My God, do I love Shep? I tick my head back a moment, stunned at what could be. I mean, of course, Ilikehim. He’s adorable and deplorable all at the very same time, and that takes a real talent, believe you me. But love? The big L? My heart thumps erratically as if it were answering all on its own.
“Yes,” I mouth. Mostly I say it because I’m pretty sure it’s the right answer, and I don’t care if I’m in a classroom or Hallowed Grounds—if there’s a pop quiz involved, I’m going to ace it. “Yes, I love him.” My skin prickles with excitement with the lie. “I’m in love with Shepherd Collins.” A small giggle works its way up my throat, and Lex glares at me and looks as if she’s about to be sick at the very same time. “I L-O-V-E Professor Collins.” I bring my fingers to my lips at the delightful yet slightly skewed epiphany—and a part of me doesn’t feel as if it’s skewed at all. Holy shit. I blink several times as if struggling to wake myself from a dream.
“All right, I get it,” she snips. “Does he feel the same way about you? Has he said those very words?”
I scan my memory, trying to find a single moment where Shep might have used the L word in front of me and come up empty.
“He’s not there yet, but he’s close,” I offer foolishly. Close? As in almost in love?
“That’s like being a little bit pregnant. You either are or you aren’t.” She glances back down at her chest and I pick up a little hostile resentment, but this time it seems to be flowing in the opposite direction.
A breath hitches in my throat. “My God, Lex!” I pull her hands forward. “Are you and Ax having a baby?” I try to catch her gaze, but her eyes are elusive as she studies the rows and rows of Whitney Briggs stamped mugs stacked on a sales rack to our left. “Oh—” My voice grows small. “You want to be, right?” I take in a horrified breath. “Did you lose it?”
“No, no,” she moans and squeezes her eyes shut tight a moment. “You’re right. I want to. Axel and I have been trying and to no avail.”
“I’m so sorry.” I bite down on my bottom lip. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No, there’s nothing you can do,” she snips so quick she sounds like a villain from a Disney cartoon. Those huge arched brows don’t exactly help the situation either.
“If it makes you feel better, I can check Shep for his virility and get back to you on that.” Lex and I have always dealt with tough issues through humor. Sarcasm was a delicacy not to be missed in our home. And, more often than not, we’ve laughed our way through every one of those aforementioned issues.
Lex glowers at me in lieu of a response. “Don’t you dare bed that boy in the name of my future child. It’s heresy.”
“Fine.” I fold my arms defiantly across my chest. “I’ll bed him in the name of West Virginia. Are you seeing a doctor about your fertility?”
“What’s this West Virginia nonsense?” Lex isn’t having it. She senses a coital connotation there somewhere, and she’s not leaving until it’s firmly under her pointed stiletto.
“You first.”
“Fine. No, I’m not seeing a doctor. I might in the fall. You know, well after Sunday has her baby.”
“Right.” I give a little shrug. “I guess that has to be hard.” Tears come to the party, and suddenly my heart is thawing out far too fast all in the name of my sister. “You know I want the best for you. I want all of your wishes to come true. And if that means having a baby, I’d drop out of school just to carry it myself.” I give a sly wink. “I guess bedding Axel would be somewhat close to what I’m after. If I have to take one for the Maxfield team, I will.”
She groans as if she might vomit, and two people grab their drinks and run out.
“Do not make me laugh. And for the love of God, do not make me cry. Nobody is bedding a Collins around here but me.”
“Duly noted. I’ll deliver the blow to Shep’s man parts myself. I’m sure he’ll find the priesthood a refreshing change of pace.”
She wrinkles her nose at me. “Did they ever catch the person who killed that guy you found?”
“No, why?” I’m more than suspicious of my sister’s change of pace.
“Good.” She pinches a tight smile. “It assures me that you can get away with murder in Hollow Brook.” Those toxic green eyes bear hard into mine. “I predict there will be another homicide in the very near future. Shepherd Collins is a dead man.”
She picks up her coffee and stands to her feet. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find his brother. It just so happens I’m ovulating.” She gives me a gentle kiss on the cheek before sashaying out the door with as much energy as she most likely charged in with.
My sister is wary of Shep breaking my heart.
As if.
And, ironically, my heart wrenches at the thought.
My God, I think I really do love Shep Collins.
The summer heat has certainly put a wicked spell on me.
Shep picksme up right from the Black Bear, and we hit a taco drive-through, another for burgers and fries in addition to a couple of Neapolitan shakes, then yet a third drive-through as we collect two dozen donuts for good measure. One can never consume enough carbohydrates just prior to a major cardio workout.
