He stared at me. Stared at me a moment too long as if trying to find the words to say something but before he could form any sentences, Zach walked into the living room. He had a towel around his neck, using it to dry his short curls, wearing a pair of pajamas with cartoon cupcakes all over.
“Okay. I take it back. Please tell me you made lunch because I’m so hun—” he started and stopped when he noticed Wyatt. “Mr. Goodman! Hi!”
Wyatt tipped his head at Zach, cast a strained glance at me and left without another word.
I watched the door for a moment, but then Zach sprang to life again and walked around the kitchen island, taking over cutting the lettuce.
“What was that about?” he asked.
With a deep breath I turned away from the door, and the man who had been standing there, the man who’d broken my heart five years ago. I turned away and faced the man who had the potential to mend it and who reminded me what it was like to be happy.
Because I felt nothing but happiness when I looked at him, even if I never could act on my attraction to him.
Because Wyatt Goodman had ruined me for love for the rest of my life.
EIGHT
ZACH
Wyatt’s visit had unsettled Dare, and it was apparent even as he tried to deny it. For starters, he barely touched his food when he’d admitted earlier he had been hungry. Secondly, he hardly said a word when he was usually very chatty. Though my situation might have had something to do with our somber late lunch.
We sat at the kitchen island and since Dare was far too focused on figuring out the secrets of his salad bowl by staring really hard at it, I passed the time by filling my stomach and passing the odd leaf to the goats gathered around us.
“They’re quite the characters,” I said after one of them headbutted another trying to get the salad leaf for themselves.
“Huh?” Dare grunted. “Ah yeah. They’re full of personality.”
I turned to him and smiled, the only way I could think of to crack that frown set on his face. He bit his lip under my gaze and, well, that was better than the stony expression from two moments ago.
“Wh-what are their names?”
“Oh right. Yeah. The sheepish one is Adam, the bossy one is Eve, and the instigator is Steve.” He pointed at the gray and white one, the black and white one and the beige one respectively and I repeated the names in my head.
“Adam and Eve plus Steve? Are you religious?” I chuckled.
“Nope. Duke’s boyfriend is. Azrael? He named them. I wasn’t going to keep the names, but I guess they stuck.”
“Funny guy,” I said.
Dare sighed and after a beat went back to staring at his salad, tossing it around with his fork but not really eating anything.
When I was done, he excused himself, saying something about tending to the crops and he left with the goats. That left me alone with Lookah and seeing as I had nothing to do, I put away his food and washed the dishes before retreating to the guest room and having a nap.
I was so tired.
So fucking tired.
And cold.
It was so unlike me. I never felt drained in the middle of the day, like I needed to sleep.
I guess when you had nothing to do it was hard to stay energized and active. Right about now I’d be catching up with wiping surfaces and tidying up the truck after the lunch rush. Then I’d make a list of the cakes I wanted to bake for the next day. Place my order with the supplier so it’d be ready to pick up on my way home. Maybe grab a bite before business picked up again.
Lookah cozied up next to me and when he was so warm and cuddly it was impossible not to let go and close my eyes, even if only for a second and even if my feet were still freezing.
The events of the day flashed before my eyes. The truck on fire. Teddy helping calm me down. Seeing Victor outside my window. Dare bursting in and carrying me. Being driven away to the middle of nowhere.
What had my life even become? Just when I thought everything was going well, that I’d escaped…
