“He’sdead, Sunni!” Oh, Harley didn’t mean to shout. She held up a hand. “Sorry. I’m sorry, I’m ... just—”
“It could be Mars,” Jericho said, and Harley jerked. He looked at Sunni. “He always had a thing for you in middle school. And when he came back that summer—didn’t he ask you out?”
Sunni met his gaze. “Yes, but ... I didn’t go. Besides, he wouldn’t know about the berries.”
“Your mother made jewelry with the dried berries.” He directed his words to Harley. “And holiday wreaths—”
Harley frowned at him. “I’m trying to wrap my brain around Mars sendingSunniberries becausemy momliked them ... that doesn’t ...why?”
The room fell silent.
“My brain is probably too stuck on Mars,” Jericho finally said. “Given that he tried tokillyou yesterday.”
Sunni’s eyes widened, and she looked at Harley. “He did?”
“It’s a long story—”
“You said you got the picture last night, Sunni?” This from Jericho.
“Yeah. I called Winter right away. She said we could make it here before the storm.”
“The road here isn’t plowed,” Topher said.
“Snow machine could make it.” Jericho looked at Harley, such a fierceness in his eyes.
Okay, that must be his military face. Because she’d never seen ... well, maybe once.
Funny how life just kept circling back tothatmoment, the one where she blew apart everything she ever wanted, that moment when she walked away from him.
Right before he’d left for the military and took any forgiveness with him.
“Okay, so first, it’s lethal outside,” Topher said. “So, no one is out there in this storm. Second, Jer and I will take watches. We’ll be fine.” He glanced at Winter when he said it.
Aw, Harley wished those two would just figure it out, start dating, but that was a conversation for another day.
Right now, the wind moaned and the generator’s hum seemed suddenly fragile against the storm’s growing fury.
Harley needed air. Just a moment to think. She grabbed an empty pot from the counter. “We need more snow to melt.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Jericho stood up to block her path. “Have you not been paying attention? You can’t go out there.”
She stared at him, her breath caught.
He was a mountain in front of her, sturdy, unmoving. Forbidding. But his voice gentled when he put his hands on her shoulders. “Take a breath there, Speed Racer. You’re going to be fine.We’regoing to be fine.”
“I just...”
His hands squeezed her shoulders, his gaze holding hers.
Was she shaking? “I ... I can take care of myself.” The words came automatically, but soft, almost comical.
“Yeah, I know.” He smiled and reached out for the pot. “But just for kicks and giggles, why don’t you let me get the snow?”
And oh boy, she nearly reached up and put her hand on his flannelly chest. He stood so close that she could see the gold flecks in his eyes. Close enough that it would be so easy to lean forward, to find out if he...
Well, if he really meant—“Today was a good warning of whatI don’t want.”
But, as if the ghosts knew, the wind screamed down the chimney, and the fire flickered, spilling flaming cinders into the room, and the impulse died.
