“Uh, just so you know, there’s a camera on that outside door,”—his eyebrows move slowly up his forehead like he’s subtly trying to tell me something I don’t already know—“you know, for uh…futurereference.”
Oh my God, just kill me now.
“Great!” I say, my voice rising higher than I intended. “So I gave Harlan a tour of the barn.”
“I bet you did,” he murmurs under his breath, and I gape at him before dragging my hands down my face and silently screaming into them.
“Anyway,” I say pointedly as I get the nerve to look at him, “he saw a couple of the horses, but you should have seen the way he was with Onyx.”
“Onyx?” my uncle asks as he crosses his arms and widens his stance. It’s his thinking stance, and he’s been doing it for as long as I can remember.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, honestly. He was so patient, just talking to him, and by the end, Onyx let Harlan pet him. I think he’d be perfect to help with the rehabilitation.”
“Think he’d be interested?”
“I think so, but it would have to come from you. He’s not used to our dynamic here.”
He hums and then nods. “All right, I wanted to talk to him anyway. I know he said he was only interested in a temporary position, but I’m hoping I can get him to stay on. I’m sure I won’t get any complaints from you.”
“Oh my God! I cannot believe you right now,” I groan as I spin on my heels and march toward the door, his laughter following me as I do.
“See you tomorrow!”
“Can’t wait,” I call over my shoulder, stepping out onto the porch and heaving a deep breath. I could live a lifetime and never talk to my uncle about sex ever again—indirectly or otherwise.
It’s disturbing on so many levels, but I don’t focus on it for long because my uncle is going to offer Harlan a permanent position here in Wintervale, and if he accepts, there might just be hope for us too.
14
HARLAN
Reid insisted on picking me up and driving into town. I couldn’t readily remember a time when someone had done that.
When someone hadwantedto do that.
The fact that Reid does fills my chest with a warm kind of ache—weird but not unpleasant. Maybe it’s just been a long time since someone cared enough about me to put that small amount of effort in, but in this moment, I’m glad it’s Reid.
He looks over at me and smiles, giving me the rundown of the best local shops and places to visit as we drive. His voice is soothing, the cadence settling something inside me that had felt like a nail rattling around a tin can. Without thinking, I reach over, placing my hand on his thigh.
It’s not like last night at the lodge where we each pushed to see just how far the other would go. It’s a gesture of contentment at its most basic form.
Is this what it’s supposed to be like?
The thought has my mind whirling at the possibilities because if itisthen it couldn’t be more obvious just how wrong Dante and I were for each other.
I’d been blinded by his charm and the way he couldn’t wait to get me naked, but I’d been a distraction and the rest had been a lie.
Reid’s hand covers mine, his smile soft, like he knew I needed the contact. The reassurance is everything, and I let myself bask in his warmth, as he drives the rest of the way into town.
“Growing up there was this little shop in my town, and the shopkeeper would let me and a couple of other kids shovel his parking lot for cups of hot chocolate. You know, the kind with milk? And he used to give us candy canes and marshmallows to mix in. It wasn’t a lot, but to us, there was nothing better.” I sigh, rolling my head to the side to look at him. Reid grins like he knows I have no idea why I’m telling him this story but he loves it anyway.
“Milk is pretty fancy. Wren usually does a hot chocolate bar a couple of times a month when she’s feeling festive.”
“Like a party?”
“No, just us. In our house.” He snickers. “She’s a lot.”
“I’m beginning to see that.”
