He must know something is off. His eyebrows furrow, eyes narrowed in confusion, but I shrug and stand, ready to escape to my room.
“I locked the door from the inside. I need to jump in again.”
I don’t make a habit of jumping out of windows, but I really wanted to stretch my legs without them hearing about it. And now look at me. I’m glad I have a full belly, but now I have to jump back inside with him watching.
“Let’s go,” he says with a smirk and starts heading to the door.
Oh god no.
“You don’t need to follow me.” I run after him. “I can just hop right in,” I say with a fake easiness to my voice. Anyone looking at the size of my ass knows jumping back in will be an ordeal. One that he doesn’t need to witness. Derrick lifts one shoulder, crossing the porch, ignoring my protests.
“Or I can help and make sure you don’t hurt yourself.”
“I won’t hurt myself from just climbing into a very low window.”
It’s an obvious lie. He glances at me over his shoulder with an arch of his eyebrows, and I blush. Why can he just let me be without the humiliation?
Derrick makes his way around the house quickly, and the mare right at the pen watches him carefully, even when he doesn’t approach. She’s suspicious, and I like her a lot.
“You crawled through here?” he asks as we stop in front of my window.
The white painting had stuck and wouldn’t open more than halfway. I made it, but I can’t say enough that it wasn’t graceful. I bite my lip before replying, and Derrick shakes his head and forces the window open. Okay, so he’s strong and hot. I’m weak and scared. We all have our things.
He extends his hand to me, and instinctively, my hands close in a fist. “I can do this by myself.”
No, I can’t, but I really don’t want to be a bother.
Derrick doesn’t argue, yet he doesn’t give up. Instead, he comes a step closer. His blue eyes are something else in the low light. They dazzle me, and for a moment, I forget what we were talking about. It’s too late when I realize his plans, and suddenly, I’m in his arms. I yelp, and I hold on to his shoulders, blushing harder than ever.
“Oh god, what are you doing?”
He carries me like I weigh nothing. It’s concerning how hot he’s getting by the minute. It’s not right.
“I’m just saying good night, Miss Darlin’.”
Thoughts flee my head, and I open and close my mouth like a fish. He places me carefully on the ledge until I’m sitting nicely there, and soon the warmth of his body disappears when he takes a step away. I’mtingling all over, my hands shaking, and I hop inside and twirl around to look back at him, hoping he can’t see the myriad of feelings in my eyes.
“Thank you for—”The food? Carrying me?I can’t find the words, so I just nod and say it again. “Thank you.”
His eyes are bright with a smirk as he raps the windowsill a couple of times. “Good night. See you in the morning.”
Derrick turns and disappears into the night. Even when his steps die out into the night, I wait just there to make sure he’s really gone, and only then do I let out a breath and flop down on the floor.
seven
Major
“You talked to her?” I ask, just one last time to be sure. My brother dips his chin instead of replying to me, so I push again. “And she’s coming out today?”
“I promised her real food,” he says again.
Real fucking food. Annoyance quickly turned into rage when Derrick explained to me what was wrong with her. St. James should have told me. It’s not a big deal. A quick search on my phone showed me a list of safe foods, and the ones she can’t eat, I can purchase gluten-free. The list of things he should have told me continues to grow, yet I don’t make the call to curse him out.
Not when the harvest is so close.
The battered leather of my hat feels soothing in my hands and gives me something to do while we wait for her. Jesse has his guitar over his neck once again, though his eyes are bright and alert. Silence stretches, and I’m about to ask Derrick again about meeting Veda last night when I hear the distinct sound of the door unlocking.
Jesse’s back is straight in the same second. Like a fucking puppy, I can almost see his tail thumping on the floor. I don’t like his reaction to this woman, but that’s an issue for later. After we feedher properly, we might need a new meeting among the three of us where I explain that Veda is only staying for a few months and that none of us should touch her. Or be overly nice to her in case that makes us want to touch her.
