26. Zeth
Zeth
Millie took the longest time to fall asleep that night.
She spent hours chatting about the reading and all the new people she met.
And Anna. She definitely mentioned Anna a few too many times.
I was glad those two made their relationship public.
I just didn’t need to hear the monologue.
But overall, I was pleased by the turn of events.
If all went well with her courtship, my sister was going to be one of the wealthiest people in Everdeen.
Millie, the socialite. A trendsetter. Hopefully, she continued with her new passion for clothes and pursued her own career. Success looked good on Millie.
Once we said our good nights, I pretended to sleep while listening for her to snore.
That’s when I knew I could slip out of Mum’s old bed without waking her.
I did so carefully, sliding my bare feet to touch the cool wood of the floor.
Millie sniffed, so I froze, but when she settled in again, I stood quietly in my nightshirt for a moment to watch her in the moonlight from the windows.
I made sure Millie was warm and cozy by tucking my own blankets against her back. I hoped it fooled her sleeping brain into thinking I slept beside her.
Grabbing my pants from the foot of the bed, I quickly slipped them on and tucked my night shirt into them, not bothering to change. My brown jacket went on top of that. I picked up my shoes to put on downstairs and left the laundry to start walking to the Somerset estate.
After watching Amby leave the reading, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
So much happened at the party. Seeing Damien’s hand on my boy’s jaw tore me up inside.
Jealousy played a small role in my feelings at first, but now I only worried over Amby’s quick dismissal of the whole encounter.
Not to mention that nervous tell of rubbing his thumb after his dad invited me to dinner.
There was a darkness behind Amby’s adorable glasses that shadowed his eyes from time to time, and that shadow covered him a few times tonight.
I didn’t like it. Not at all. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we needed to talk.
A breeze chilled me, and I briskly rubbed my arms before burying my hands in my jacket pockets to hurry down Main Street. The shops were all closed, and I was the only one out besides a few peace officers patrolling the streets. I used to do this walk so often that I didn’t even pay attention.
Quickly enough, I was passing the barn where Amby worked at his craft.
I was in awe of the lovely furniture he made, although I should have guessed he would develop such skills.
I always liked that artistic side of him.
It warmed me that he was using the old barn where we had fun together.
Did he think of me over the years while crafting his chairs?
I certainly thought of him as I worked at the auction house and saw artwork and sculptures that he might appreciate.
Just beyond the wood siding of the barn, the Somerset house came into sight next, appearing asleep with dark windows all around.
Such memories this place brought back. And not once did I step in through the front door.
I either followed Amby directly into the kitchen to steal snacks or climbed the side of his house to sneak through his bedroom window.
If all went well at dinner, maybe that would mean no more sneaking in.
Amby’s dad was always the line that kept Amby and I from being together, and that line also kept me from dreaming as kids.
Even when I proposed to Amby at sixteen, I never allowed myself to plan beyond his yes .
And then he said no . Only recently did I see myself with kids, a family, and maybe one day a house and land.
A legacy of our own. Maybe one day Amby and I would live here together.
Bypassing the front door for the last time, I followed the bushes to find the old wooden trellis against the side of the house. Far more ivy clung to the trellis now. I eyed my path upward with doubt, hands on my hips, and found Amby’s room flickering with light.
Framed in the window, Amby sat on his window seat. He was still up. I knew he needed me. His wayward curls glowed, turning him into an angel, if heavenly creatures had naughty thoughts.
Cracking my knuckles in the quiet night, I nodded at the trellis and decided to try it out. What was the worst that could happen? I already impaled myself once and lived. I could climb a wall without doing anything worse. A broken bone, pah , that was nothing.
Using the diamond-shaped gaps as hand and foot holds, I started climbing.
The first few feet went well. The next diamond brace I wedged my shoe into snapped.
My foot slipped out with a crunch of wood, and my heart tried to leap out of my throat.
Maybe a broken bone wasn’t the best idea.
When did I stop worrying about doctor bills?
Glancing up, I focused on the light from the window and told myself to keep going.
Funny how these silly things were so much easier as a kid without cares.
I kept climbing, not listening to the wood creaking under my heavier weight.
