second she crossed the threshold, Heather spoke. “What a bitch.”
“Hey,” Seth said.
We both looked at him. “You’re defending her?” I asked.
“You girls are always griping at each other about something. No need for name-calling.”
I yawned, the medication making the edges of my vision fuzzy.
“We should go anyway,” Seth said. “You should get some rest; I’ll text you later.” He pecked me on the mouth and waited for Heather.
She bounced on the bed and wrapped me into a tight embrace. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I said, a little breathless from her grip.
They both left the room and when I heard the front door close I rolled over onto Ally’s back breathing a deep sigh.
“Well, it looks like you enjoyed yourself,” Cooper said, standing with his back to me.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “That Krystal girl is a nightmare. How can Ally be friends with her?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Cooper said.
“What? The kiss?” I snorted. “You’ve never seen Ally and Seth kiss?”
He grimaced.
I sat up. “He took me by surprise; what was I supposed to do?”
Cooper shook his head. “I felt how much you enjoyed it. Keep your head on the mission. Remember this is Ally’s life. You are only here temporarily.”
Why was he lashing out at me? We’d been on good terms so far; what had changed? Did he have more than a professional relationship with Ally?
Another yawn stretched Ally’s mouth to the limit. I snuggled into the pillows and wrapped the covers tighter around me.
“Get some rest,” Cooper said.
I didn’t have the strength to argue.
Sunlight beat down on the townsfolk as they meandered through the streets of town, stopping at each vendor set up under tent awnings. His eyes scanned the faces, waiting for the one he’d been following for a long time.
Distance proved to be best for his resolve, but as the girl grew into a woman, he found her harder and harder to resist, even though it was his job to protect her. He sucked in a breath through his teeth, a trait left over from his human life. It connected him to her in a way, possibly convincing him they weren’t that different.
But as she came into view, stopping at the wood carver’s table, he knew he couldn’t light a candle to her. Her head was bowed as she inspected the wooden figurines, her bonnet masking her face. He came out of the alley and wandered to her side, a hair’s breadth away from touching her.
But he didn’t dare.
He looked further down the crowd and saw her father, his gaze narrowed on him. He took a step back, raising his arms in defense. Her father continued on his way, tucking his wife’s arm in the crook of his.
He waited until her father disappeared around the corner and stepped closer to the girl. He looked down at the figure she held and smiled. The replica of an owl that the vendor had made sat in the palm of her hand, her long fingers stretched out like a platform for the artistic piece.
“This is beautiful,” she breathed, her voice low.
Elation flowed from her and it moved inside of him.
“Dear sister.”
They both looked up at a girl. She wore a similar bonnet; her long flowing skirts billowed out from her narrow waist in the summer breeze. She stepped closer.
“Your fiancé is looking for you; it seems I am not a good distraction for him.”
She nodded, and placed the figure back on the cart. Her elation melted.
He watched both girls gain distance from him; the pulling sensation he’d felt for sixteen years moved his feet forward, but not before revealing himself to the vendor.
“I’ll take this one,” he said, picking up the owl and handing over the correct amount.
His height aided in keeping track of her, not that he needed to see her to know where she was. Her sister broke away, joining a set of girls near the food cart. He watched the girl hesitate before moving toward her father and mother.
Holding the small owl in his hand, he charged forward through the crowd. He was out there for everyone to see, he knew with every fiber of his being he shouldn’t be, but to touch her, just once, would satiate him for the rest of eternity.
“You dropped this,” he said, lightly brushing her thin shoulders.
She stopped, as if feeling the same jolt of energy he had.
She turned, her head dipped low toward his, her eyes hidden under thick black eyelashes. One hand reached up to cover her mouth.
What he would give to be one of those hands, he thought
The other touched the owl in his outstretched hand.
“This isn’t—”
“Mr. Black said it was a gift,” he said, willing with every fiber of his being for her to stay with him, only for a little while.
He moved his hand closer to hers and she delicately took the figure in her hands.
“I—” she said, her head tilting up to his.
A loud ringing broke the dream from my grasp. Ally’s cell phone screen blinked white and I grabbed it. I struggled with the buttons.
“How do you turn this thing—”
Cooper plucked the phone out of my hands and touched the screen, moving his finger across it.
I flopped back on the bed.
He tossed the phone on the bed next to me. “It’s Heather.”
I picked it up and looked at the screen. “So?” I scrubbed Ally’s face, wiping the sleep away.
“You should answer her,” he said, standing by the window. “Ally would.”
Well, I’m not Ally. Technically.
“Give me a minute to wake up,” I said, draping an arm over Ally’s eyes.
The
