“Do you ever just…” She paused, staring at Bug’s withered frame, dotted here and there with bite wounds. “Just look at something like this and fear for humanity?”
“Nah. Because, for every person who’d mistreat an animal, there are ten out there working to make it right and do good in the world.”
“I hope so.”
“Hey.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
She drew back, arms clasped across her chest. “What? Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You tell me.” He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“I’m okay,” she said, but her voice had dropped a little, and this time her words sounded honest instead of defensive. “I guess seeing her like that just got to me a little bit.”
“Yeah, me too. I don’t see a lot of this kind of thing first hand. You guys are doing a great thing with your Fairy Tails program.”
She gave him a small smile, fingers going absent-mindedly to her face to tuck her hair into place, no longer hiding behind it. “Did you manage to get yourself moved into the farmhouse earlier?”
“Well, my stuff’s inside, and my bed’s made. Beyond that, I’m not so sure, but that’s a job for tomorrow.”
She gave him a sympathetic look. “We really owe you one for spending your evening here at the barn instead of unpacking. Do you have anything for supper?”
At just the mention of food, his stomach grumbled loudly. He rubbed a hand against it. “I’m sure I can rustle something up.” Although, the truth was, he knew for a fact his pantry was bare. Grocery shopping was another task for tomorrow.
“Come up to the castle and have dinner with us,” she said.
“Thank you, but I don’t want to intrude.”
“Oh, come on.” Laughter danced in her eyes. “I know you haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping yet. Come up and eat with us. Beatrice, our weekday chef, always fixes plenty. The least we can do is feed you after hijacking your evening.”
“I don’t know.” He felt intensely uncomfortable with the idea of dining up at the castle. He was tired and sweaty from a day of moving and probably smelled like horses. He’d always been the help, never the guest. But then again, Megan was an employee at the castle too.
“I insist,” she said. “We usually sit at the farm table in the kitchen. Nothing fancy.”
“All right,” he agreed reluctantly. “Thank you. Just let me go back to the house and clean up.”
“Okay, come on up whenever you’re ready. Theo’s in town this week, so he’ll probably be joining us too.” She touched his shoulder as she walked away.
As Jake stepped into the shower five minutes later, he could still feel the warmth of her fingers as though she’d branded his skin.
* * *
By the timeMegan made it into the kitchen, Elle and Ruby already had a bottle of wine open and were sitting at the bar top, chatting with Beatrice.
“How did it go with the foster horses?” Elle asked.
“They’re here and settled, but they’re in really bad shape, you guys. It kind of broke my heart.” Megan slid onto the barstool beside Elle, grateful for the company of her two best friends after a long day. She, Ruby, and Elle had known each other since elementary school. Getting to live and work together here at Rosemont Castle was a dream come true for all of them, and they’d never been closer.
“I’ll take a walk down and meet the horses in the morning,” Ruby said. “I wanted to re-introduce myself to Jake too.”
“Actually, you can do that tonight. I invited him to join us for dinner.” Megan poured herself a glass of wine and took a grateful sip. “Theo’s coming too, right?”
“Yep,” Elle confirmed. “He’ll be here any minute.”
Beatrice set a basket of fresh rolls on the counter in front of them. “You have no idea how happy it makes me to see all of you guys around the dinner table every night. It was too quiet here for far too long.”
Heavy footfalls echoed down the hallway, and Jake appeared in the doorway to the kitchen wearing a crisp black T-shirt and jeans, his hair still damp from the shower. Megan’s whole body seemed to hum at the sight of him, like she and Jake were opposite ends of a magnet. This attraction wasn’t going to be as easy to shake as she’d hoped.
“Hi,” he said, something almost timid in his tone.
