would always mean safety.
As we curved around the road, a house came into view. No, a cabin. And it was aglow.
Lights dotted the front and shone from several windows, illuminating it just enough to let me take it in. Everything about it was perfect, from the dark, reddish wood of the exterior to the massive swing on the front porch. It was cozy and welcoming yet peaceful, as well.
Kol slowed to a stop in front of the cabin and turned off the engine. But my gaze was still locked on the house. A princess crown and fairy wings lay on the swing, making me smile. “Is this your place?”
He nodded and slid out of the ATV. “Come on.”
“Please?” I challenged.
“Come on, Phoenix. Please.”
Phoenix.
A rumble of something slid through me at the nickname. Maybe because it was exactly what I wanted to be but didn’t quite believe I could be yet.
I trailed behind Kol, stepping into the darkness because he made me brave. But he didn’t go to the front door. Instead, he strode to the garage, which was connected to the house by a short, windowed walkway. Pulling out a set of keys, he unlocked a door.
I frowned. I wasn’t exactly a car or tool girl, so I wasn’t sure why Kol was leading us into a place that housed that sort of thing. But still, I followed.
Slipping inside, Kol led me around his Forest Service truck and toward a set of stairs at the back of the space. He took them one at a time, making sure I was with him every step. Then, he opened another door at the top of the stairs and stepped inside.
The scent of sawdust filled the air, and I took in the surrounding attic area. The walls were still exposed drywall, but a living space of sorts was beginning to take shape. A kitchen in one corner, a bathroom in another, and so many windows, the space would be full of light during the day.
“An apartment?” I asked, moving toward the massive window at the back. The moon illuminated the land just enough for me to see glimpses of the pastures and forest, with Mount Lupine in the distance. It was breathtaking.
“An apartment,” he echoed.
I stilled, taking a second before I turned to face Kol. A buzz lit beneath my skin. “Oh.” It was all I could manage to say at first.
Kol simply stood there, waiting for … something.
“And you’re showing it to me because?”
“You should live here.”
He said it simply. Like it was an undeniable truth.
“I should live here,” I parroted. I knew the Archer brothers were protective of Twisted Oak Ranch.
It only took a couple of visits to realize that.
Outsiders weren’t exactly welcome, and I got the impression the few dinners I’d been invited to were exceptions and not the rule.
The fact that their middle brother, Orion, hadn’t graced a single one was proof of that.
“It’ll be ready in about two weeks. Maybe less if I can get my brothers to help,” Kol went on.
“Are you serious right now?”
Kol stared at me, those eyes stormy with flecks of light in their depths. “Phoenix. Sometimes, we have to walk before we run. Here, you’ll know you’re safe but will have your space. No one breathing down your neck.”
“Kol,” I croaked.
“I’ve got you.”
My eyes burned. Because I knew those words were the truth. He did have me. I didn’t know why the universe had brought him into my path, but I knew I’d be grateful for the rest of my days.
“You don’t even know me,” I rasped.
Kol didn’t look away. “I know enough.”
The words burned with the most beautiful, scarring heat. “Okay.”
His mouth curved into one of those rare smiles. “Okay.”