“Last spring? Huh, and then you showed up in Loveless last summer. I take it that whole partner thing was a bitter pill to swallow. Watching South Lux grow smaller in your rear view mirror must have felt pretty good.”
I wait a few beats before answering. “It was satisfying.” She pegged it. Kennedy is as cuttingly sharp as she is beautiful. And why do I get the feeling I might actually get nicked? “Abel is very sorry about it.” And right about now I wish I had a bottle of whiskey to wash away the idea of Abel feeling sorry for me in any manner. We were close once. “Solomon is far more interesting than either me or my big brother. He’s the youngest, but not as nice, not nearly as smart.” I get a small sense of joy while stealing her words.
“Very funny. I like what you did there.”
“Just trying to prove a point.”
“What’s that?” Her tongue does a swift revolution over her bottom lip, and I fight not to get in on the action.
“Trying to prove we’re the same. You and me.”
“Broken families, broken people. You have porn infiltrating the net, too?”
The thought of her legs pinned back makes my face heat. I’m not sure that’s a good look on a man, but that image has burned over my mind like some carnal screen saver.
“No.” I don’t bother turning it into a joke or edging a little sarcasm there. I get it. This is no laughing matter. “No porn.”
“So finish telling me about your younger brother, the not nice, not very bright McCarthy.”
“I’m afraid he’s battling it out with Warren in those arenas in an effort to hold onto his title. He might have a leg up on him, though. He’s headed for prison. His trial is going on now. Doesn’t look good.”
Her mouth rounds out. First time tonight I think I caught her off guard.
“Can I ask for what?”
“Murder.” He says he was there. I know better. “It was one grave error after another, and now his life is turning upside down.” The blade of guilt knifes through me.
“Oh my, God.” Her hand creeps up her throat. “I’m so sorry. That sounds like it must be tough for the whole family.”
“It was—is. When my father disowned my younger brother, I told him he disowned me as well. That’s why I’m working for my uncle—the brother he’s spent the last few decades despising.” Now it’s my turn to shrug. I don’t tell her the rest of the story, the part that links right back to me—the real reason I gave the finger to South Lux. Nope, not treading down that road tonight. And now I’m right back to wishing for that bottle of whiskey.
“Well”—Kennedy rises to her feet, and I know for certain the night is over—“I’d better get going. Curfew and all.” She gives a playful wink as her kitten heels scoot to the door. It’s all I can do not to pounce. “Hey, you still have access to that powerboat of your uncle’s?”
“The Starlight Express, named after my aunt’s favorite musical? Yup, in fact I’ve got a key hanging on the hook in the entry if you want to do some midnight soul searching out on the lake.”
“Are you kidding? Lake patrol—i.e. Officer Waterman, will have us both arrested. But yeah, maybe some other time.”
“Sounds good.” I walk her to the porch and let the night song of the crickets, the sound of water rippling onto shore encapsulate us for a moment.
“One more thing, Caleb.” She spins into me, her eyes shining with tears once again. “I’m not too sure about this whole us thing.”
This whole us thing. The words burn through my stomach like acid.
She shrugs before she lets the rejection fly. “Maybe we should just stay friends.”
I give a silent nod in agreement, but the hard stare I’m bearing into her says anything but.
Kennedy is running scared. Her life, her body has been mapped out like the constellations in the cyber galaxy for all to see. Her head is a mess. At least that’s the version my ego, my heart demands to believe.
“We can take it slow.” The words escape me before I can assess them. I don’t want to take it slow. I just want the magic we had, the magic that we could have.
Her glowing eyes widen in fear before she takes off into the dark.
The sweet scent of lilacs lingers in her wake, and I writhe into it, inhaling her hard as if saving her for later.
Maybe I’ve misread this entire situation from the beginning. Maybe Kennedy was just never that into me.
I head back into the house and ransack the kitchen for that whiskey. I find a slender bottle of Grey Goose instead and take it with me out back. It’s time to sit under the stars and figure out what the fuck just happened.