Thankfully, the window ledge appeared, and I latched on to pull myself high enough to look through.
I tapped the glass softly, trying not to scare Amby out of his wits.
Try as I might, Amby still whipped around with surprise.
When he saw me, he jumped back and fell out of the seat and onto the floor with a thump.
I felt awful for scaring him like a ghost. But it was also kinda funny, especially when he popped back up with a hand placed over his heart.
He stood for a good moment before he rushed to the window and swung the left side open.
I tried to look like I wasn’t hanging on for dear life and gave him a dashing smile.
“Zeth, what the hell are you doing?” he asked. “Are you trying to make my heart stop?” I began to open my mouth, but he grabbed me by my jacket. “No, just get in here first, before you fucking fall.”
Hearing my boy swear pleased me, like I taught him something. I grinned stupidly as he helped me stumble in. When my larger legs struggled to navigate through the frame, I chuckled at myself. Then Amby started laughing too. It was so nice to hear him laugh.
Even better was seeing him in only his skivvies.
I ate up the sight of him. The definition in his upper arms was no doubt from his woodworking.
His deliciously pale skin gleamed in the soft light as I followed the trail of crisp, dark-red hair along his firm stomach until it disappeared into the thin cotton waistline.
“Damn, Amby, you trying to kill me now?” I teased him as I straightened my jacket over my growing interest.
“I wasn’t expecting company.” Amby tilted his head and eyed me invitingly. “Or an incredibly charming man at my window.”
I tugged off my cap, tossed it onto the window seat, and raked a hand through my hair to steady myself.
Once I felt half-decent again, I faced Amby with a pretend pout, ignoring his undress.
“Then why rush me in? I was going to recite a poem to you through the window in hopes of seducing you. You ruined my romantic moment.”
“I think you put it perfectly tonight at the reading. Now, tell me, do I have daring eyes , as you said?” Amby looked me over with a good dose of sass. “You certainly are daring by coming here in the middle of the night.”
“Seeing those gorgeous eyes of yours makes it worth the risk.”
“Mm, you know how to make me swoon, don’t you?
Come here.” Amby grabbed my jacket to pull me against him until his lips crushed against mine.
I gladly leaned into him, but he was already breaking away from my mouth, ending our kiss far too quickly.
He gave me one last peck at the corner of my mouth before tugging me by my hands toward his bed.
I chuckled at his excitement, taking in the rest of the furniture as we passed.
A dresser next to his bed caught my eye.
It was my mum’s dresser, the old one Millie sold while I repaired the roof.
Stopping in my tracks, I tugged my hand free and crossed my arms with disappointment that everyone hid this from me. “You’re the guy who bought it?”
“Please don’t be upset…” Amby glanced over at it. “I enjoy restoring old pieces and felt the urge to buy it.”
I didn’t know what to make of this. My mum’s furniture in Amby’s room felt wrong, and right, and everything kinda jumbled.
He knew I was selling it for money to eat on, so I mostly resented the pity move, but when I walked over, I could see that he really had sanded and restained it.
It looked like a new piece of furniture, and when I pulled on the first drawer, it slid open smoothly.
Awe fell over me. Amby had put care into something I once owned, and that alone made me feel special. “You did a lovely job, Amby. I’m glad it was you who took it in and treated it with love. Mum would be pleased.” I closed the drawer and rubbed the top as my eyes blurred.
He strolled up next to me and rubbed my back. “Thank you. I planned to regift it to you, so you have something that belonged to your mother. You deserve that. It can be ours one day, hopefully soon.”
Ours , fuck if I didn’t adore hearing him say that. I blinked away moisture and went to inspect the second drawer.
“Oh, wait—”
The drawer slid open to show a stack of envelopes inside, neatly tied with a pink ribbon. The top one was stamped in bold, red letters, Return to Sender . Hattie’s statement about Amby writing to me suddenly felt true.
Shocked, my gaze flew to him. “Are these my letters?”
“No.” Amby pulled the drawer right out of my hand and quickly shut it. “Wait, what do you mean your letters?”
“So, you wrote love letters to someone else, then?”