“You act like following the old ways is a crime. It’s not. It’s how our ancestors always did things, and we need to honor them. Not look down on them with contempt like you do, like you’re better than those who came before you. There’s nothing wrong with the old ways.”
“There is in my book. And there was in my father’s, too.”
With that parting shot, he spun on his heel and stalked out, ignoring his grandfather’s voice calling for him to come back. Anger was pulsing through his veins, and if he didn’t do something about it now, he’d say something to Pops that he’d come to regret.
Not trusting his grandfather around customers, not after this morning, he flipped the closed sign on and stalked outside, making his way to the forest on the other side of town. He wanted to wreck shit, and he couldn’t do that where anyone could see.
But there were two questions circling his mind as he made the trek to the woods. Was he angry about this never-ending argument with Pops, and the way he was trying to force him to do something that repulsed him?
Or was he angry that Pops was calling Olivia a danger and trying to force him to stay away from her?
Because he had no doubts that his grandfather wouldn’t stop pushing the issue, even after he took the job. He wouldn’t put it past him to try some underhanded shit to get what he wanted, either.
Cody was still going to take the job, though. He couldn’t not take it. And if she didn’t accept his estimate and didn’t end up hiring Aaron’s, he’d find another way to see her again. She was calling to him on an elemental level he’d never felt before.
But he’d for damned sure keep an eye on his Pops. He wasn’t going to let the old bastard do anything to scare Oliva away.
Chapter 4
Olivia
“Are you sure this Cody person seemed nice?”
Olivia took in the worried frown on Fiona’s face and gave her the most reassuring smile she could muster. “He really did. I promise I’ll be okay. Carlie and Paisley will be in the house, too. You don’t have to worry. I won’t be alone.”
Her sister nibbled on her lower lip, staring at her with conflicted eyes. When guilt entered her green eyes, just a shade darker than her own, she knew what her next words would be.
“I shouldn’t leave you here without me. Maybe Sierra and I can just find a really good spot to hide inside.”
Sierra glanced over her shoulder at them, doing her best to smile at the suggestion, but she could see the way it quivered on the edges. Of all of them, she was the most terrified of strangers. She hadn’t even gone into town once in the six months they’d lived there.
But it was clear that no matter how afraid she was, she was willing to hide in the house, rather than staying with Fiona in the woods. She’d made a commitment to not hide anymore, and it was obvious that she was ready to try, but Olivia couldn’t ask that of her. She wasn’t ready yet.
And neither was Fiona.
Focusing on her sister, she shook her head and gave her an easy smile. “No, it’s okay. He’s just one man, and I’ll have the others, too. That’s three dragons against one human man. We got this. I know you and Sierra are the most nervous to be around people. And no one is saying you have to try right this second. It’s okay to take some more time.”
Fiona reluctantly nodded, but the guilt was still there. “If you’re sure. But if he tries anything, yell. I’ll hear you and I’ll come right away, strangers or not. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you again.”
Olivia’s heart broke just a bit at her sister’s earnest words, but she worked to keep everything except reassurance off her face. “It’s not your job to protect me. And it’s not your fault that I was captured.” Fiona frowned, opening her mouth to argue, and she quickly pushed on. “It’s not.
“I wasn’t in the house when they grabbed you. If they went in there, they wouldn’t have found me. I could have run, but I chose to try to rescue you instead. I was taken because of a choice I made. Not because of a choice you made.”
Fiona stared at her for a long moment before nodding, but it didn’t fool Olivia. She didn’t believe it now any more than she had the other million times she’d said it in the past seven months.
“I hate to interrupt,” Sierra said softly. “But are we hiding or leaving? He’s supposed be here in about twenty minutes, and if he comes early, I’d rather be out of sight.”
“Y’all are leaving. I’ll be fine,” she reiterated firmly. “I promise. Now get out of here. She’s right, he could arrive early.”
Fiona gave her one last worried look and then nodded, walking outside with Sierra. Sighing, Olivia walked to the back door, watching as they made their way across the large yard. She’d thought Fiona was working through her unresolved issues from their kidnapping and imprisonment, but maybe she’d just gotten a little better at hiding them.
“He should be here soon,” Carlie said from behind her, causing her to jump. “You sure you don’t need us to do the walkthrough with you?”
Shaking her head, she turned to face her. “No, that’s all right. It would be weird if we all followed him around. Besides, I didn’t get any bad vibes off of him. He seemed nice, and I know y’all will be close.”
Cody’s grandfather, on the other hand, was a different story—one she hadn’t felt the need to share with the others. She had Cody’s promise that the old man wouldn’t be coming to the house, and she just had to hope he kept it.
“Why are you still wearing your glasses?”
Surprised, she reached up and touched the frames with her fingers. “I hadn’t even realized I put them on this morning. I guess I just got used to putting them on every morning and now it’s an automatic thing.”
“Makes sense. Thought maybe you kept wearing them because they look sexy on you.” Carlie winked. “Okay, I’m gonna head upstairs with Paisley. We’ll be around if you need us, and when he comes into the parlor, I promise we’ll act normal. Maybe we’ll be braiding each other’s hair or some shit.”
