Nadine shifted from foot to foot while he rummaged in the closet for the slickers. “Was that the one whose pictures he burned?”
“Yes.” He tossed one of the rain jackets at her in an easy underhand. “Jesamyn Peters.”
Her face was solemn. “I see.”
Cal wondered—again—how much she knew. How much she’d been told. When they were in that diner, the first questionshe’d asked was why they all still lived at home, which was something he was starting to question himself, more and more.
He cleared his throat, forcing a smile. “So, we’re buying candles in Arboreus. After you.”
Cold wind slammed against them as he opened the door, the rain having increased to a steady, pulsating thrum. The mud sucked greedily at the soles of their shoes as they slogged their way to the carriage house in silence. Nadine worried her lower lip between her teeth.
Cal found himself remembering how that lip had tasted, caught between his.
“I can’t imagine feeling that way about someone.” Nadine slid into his car with a familiarity that tugged at him. “I mean, building a house for them, and then burning parts of it to the ground when they die, and burying them beneath black flowers—who does that?”
“My family,” he said quietly.
She exhaled sharply and turned her face towards the rain-spotted window, shielding her thoughts. The sight of her bathed in the gray-green light of the storm, angled towards her misted reflection, made him think of the sparrow in his room trapped under glass.
I could let her go. The thought came to him unbidden, jagged as broken glass.Spare her.
Just as quickly, another thought came:But now, there’s no way out.
His thoughts hummed like an angry swarm of wasps as the clerk rang up his purchases. Nadine, standing beside him, fiddled with the pockets of her jacket. In their matching slickers, no one would assume that they weren’t a couple—that she wasn’this. And she could be, if he kept her here. If he made her realize that he was the only choice that could save her.
She wouldn’t have to choose if she was free.
No. Deep down, she had the same dark cravings, the same deep-seated need for control. If she fell in love with him, trusted him, then she would come to him again with that same look of fearful desire that had her falling to her knees before him last night.
But what if she didn’t?that voice whispered.What if that isn’t enough?
A chilling thought occurred to him.
What if Ben and his father had purposefully destroyed the road to keep her from escaping? To make sure that Nadine stayed for the festival—not as his sparrow, but as one of the deer?
What if his sister’s mocking words hadn’t been a taunt at all, but a warning?
(She can learn)
Nadine’s stomach growled. She folded her arms over her belly, looking embarrassed. A surge of affection blunted his bladed thoughts, and had him pushing aside his concerns. “Where do you want to go for lunch?”
She smiled shyly, her features relaxing. “Japanese?”
“I’m not sure we have such refinement here in the backwoods.” He pulled out his phone, scrolling past a message from his boss. The mountains weren’t exactly the best source of fresh fish so he was mildly surprised to see a restaurant less than ten miles away, with good ratings, no less. “Apparently we do. How very metropolitan of us.”
“Don’tyouwork in the city?”
“I used to,” he lied. “Then I started working closer to home.”
“Doing pro bono?”
“Only in Argentum and not so much lately. It feels rather odd to demand payment from people who would swear on a bible that your family drinks blood.”
She made a face. “I’d charge double.”
“Would you?” He smiled, in spite of himself. “You seem too sweet for that.”
Nadine blushed. “I don’t like bullies.”
