19. Erin

Chapter nineteen

Erin

Finn leads me towards the vast hall that is currently the location of all the craft judging activities of the Twin Rivers festival. He keeps looking back at me like he’s worried I’m going to disappear. He’s dressed in a white shirt today with his jeans, and he looks divine.

“Finn!”

A teenage boy races over to him, and they do this complicated handshake that makes my head spin.

“Oh, hey, are you still going to coach us this year? Hero has volunteered to drive us to games.”

Finn considers it and then ruffles the kid’s hair. “‘Course, I am. Wouldn’t dream of missing it.”

It’s such a wholesome image until I look back. Bray’s fingers are being held by mine, but he looks like he’d quite happily allow the ground to open up and let him fall. In contrast to Finn, Bray is dressed in a black t-shirt and black jeans. He looks just as good.

“Bray?” I whisper.

The kid looks up and sees me and smiles, but then he spots my hand wrapped around Brays.

“Oh.”

Oh? What the fuck does ‘Oh’ mean? Can I punch kids in the face and get away with it?

The boy turns back to Finn, talking to him with so much animation that I almost dismiss his strange reaction to me and Bray.

“Bray, I need to talk to you.” A painfully thin man snarls. He looks to be about our age, and though he’s dwarfed by Brayson, his attitude makes my hackles rise. I take in the pale skin, his muddy brown eyes, the thin blond hair, and dismiss him as anything but an annoyance.

Bray reluctantly lets go of my hand. “I’ll be right back.”

I turn, keeping him in sight while he goes towards the edge of the hall.

“My car’s not fixed yet? You said it would be fixed yesterday.”

“I can’t fix the car without the part, Rooster.”

“Fuck, I need the car, Bray. I’m not paying for it. You’re taking advantage of my good nature.”

What a douche.

Bray opens his mouth, then shuts it. “Sure, I’ll have it for you by tomorrow.”

I let out a snarl that startles Finn, but I ignore him and stalk towards Bray.

“Hi, I’m Bray’s date today,” I purr and hold out my hand.

This pitiful excuse for a man looks me up and down and then puts on a smolder. “Forget about Bray, sweetheart, come hang out with a real alpha.”

I bristle, but Bray gets homicidal.

I manage to step in between them before he kills the idiot, but only just. I catch Finn watching with concern, but he’s been surrounded by tiny old ladies. No help coming from that quarter.

“Sweetheart,” I say with a snap of my teeth. “You couldn’t handle me. Bray speaks my language.”

“Bray? He’s a piece of shit-”

“You going to finish that sentence, Robins?” Shane snarls with so much menace Rooster, or Robins, quakes in his shoes.

“No, Shane, I was just-”

“Fuck. Off.”

“Sure, I’m going.”

“Oh, and make sure you pay Bray everything you owe, or I’ll be coming to pay a visit.”

“You didn’t have to do that!” Bray hisses.

Shane blinks. “He was ripping you off and being rude to you and Erin. What kind of alpha would I be if I stood by?”

Bray folds his arms over his chest, but he’s breathing hard. I reach out to touch him, but he recoils and shakes his head.

He storms out of the building, leaving me feeling helpless.

“Is this normal?”

“What?”

“This town and the way it treats Bray?”

“Yes. Sadly. It is normal. Though I’m not sure if they even realise they are doing it.”

I grumble, but he leads me back to Finn. The old ladies fawn over him. Asking him for help with this and that. He’s already promised to taste a stew, fix a fence, deliver some sewing, and paint a grandchild’s bedroom. Three of them look like they could be sisters with silver hair, blue eyes, and soft skin. They are all dressed modestly and have this ease with each other that makes me grind my teeth.

Shane they treat with a polite respectfulness.

But when Bray comes up in conversation, their tones get frosty.

“He’s upset Rooster, hasn’t got the car fixed,” Margot says with a snort, she’s the youngest and has a crown of tight, silver ringlets around her head and a thick waist. “Typical. I don’t know what kind of racket he’s trying to play, but it won’t fly here.”

I listen in growing irritation.

“Benny is picking up his habits now, too.” Neresse scowls into her slice of lemon cake. Her face has a pinched look like she does this scowling often, she’s thin and maybe as tall as my shoulder. “Such a bad role model.”

Finn stays silent.

I really like him, but I hate this side of him. But, like Shane said, I can’t even tell if he knows he’s doing it.