Carlie rolled her eyes as she walked away, and Olivia chuckled. Brow furrowed in thought, she plucked the glasses from her face and studied the black frames.
Sexy? Hardly. But she was obviously going to have to train herself to stop wearing them just as she’d had to when she started. They’d all ditched their disguises within a day of their decision, and she had to admit, she liked seeing herself with blonde hair again.
It made her feel more like herself and less like the scared shell she’d turned into for so long. And that felt amazing.
Which was why she couldn’t figure out why she kept forgetting about the glasses. It was the same the morning before, too. She’d only remembered when she was standing in Aaron Construction and happened to touch them. She guessed she’d gotten just as used to wearing them all day as she had to putting them on every morning.
Setting them on the counter, she stared down at the unassuming frames. Frowning, she wondered why she didn’t feel any differently, but then she shook her head at herself. She didn’t know what she expected. That taking them off would make her feel like she was truly healed from the past?
It would take a lot more than a removing a pair of glasses for her to come close to feeling that way.
The sound of tires turning onto the long gravel driveway hit her sensitive hearing, and a bundle of nerves immediately started churning in her belly.
Cody was here.
Inhaling deeply, she walked to the front of the house and spotted a big truck going slowly up the drive. The churning in her belly intensified, but she honestly wasn’t sure what the cause of it was.
Was it because she was scared of someone who was essentially a stranger coming into the house? Or was it because she’d felt that unexpected attraction to him so strongly?
He pulled to a stop, and she pressed her hand to her belly, trying to quell the rioting butterflies. Opening his truck door, he stuck a leg out, and just that simple action made her feel overwhelmingly vulnerable.
“Shit,” she muttered, whirling around and sprinting to the kitchen. Snatching up her glasses, she shoved them onto her face and jetted back up the hall to the front door. Pausing, she inhaled, hoping she didn’t look disheveled from her sudden flurry of activity.
Dammit. Why did she feel like she needed the glasses? And why the hell was she worried about what she looked like when she opened the door for him?
The answer to your first question is fairly simple, her dragon said. You feel a little less vulnerable when you wear them, like they’re a shield. And the answer to your second question is even simpler.
Irritated when her animal didn’t continue, she practically growled out her response. And that is?
Hello? Unbelievably gorgeous man you just admitted you’re attracted to? Hey, I’m not judging. Not at all. I’ve already told you I think you’d be crazy to not react to all that hotness. Just try not to be too weird today, okay?
You mean, try not to stare at him mutely when I’m lost in my thoughts, hold onto his hand far longer that is polite, or just ramble on with information he doesn’t need when he asks a simple question?
You just about summed it up. Don’t do any of that again—unless it’s the touching part, so long as he’s not trying to get away from you—and for the love of all that’s holy, don’t add to the list.
A smile curled her lips. I make no promises.
Her dragon growled with annoyance, but before she could reply, Cody knocked on the door. Inhaling deeply, she rubbed her hands on her jeans as she walked over to open it.
Despite her smartass reply to her dragon, she desperately wanted to act normal with him today. She probably shouldn’t care, but she did.
Too bad asking her not to act weird was like asking a fish not to swim.
Her first sight of him as the door swung open nearly sucked the breath clean out of her lungs. The corner of his lips turned up in that endearing little half smile, knocking her even more off kilter.
How was it possible that he’d grown even more gorgeous overnight?
“Olivia. Good to see you again.”
And Lord, that honey smooth voice with the barest hint of gravel… it sounded even better to her than it had the day before. She’d clearly lost her mind, but as she stared into his twinkling chocolate eyes, she couldn’t seem to make herself care.
A small furrow appeared between his brows, and it sent a jolt through her. Shit, how long had she been staring at him without saying a word?
Her dragon clucked her tongue. That must be a new record. You couldn’t even make it a full minute without the weirdness returning.
Ignoring her animal, she forced a smile as she opened the door wider, back up to give him room as she gestured for him to come inside. “Good to see you again too, Cody. Come on in.”
His smile grew just a bit as he nodded. “Thanks.”
He walked by her and she shut her eyes, exhaling as he went by. She needed to find her composure and act like she had more than two brain cells in the next few seconds. Otherwise, if—or rather when, since there weren’t exactly any other options—they hired his company, she was going to force Paisley to take her place so she could be the one hiding all day.
Opening her eyes to find him surveying the living room, she quietly closed the door behind her. “You said yesterday that you knew where the house was, but have you been inside before?”
Walking over to inspect the old boarded up fireplace, he nodded absently. “Years ago. I had a friend in high school whose grandparents lived here. Probably the same guy you bought the house from.”
“The realtor said the man who owned it before lived out of state,” she murmured with a frown, a hint of suspicion and unease winding through her.
Cody turned toward her, his smile inching a little higher. “Yeah, Rob moved away for college and never came back. Not everyone wants to stay in a little town like this after graduation like I did. He put the house on the market after his grandparents passed.”
