"Why don't you guys go play in the backyard while I fix that fence?"Hades suggests."But stay away from the loose section until I get it secured."
They scatter like dandelions in the wind, laughing and shouting as they pour outside.Which leaves me alone in the kitchen with the man I've been avoiding for three days.
Silence stretches between us, loaded with everything we're not saying.He's standing by the back door, toolbox in hand, but he's not moving toward it.He's looking at me instead, and the intensity in his dark eyes makes my pulse quicken.
"You've been avoiding me," he says finally.
"I've been busy."
"Bullshit."
The blunt assessment makes my cheeks burn."Don't."
"Don't what?Don't call you out on running scared?"
"I'm not running scared.I'm being practical."
"Same thing, in this case."
The casual way he dismantles my defenses makes me want to scream.Or throw something.Or grab him and kiss him until we're both senseless.
The phone on the counter lights up, buzzing once.Unknown Caller.
My heart skips.
I glance at Hades, but he doesn’t seem to have noticed it.He’s too focused on me, waiting for a response I can’t give.
I slide the phone closer with one hand, casually, like it’s nothing.But my fingertips tremble as I press answer.
Just like the last time.
No speaking, no words.Just… breath.
The call ends, but the unease stays lodged in my chest like a splinter.
I shove the phone under a dish towel.
"Those phone calls," he says, changing the subject so abruptly it gives me whiplash."How many?"
"What?"
"The hang-up calls.I can see it on your face, Angel.How many?"
The fact that he can read me so easily should be alarming.Instead, it's oddly comforting to know someone's paying that much attention.
"Four.Maybe five."
His jaw tightens."When?"
"Always during the day.Always when the kids are around."
"Same number?"
"Unknown caller each time."
"Fuck."He sets the toolbox down with more force than necessary."You should have called me."
"Why?So you could what?Ride to my rescue?I can handle a few prank calls, Hades.I'm not helpless."