Locke bounces over with a huge pink and purple scarf wrapped around his neck.

“Oh, you look so sexy,” I purr at him.

Locke flutters his lashes coyly at me, and this time, I see a smoulder that knocks me on my heels. I lean into him and touch my lips to his.

“Gorgeous.” It’s heartfelt and conveys all the want inside me.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Locke whispers.

When I pull back, all those old ladies are smiling and nodding happily. It’s almost like I’ve just scored the approval of all of them. Our relationship is blessed.

And then Bray walks over to us and stands a foot and a half away from me. The distance irks me, and it irks Locke. Finn doesn’t pay attention to it.

“We’re so glad to see you’re all right after that slip yesterday with the beverage. It was such a scary thing. So lucky your young lover was paying attention.” This tiny blue-haired woman says. She’s got coke bottle glasses on, and I think all her clothes were made last century.

“I was very lucky.”

The ladies, the tiny little army that has ambushed Finn, don’t greet Bray. They ignore him like he’s not even there. He flexes his arms uncomfortably, and the black top stretches across his chest. It’s almost indecent.

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop from reaching out, but I notice a couple of people who do pay attention to him. Young women. They look at him like he’s meat, but they don’t say hello.

I’m starting to see the bigger picture here, and I hate it.

We wander all day, talking to people, and for the most part, everyone is lovely. I’d really like these people more if they weren’t being assholes to Bray. My temper is getting a fine edge to it.

Locke, Shane, and I stay silent and observe the toxic relationship between the town, Finn, and Bray. Over and over. It just keeps building with more and more examples. Until I’m ready to scream.

Finn gets more and more overwhelmed. His smile starts to break. I can see the desperate panic in his eyes. But Bray’s pain is something I can feel in the air.

“Would you excuse me? Finn and Bray promised to show me the stars.”

Lilliana Rose, who was instructing Finn on polishing her wood table, stops talking and looks between us.

“Oh, was I interrupting?” The middle-aged woman bites her thin bottom lip and takes a half a step back. She’s pretty and married to a very busy man who works in the city. He only gets back on the weekends.

“Yes,” Locke says bluntly. “But we like you, so it’s okay, but now we have to go.”

He’s so damn charming that she can’t even take offense to it. I should master that skill, but I prefer bluntness that I clobber people over the head with.

I reach for Bray’s hand, but he moves it away from me and walks to the door.

“Give me a moment,” I say to the others and stalk after the alpha.

Bray heaves a sigh when I stop behind him. We’re in the dark car park, no one is around, but still, I feel like there are eyes on us.

“I’d like this town if they treated you nicely,” I say evenly.

Bray laughs bitterly. “That will never happen.”

“Why? Why are they doing this?”

“Because of my parents. I don’t know, it’s always been like this. My life is offensive.”

“Why are you allowing it?” I snarl, the words whip out of me, across the space, and land a blow.

He flinches.

Silence ticks by as I wait for his answer, and when it comes, it’s said so softly my heart breaks for him.

“Because they are the only family I have ever known. My mother was too drunk to be a mother, and my father got up and left.”

I shove his back. “Damn you, Brayson. Damn you for having the biggest heart I’ve ever seen and for being so damn irresistible. You sneak into my life, worming your way until all I do is look for you, think of you. You are there, beside me, or nothing is right.”

He turns around. “And what about you? You came out of nowhere with no intention of staying. A dream, a fantasy, a woman I could love. I could call mine, and you’re leaving,” he shouts.

We stare at each other, and then I step into his space.

“I don’t know how.”

“What?” Bray whispers.

“I don’t know how I’m going to leave,” I admit hoarsely.

He cups my cheeks, leans in, and pauses just before our lips touch. “I don’t know how I’d let you leave me.”

“Don’t, then,” I breathe out, the words slipping past his lips and into his lungs. It’s a desperate strand of hope I clutch at.

He groans and closes the distance. Our lips meet. It’s not sexy, it’s not a kiss that sets blood boiling. It’s a gentle promise, the softest touches. I can feel his pain, and I’m sure he can feel mine. How lonely we’ve both been is an underlying desperation. This is Bray showing me how much he cares.

And I show him right back.

So what if the town doesn’t love him? I can do it. I could love him so easily.

That word rings in my mind, but it doesn’t cause panic. It settles something inside me like a broken piece slotted back into place.