James let out a little laugh and, in sync, the two of them stretched. His arm lifted from her hip, then they both rolled onto their backs like it was a daily routine.
“I’ve been meaning to get some, but I’m usually up and at the shop by six,” he said. “Once I took over the shop’s day-to-day I realized it was easier to get some stuff done before it actually opened and before Mr. Donahue showed and got to chatting.” He folded his pillow to prop himself up. “Also, to be fair, no one’s complained about the lack of curtains, so I keep putting it off.”
Rose’s eyebrow went up. She was about to ask how many people he had had in his room when the man cleared his throat.
“Which would definitely be because no one has ever stayed in my room before,” he clarified before she could ask. “Just in case you were wondering.”
Rose held in her smile but didn’t comment past that.
“There’s nothing to be shy about, Mr. Keller,” she teased. “We’ve all lived a life before now.”
What they were doing now felt normal.
What had happened the day before didn’t.
Rose doubled back.
“It’s Damon and Lloyd’s lives now that I don’t understand.” The tone shifted, and so did they. Rose satup and James mimicked the move. Whatever warmth they had shared just being in one another’s company the night before chilled into calculations.
“Yesterday there was…a lot going on and I don’t think I really talked about how much of it bothered me. I mean the reasoning behind what had happened.”
Rose had given Liam, and by extension James since he hadn’t left her side once until they had gotten to his house, a play-by-play of everything that had been said and happened once Lloyd appeared on the dock. She had been matter-of-fact with the retelling. Now she was looking at the overall story.
“So, Lloyd came down the dock, Damon threw his gun into the water, and then tied me to the cinder block, all without talking. Lloyd tied Damon to the other one after that. Then Lloyd shot him and walked off. Just like that.” It had felt like watching a bizarre movie. One left on mute until the gun went off and the force had pushed Damon’s body back into the water. “And, while I have a lot of questions from all of that, Damon allowing himself to be shot is what gets me.
“He talked about being betrayed by someone he loves, but how was he betrayed?” she continued. “He had a gun, he had time, he had drive, and yet, he just gave in. Threw his weapon away, let his feet be tied to concrete, and even let Lloyd help him to the edge of the dock before he was shot. And James, hesmiledwhile it happened.” She shook her head, unable to shake the image. “With me, Damon was angry. Full of rage. Then, at what he thought would be his death, he accepted it with what felt like happiness?”
She held up another finger, deciding she had enough questions to tick off points.
“Which leads me to the Lloyd of it all. You said he talked about heroes and how he understood now why Damon had been so angry. Then he killed himself? Why? Did he betray Damon? And what exactlywasthe betrayal? Getting me to the dock to try and kill me only for Lloyd to come out and take on Damon instead? If that’s true, then why didn’t he fight back? Why did Lloyd just leave and do himself in like that? Why—”
Rose had been ticking off her points haphazardly. She had nine fingers up and was going for ten. James interrupted the move.
He took both of her hands in only one of his and pushed all three to the space on the bed between them.
She turned to meet his gaze. Green, brown and her new favorite, gold, took her in as quickly as his hand had.
“Sometimes, we just don’t get all of the answers.” His voice was deep velvet. Smooth, soft. “And the answers we do get, we might not get all at once.”
He squeezed the top of her hands.
“Whatever went down yesterday, it was the end of something so why don’t we honor that with starting something new today?”
Despite herself, Rose felt her eyebrow go sky-high.
“Something new?” she asked, mind pausing the merry-go-round of questions she had. “Like what?”
Belatedly, Rose realized just how close they were.
James’s lips turned up at the corners.
“Come downstairs and you’ll see.”
A few minutes later Rose met James in the kitchen.There was coffee made and breakfast in progress. She sat dutifully at the eat-in kitchen table, waiting for their something new to start. James, however, didn’t explain and started to talk about a TV show Mr. Donahue had told him about while he finished cooking.
Rose tried to stay on task but found the conversation distracting. When he added his famous stuffed omelets? She forgot to ask again. Later, after they had moved to the couch to watch the show, she thought again about what he’d meant. That question was replaced again by idle chatter between them.
A few hours later, they were walking through the field behind the house, Rose following him as James talked about his goals for fixing up the house. He had some landscaping ideas too for the front of the lot, but he didn’t seem keen on ever changing the back. At least not the tall grass they were moving through. He reached down on occasion to touch the grass, like a parent affectionately patting the head of their child.
