“Oh, little guy. I am so, so sorry. We didn’t mean to forget you. We just got distracted by everything else going on. But I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere.”
I run my finger over his head, rocking him like a baby, praying he’ll forgive me for leaving him out here all by himself.
“Odette! Odette!”
I hear Noah before I see him.
The doors are slung open, and he comes pounding into the barn, rain falling off every inch of him. His brows are pulled in tight as he scans the space, and they drop even lower when his eyes land on me.
“What the fuck, Odette?” he roars at me, stomping my way.
“The cat. We forgot about the cat.”
His features soften as he takes it in. “Shit. We did, huh?”
“Yeah,” I say softly, passing the kitten off to him. “I feel so bad.”
He runs his finger over its head, and it’s the most affection I’ve seen him give the creature. “Poor fella.”
He holds it for a few moments, being softer and gentler than I’ve ever witnessed, before setting the little guy back into the box.
Then he doesn’t look soft and gentle at all.
No. He’s scowling at me.
He’s mad.Reallymad.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” he says through clenched teeth, taking a step toward me.
“The cat. I—”
“I don’t fucking care. You don’t just run out like that in the middle of a storm. It’s raining its balls off. There’s lightning. It’s dark as hell out here. You could have gotten hurt.” His eyes trail down to the mud covering one of my legs. “Youdid.”
“I’m fine,” I insist, even though I can feel a scrape hidden under the mud. I’m sure if I were to wipe it away, I’d find blood. “I was worried about the cat.”
“Yeah?” He takes another step closer. So close I have to tip my head back to even look at him. “Well, I’m worried aboutyou.”
“What? Why?” Then it hits me. “Oh, right. Because I’m like asisterto you.”
“That’s not— I—” He squeezes his eyes shut, shaking his head once before opening them again, his gaze piercing right through me. “Odette, I— I didn’t—”
“Mean it? Of course you did. Why wouldn’t you? You see me as a little kid still and nothing more. You—”
“Lied!” he shouts. “I fucking lied, okay?”
His words stun me. They completely take me by surprise.
He ... lied? He doesn’t view me as a sister? Then what does he see me as? A friend? Or ... more?
Does that mean ... was he really going to kiss me in his parents’ kitchen?
“I lied, Odette,” he says softer this time. “I lied, and I’m tired of lying. I’m tired of pretending. I’m just ...”
But he doesn’t finish his sentence. He just lets the words hang between us. Words I have no idea what to do with.
The storm rages around us, the wind lashing against the old barn, thunder shaking the fragile building, and the sky brightening with each lightning strike.
My heart beats wildly right along with it.