Relief washed over her, and she lectured herself on feeling suspicion at all. It hadn’t been directed at Cody, really, but more toward the realtor and previous owner of the home. But it made no sense, no matter who it was directed at. There’d been no reason to be uneasy at all, even if the previous owner did still live nearby.
The past clearly had a tighter grip on her than she’d thought.
“Makes sense,” she murmured, hoping her question hadn’t seemed too strange and out of place. “Is it as bad as you were expecting so far?”
“Well, I’ve only seen one room, but it’s actually not as bad as I thought it would be. That doesn’t mean the other rooms won’t be worse, though.”
“Understood.”
Falling quiet, she let him finish inspecting the living room, discreetly studying him as he went. He was such a big guy, in height and build. She wasn’t really on the short side, but the top of her head might not even reach his lips if they were standing next to each other.
Her eyes traced down his arms and torso, appreciating the way his worn work shirt hugged him. His muscles weren’t ostentatious, but they weren’t exactly small, either. But what she could hardly stop looking at were his hands and forearms.
They’d always been her kryptonite… and his were the best she’d seen. His hands were large and capable looking, with veins she was delighted to see worked their way up his thick forearms.
Her sister always made fun of her for thinking a man’s hands and forearms could possibly be more important than his ass, but Olivia bet she’d change her tune if she saw Cody.
And then he turned to walk down the hall, and when she turned to trail after him, her eyes fell to his ass—and she immediately choked on her own tongue. Literally.
He stopped and turned, looking at her with concern as she coughed. “Are you okay?”
Her face was flaming hot, and she knew she was blushing as she nodded. Thank God she’d pulled her eyes away from his ass before he turned around.
“Fine,” she wheezed, stopping to clear her throat and wave her hand around. “Dust and all, you know.”
“You head on into the kitchen and get some water, wash that away. Can’t have you choking. I’ll check out the half bath under the stairs and then be right in.”
She wanted to protest and insist she was fine, but his eyes were still concerned, so she nodded, quickly brushing past him and walking into the kitchen. Grabbing her water bottle, she uncapped it and took a healthy swallow, then fanned her face, hoping her blush died down by the time he arrived.
Sweet baby Jesus, maybe Fiona was right, and asses really were the best body part on men. She thought about Cody’s arms and hands again, and quickly amended that to if not the best, maybe an extremely close second.
Hell, probably a three-way tie all around.
Closing her eyes, she shook her head in exasperation. Why was she even thinking like this? Okay, maybe it was all right to be attracted to him—but this much? So soon after what she’d gone through with Fernandez and his guards?
Had she learned nothing about what could happen when the wrong man was trusted?
It wasn’t that she thought Cody was untrustworthy, necessarily. But she didn’t want her attraction to his body to blind her to who he might really be on the inside. Sure, he seemed like a good guy, but she’d known him all of two days and only spoken to him for maybe fifteen minutes, max.
Or was she overthinking all of this? She just didn’t know, and that was part of the problem. And hell, it was probably a nonissue anyway. She was worrying over falling for him because of her attraction, without really getting to know him, but who was to say he saw her the same way?
And if she was torn between hoping he did and hoping he didn’t, well, she’d just have to deal with the conflicting emotions. She knew she wasn’t ready to find out.
And maybe she never would be.
“You okay now?”
Nodding, she gave him a small smile as she recapped her water bottle. “Ye
p. Dust is all gone.”
The return smile he gave her was just big enough to crinkle his eyes. And if her heart melted a tiny bit when she saw it, well, she was just ignoring it. And that was that.
“That’s good. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to you,” he replied. Before she had a chance to latch onto that statement and overanalyze it to death, he continued. “So, I looked under the sink in the bathroom and noticed the pipes look pretty rusted. I’m guessing the rest of them in the house are in about the same condition.”
Smile turning wry, she nodded and opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink. “Yep, they definitely are.”
Pulling a small flashlight from his pocket, he crouched down and looked, whistling low when he saw the still wet cabinet bottom. “That they are. This pipe completely rusted through. You obviously knew that, though.”
“Yep. We turned the water off, and when I told the others this wasn’t something I could fix—or that even if I could, it would just keep happening over and over until we got the whole house back in shape—they finally agreed to have someone come in here and do the work. I came to see you the next day.”
Curiosity shown in his dark eyes as he stood. “You guys were definitely looking for privacy if you had to talk them into having someone come fix this place up. I get it, though. We all need a break from people every now and then. That’s part of why I like living in a small town.”
“Really? I would have thought a town this small would be like living in a fishbowl most of the time.”
He chuckled. “It’s definitely that, too. But there are also plenty of places to go when I need to get away from everyone and have some time to myself. And I know every single one of them. I don’t think I could live in a city and not be able to find the solitude I crave sometimes.”
“Yeah, I can see how they balance each other out. And I guess it can be nice to live in a place where you know everyone. There’s always someone you can talk to. We lived in a small city before, so I never knew anyone except some friends and a few neighbors.”
Finding Faith (Return 0f The Dragons Book 1) Page 4