Chapter 13

Sitting in a beautiful house in the mountains while a gorgeous man makes me breakfast… Am I in a fairytale? Honestly, part of me wonders if I passed out in the forest and this is all a giant hallucination.

While we eat, Barrett tells me all about Old Hemlock Valley and its many features. He"s not exactly subtle about it. Apparently Mrs. Fergus at the library will scour the Earth to order any books I want, and she"ll be thrilled that I"m a fellow bird watcher.

There aren"t a lot of clothing shops or camera stores, but Barrett has a big post office box for deliveries. He explains that there aren"t a ton of restaurants and cafés around here, but the ones that are, are all excellent. He"s clearly trying to sell me on the area. I don"t know that he has to. Everything I"ve seen so far is wonderful.

My phone rings, and Barrett"s slight smile turns to a scowl again when he glances at it. He jumps up to bring it to me, and I"m surprised to see that Carl is calling instead of his usual texting.

"Hello?"

"Sage. Where the fuck are you?"

Barrett takes our empty plates to the kitchen to give me a bit of privacy, but I know he"s trying to listen in on our conversation.

"Kind of nearish Old Hemlock Valley," I say, not wanting to give him any specific location.

"I need you to meet me in Pinesley at noon. The gas station near Main and Sidney."

"Um…" I hesitate. "Then could you drive me back here?"

"Jesus fucking Christ," Carl snaps. "I just got finished setting you up with a ride back to Mackton. Don"t they need you at the daycare?"

"Who would be willing to give me a ride to Mackton?"

"My friend Bill. He"s making a delivery an hour north of there. He can drop you off."

Carl has become more and more invested with his "deliveries" lately, and it"s honestly starting to creep me out. He"s careful never to let any details slip, and I don"t have the guts to ask. Well, I can stay in don"t-ask-don"t-tell mode for a little while longer.

On one hand, I know that I should at least go back to Mackton to pick up my things and make sure that Sheila has someone to cover for me at the daycare. But the thought of getting a ride with one of Carl"s buddies is giving me a cold, sick feeling.

"No. I"m not driving all that way with a stranger."

I hear Barrett slip quietly from the kitchen to the bedroom, but he doesn"t shut the door. Of course he"s listening to my every word. I don"t blame him.

"Dammit, Sage – I called in a favor to get you that ride."

I hate when he gets angry like this. It makes me feel like I"m seven years old and I"ve accidentally touched something that I didn"t know was off limits.

"That wasn"t our original plan. I was going to pick you up, then you and I were going to drive to Mackton together."

"Plans change. Deal with it. I don"t care if you take the ride or not, as long as you get that goddamn car to Pinesley by noon." He sounds frantic. Desperate, even.

"Why does it have to be noon? Can"t I have lunch first?"

"There are things that need to be sorted out by one o"clock today, and I need that car by noon. Don"t you dare fuck this up for me, Sage. If you screw this deal for me, I will never speak to you again. Ever. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I whisper, just before he hangs up on me.

My phone hits the table with a clatter as tears fill my eyes. I already know my life is small and uninteresting, but still…my brother has a particular talent for making me feel utterly worthless.

Two gentle, heavy hands land on the back of my shoulders. "Let me help, Sage."

He massages me for a moment, then drops into the chair beside me. His eyes widen and his jaw clenches when he sees my expression. Reaching out slowly, his thumb glides under my eye to wipe away a tear. "Oh, baby, no. Please. Tell me what I can do."

"It"s not your problem," I sniffle, trying to choke it all back. "I"ve been too much of a bother already. My family are nasty people, and they"re not your concern."

He grips my hands, shaking them slightly. "Sage, you are my concern now. Understand that?"

"You barely know me. You have your whole life going on. Your own worries…"

My eyes fall closed and I try to compose myself, but Barrett shakes my fingers until I"m forced to look at him. "There are plenty of things that are hard for me to say. Maybe because I"ve never had cause to say them before. But now… Sage, I want you to be my concern. I want you in my life."

My chest feels tight. "How can you make a huge decision just like that? You"ve only known me for a few days."

He stares out the window for a moment. Then he turns back to me and smiles. "Here"s the thing. I want to care for you. Protect you. I want you to be my girl." He"s so sexy when he smiles with that intensity. "Do you want me to be your man?"

I"m already nodding. "Yes."

"You"re just scared because this is all happening so fast?"

"Yes."

"Okay…" His hands are so warm and comforting as he gently strokes his thumb across my skin. "How about we assume that everything is going to work out? If you change your mind, you can tell me it"s over, and I"ll drive you back to Mackton, and we"ll just stay friends."

Swallowing hard, I can"t even speak, just nod fervently.

"Okay. Good. So given that we"re operating under the assumption that I"m your man…" His expression tightens. "There"s no way in hell any woman of mine is going to that godforsaken place on her own. And you"re not driving all the way to Mackton with some scummy friend of your skeezy brother?—"

He stops himself and frowns. "I"m sorry, princess. But if your brother is running deliveries around Pinesley like that, you know it isn"t anything good."

I nod again. "That"s exactly why I don"t want you to meet Carl."

"Why not?"

My bottom lip quivers. "B-because I don"t want you to think that I"m like him."

"Shhh, oh, baby, no." He slides our chairs closer to slip an arm around me. "I"m not going to judge you for a second. But I have to keep you safe. I"m going to care for you until you tell me to stop. Okay?"

My awkward smile seems to relax him. "Okay."

"Good. Here"s the plan. We"ll take all your stuff out of your car. You"ll drive there with me tailing you in the truck. I"ll call you when we"re close to give you directions. You drop off the car, and I bring you home."

"Sounds good." Crap. I still don"t want him to meet Carl. With the badly done back alley tattoos all around his neck and the wild, frantic energy he usually has in his eyes, he just looks like trouble.

And for all of his rustic woodsman lifestyle, Barrett is quietly classy. Clean. Crisp.

His hand drops to my ankle. "Is your foot okay to drive?"

"Oh, sure. I won"t put much weight on it at all."

"That"s my girl."

Something warm and beautiful spills through me hearing those words. His girl. It makes me want to believe that everything is going to work out fine…so, so much.

I just have to figure out how to keep my brother away from…my man.