“No, I just want to go over the ways you put yourself in danger.” He shrugs. “You didn’t even attempt to look for cameras as you approached the cabin. Not even a cursory glance up.”
“Iwaslooking up. For owls.” I scrunch my face. He’s right. I even remember reading that in my Google search, but I totally forgot.
“Owls are the least of your problems.” Wes snorts.
“Wait, were you watching the whole time?”
“Yeah, obviously. I wanted to see what you’d do.” The kettle whistles, and he pours steaming water over our tea bags.
“Next, you were so loud picking the lock with that amateur kit. Did you buy that on Amazon?” Wes judges me hard. I refuse to nod even though he’s right. “Three, your shoes are so incredibly squeaky. Have there ever been squeakier shoes? Take them off before coming inside, wear different shoes, whatever.”
“Listen—”
“I know. You’re not a criminal.” He grabs milk from the fridge and a container of sugar from his counter. “And youdon’t want to be one.” Wes throws a look over his shoulder that I can’t read. It’s almost sad.
“I mean, basically, yeah.”
“Milk? Sugar?”
“Milk and two sugars, please.”
“You also didn’t factor in animals. I happen to have a very vocal cat, but some people have dogs. You always have to bring a treat, sometimes with a light sedative.”
I drop my jaw and gasp.
“Very, very light sedative. We are not about hurting animals.”
“Fine. But I’ve already given up on my stalking career.”
“Good. I did enjoy your gift.” Wes nods to the book page art hedgehog I had placed on his counter before he knocked me out. “It’s adorable.”
My cheeks heat as he approaches and hands me a steaming tea. I accept it and wrap my hands around the warm mug. I shouldn’t have brought the hedgehog. It’s embarrassing.
“Did you make it?” Wes heads back into the kitchen to grab his own mug and the paper hedgehog, then sinks on the couch on the other side of his cat, placing my creation right next to Sir Fluffy. Wes reaches out and mindlessly scratches his head. The cat purrs so loudly I fear he has a whole airplane engine inside him.
“Yeah.” I nod. Might as well just admit it now while we’re in this surreal moment in time. I’m not sure why I felt the need to share something so personal with Wes, something that Shane hated and would make fun of me for. Maybe it was a test. Like, let’s see how he reacts to this weird thing about me. “It’s kind of my thing. I make book page art out of old paperback books.”
“No way.” Wes slides his mug onto the coffee table andexamines the hedgehog with two hands. “What book is this?”
“That one? It was an old thriller novel. I go to the thrift store or our library sales and buy a bunch of old books that I can use.”
“You are really talented.”
Wes is definitely passing the vibes test. I shouldn’t care what he thinks about me, but obviously I do. Somehow, our little business relationship has turned very personal, very fast.
“Shane called it my stupid little hobby. He trashed all my stuff when he disappeared. The apartment was empty aside from my clothes, books, and a few other items.” My cheeks heat as I remember the moment I got home and found the apartment empty. It was awful. “He even left my rabbit hopping around the hallway all by himself.”
“He fucked with Honey Bunny??”
I nod solemnly.
“He is really an asshole.”
“Yup.”
Wes lays an arm across the back of the couch and sips his tea, watching me intently. I squirm underneath his gaze. It’s like he’s trying to figure me out.
This guy is contradictory. He’s clearly not your average thirty-something bachelor. Even though he lives alone in an isolated cabin on a lake, he’s got relationships with people. He’s clearly close to his brother and integrated into the Lake Savage community. He smiles. A lot. He loves his cat and bakes pies.
