He really did have an old soul. Not many other people his age would have known where my mind had gone, but he had.
Fate had chosen well when they matched Marshall to me. They had chosen very well indeed.
Chapter Twenty-One
Marshall
Fuck.
There really was nothing left. Admittedly, Danielhadwarned me, but the reality was so much worse than I’d imagined.
He’d pulled to a stop behind several vehicles, including Mom and Dad’s camper parked barely inside the front gate of the farm, about five minutes prior, and other than getting out of the truck, I hadn’t moved.
Daniel had wrapped me in his arms, my back to his front, holding me as we watched our families working together to clear the wreckage. He rested his chin on my shoulder as he pointed out his parents.
His twin brother, Henry, was easy to spot, as they were largely identical, even down to the large matching tattoo of Jack Skellington fromThe Nightmare Before Christmason their forearms, although Daniel had it on his left forearm, while Henry had it on his right. Daniel’s hair and beard were slightly shorter than Henry’s, and Henry was a little stockierthan Daniel, but I put those physical variances down to the differences in their chosen careers.
A tall man with a tuft of green hair that he was continually flicking out of his eyes followed Henry closely as they picked their way through the rubble. He was impeccably dressed in what I would classify asfarm chic—dark denim overalls with one buckle fashionably undone so the bib folded over into a triangle over an oversized black polo that I suspected was Henry’s considering Henry was dressed head to toe in varying shades of black. Chunky black boots that jingled with every step completed his look.
“That’s Blue. Henry’s boyfriend,” Daniel murmured into my ear when he noticed who I was looking at.
“He looks a little overdressed,” I responded quietly, wincing when Blue stumbled over something and landed heavily on his knees. Henry immediately offered a helping hand up, but I was surprised when Blue just shrugged it off and got right back to helping. I’d thought he would have used that as an excuse to give up and go sit on the side. “Determined, though.”
“Mm.”
Among the many people I didn’t recognize, I was surprised to notice Kajir, Gabe, and Scarlett. “Why are they here?” I asked Daniel, tipping my head in their direction. “Who are all these people?”
He gently leaned his head into mine. “Rockdale locals.”
“Really?” I looked around in interest, noting how many people were there. Everyone was busy, moving anything that was obviously beyond saving to a growing pile of garbage and anything that looked like it was a personal effect or something that might be able to get fixed to another pile for Daniel to go through later. It reminded me of the way the frat houses would work together when we organized charity events, but I’d neverseen anything like this in a general neighborhood setting before. It humbled and awed me in equal measure.
“This is just how small towns work, baby,” Daniel murmured. “Everyone helps everyone else when disaster strikes.”
“You’re not worried about scavengers?”
I felt him shrug. “Honestly? I don’t think there’s going to be much lefttoscavenge.”
I hummed in agreement. That was fair. Sad but fair.
Kajir was the first person to notice us and slowly made his way over, scowling at anyone who tried to talk to him. Unsurprisingly, they all fled in response to his growled one-word responses, except for Gabe, who just looked amused by Kajir’s antics, before even he let Kajir go when he, too, saw us off to the side.
“I thought you were fucking avoiding me,” he grumbled when he reached us. “Figured you’d have nowhere to fucking hide if I showed up to your fucking house to get this fucking paperwork signed.” He held out a crumpled piece of paper to me. “Color me fucking surprised when I arrive to find you’ve got no fucking house left.”
“But plenty of places to hide,” I snarked, looking up his towering form to keep his intense eye contact. I took the page from him before making a gimme motion for a pen.
Kajir startled at the way I spoke to him, blinking as he looked me up and down with renewed interest. “Look who can say more than one fucking word.” He dug in a pocket until he found what he was looking for and handed me a filthy pen.
I raised an eyebrow as I took the pen and signed the insurance paperwork that he’d handed me before thrusting everything back into his oversized paws. “Look who can pause long enough to let me get more than one fucking word out.”
He tipped his head back and roared with laughter, stopping almost everyone in their tracks to stare at us. The only ones whodidn’t were the out-of-towners. “Fucking touché.” He grinned at Daniel. “I like him.”
I felt Daniel growl as he tightened his hold on me. “Get your fucking own. He’s mine.”
Kajir’s grin widened before he barked out another laugh.
As I preened from Daniel’s claim, I noticed several people staring at Kajir, then casting confused looks at one another. Apparently, this was highly unusual behavior for Kajir. Who would’ve thought?
I caught Gabe’s amused eyes as he leaned on a shovel with one elbow on the handle. He grinned at me and nodded, apparently happy that someone else had finally figured out the way to talk to Kajir—give him as good as he gave, and don’t back down no matter how much he growled at you. That, and his obvious love for animals and vehicles, were apparently the way to Kajir’s profanity-riddled heart.
