I turned my head and stared at Jodi, who was by my side, staring at Chael, more like ogling. I twisted my free hand into a fist and tightened my other grip on the doorknob, ready to slam the door in his face.
“Who’s this?” Jodi looked up at me, staring.
I narrowed my gaze. “No one for you to be concerned about.” My tone was sharp, but both Jodi and Chael must’ve taken me for a fucking joke because they both let out a laugh.
Chael sniffed the air with his broad nose. “Smells like jealousy, cousin.”
“You’re family?” Jodi questioned.
I nodded. “If he keeps his ass in check, we still are.”
“Why do you call him Bright Sun?”
“That’s his name,” Chael responded casually.
“Middle name,” I told her, eyeing my cousin.
“I’m Chael,” he introduced, stepping closer.
I had half a mind to slap his damn hand away as he reached to shake hers. Only the respect and reverie that I held for this side of my family did I not do so.
“Wise choice, cousin,” Chael said, staring at me in the eye as if he could read my thoughts.
“I’m Jodi. Nice to meet you. Please come in,” she insisted.
Begrudgingly, I stepped back from the door, allowing him to enter. Though I wasn’t a small guy by any means at six-foot-three, Chael towered over me at six-foot-seven inches. He walked with the authority his height afforded him as well.
“How long are you in town for?” Chael questioned as he looked around the room, his back to us, before turning around.
“Another day or so,” I commented. “How have you been, cousin?”
His grin widened, causing his eyes to wrinkle around the edges. “That’s the response I was looking to get. I’m doing well. The tribe is good. We had a good season.” His dark eyes dropped to Jodi and then moved back to me. Silently conveying there were things he wanted to speak with me about privately.
“Did you invite him? I would’ve cleaned up the room a little better if I knew you were coming,” Jodi stated almost apologetically. When she moved to begin picking up items that were on the floor, I grabbed her arm to stop her.
“He tends to drop in on me whenever I’m out this way. He has a sixth sense about these things.”
“Sixth sense,” she repeated, sounding a little suspicious.
“It’s a family thing,” Chael noted. “Don’t bother cleaning up on my behalf. I’ve seen much worse.”
“Did you say your tribe? Are you Native American?” Jodi questioned.
Chael nodded.
“I didn’t know you were Native American,” she said, turning to me. “Which tribe?”
“Apache.”
“Cool.”
“I’ll explain in a bit. Chael and I need to talk. Then we’ll head out for dinner.” I tossed my head to my cousin, communicating that he was to follow me to the door so that we could speak privately.
Shutting the door behind us, I headed for the direction of the stairwell. The two of us were silent as we descended the three flights, making our way out of the back of the hotel near where the swimming pool resided. There were a few other people out there, but they weren’t in earshot of our conversation.
“You could’ve called me to tell me you’d be in town,” he insisted, his face hardening more so than when we were in Jodi’s presence. Typically, I did call him or one of our other cousins if I needed to make a trip this far out west. This time, I had other things on my mind.
I shrugged. “You’d know either way, so what’s the difference?”
