by Lila Felix
While she crossed in front of my truck, looking at the ground the whole time like she was taking the walk of shame, I reached over, across the bench seat, and opened her door.
“Thanks. No wonder you stay away.”
Maybe it was the close proximity of Kallie in the cab of my truck or her permeating scent clogging up my throat in the best way possible, but whatever it was, my dragon was ready to let loose right then and claim her on the spot. She was twirling one of her longer pieces of hair around her finger while she pretended not to look at me every three seconds.
“It’s just up this road. If you want to get back to town, just take this long driveway back here. Then turn right. “
She laughed, almost a giggle. “Are you seriously telling me how to get away from you?”
“No. Yes. I might say something over-the-line-dorky and run you off. If I do, grab these keys and head for town. Some mundane soul will bore you to death in no time.”
“If you don’t like it here, why do you stay?” Her last word was jumbled by my truck rolling over a bump in the driveway. It shook her up a little.
“Sorry, there’s bumps, always have been. I have my brother here, and my businesses. And nothing has ever given me a good enough reason to leave, I suspect.”
I stopped the truck and looked out at my house. My sculptures were everywhere. I made huge ones for my home and my yard. I sold the little ones at stores around the country, but mostly local.
I didn’t think this ahead.
“Oh, wow. That little sculpture—the dragon—that’s yours. I mean it’s mine, but you made it.”
There were a lot of mine and yours in that one sentence.
“That’s me,” I said, pulling a few weeds that had grown into one particular sculpture of a man playing the banjo.
“Why didn’t you tell me? They are amazing. The one I have is like a little baby one compared to these.”
“A guy has to keep some of his dorkiness under wraps for a while. Come on in. I can hear your stomach growling.”
Kallie splayed both hands across her stomach. “You have some good hearing.”
“You have no idea,” I whispered as we walked, not nearly close enough, up the stairs to the front door.
I opened the door and let her in. “You don’t keep it locked? Isn’t that dangerous?”
A chuckle that wouldn’t be contained broke free. “Not around here. These people wouldn’t hurt a fly. And if they need something from me, they can take it and leave a note. I know where to find them if I need whatever it is back. I trust my people.” Shit. That was a slip.
“But they’re boring.”
I smiled and dangled the keys to my truck in front of her face. “Nah, not really. They are just safer for you than me.”
I turned to the refrigerator and changed the subject before she could really think on the fact that I basically just told her to be afraid of me.
“What do you like in your omelet? Please don’t be one of those girls who doesn’t eat anything but green stuff.”
Kallie was on the other side of the room, but I could hear every motion. The swish of her jeans as her thighs barely touched each other with each step, the swipe of her finger over some of my artwork and sculptures made me bared to her.
“I eat anything and everything. You choose. Chef’s choice. Man, I would kill to live out here. There’s so much privacy and quiet. You live here by yourself?” I heard the gentle lift of her voice as she tried like hell to maintain the innocence of the question. She didn’t really think that I would openly flirt and make food for a female if I was involved with another female. Maybe she did. Humans were weird. They treated each other like flavors of the month. If only this gorgeous creature breathing in the same air as me and making herself comfortable in my nest knew what I was and how much I revered this moment.
If only…
“It’s been a long time since I dated anyone, and even then they didn’t come to my home. I really don’t let very many people in here.”
She “hmm”ed to herself. “I don’t either—like people in my space. It’s mostly because I’m always busy, but I hope one day—nevermind, no one cares, Kallie.”
The talking to herself thing was kind of cute.
“One day what? You’d like to have a table-full at Thanksgiving? A big Christmas? Sunday dinners? My mom used to do that. She made every Sunday feel like Thanksgiving. I miss that.”
I glanced up from the egg-beating to see what she was doing then. I didn’t hear her move, though I could hear her graceful breaths in and out. They thrummed like a heartbeat.
“I’d love that stuff. Thing is, I can’t cook for shit and I’ll probably be too busy all the time. My ambition and my wistful thoughts don’t exactly match. My parents weren’t really like that. We ate dinner in different parts of the house. Everyone was so busy doing their own thing. I always felt alone.”
I shrugged, circling the butter around the pan. “There has to be a balance between the man and the beast—or in your case the female and the beauty. It’s hard, but it’s got to be there if you want it bad enough. Ambition and family can meet in the middle if they want to.”
“Female?”
“Woman, girl, estrogen-containing organism?”
“Asshole.”
I chuckled. “Well, at least you know what you’re talking about. I am a little assholey. It’s hard sometimes, knowing who to be and when. It has to be better than not knowing who you are or what you want though. It has to be.”
With her hands on her hips, she looked outside my back door, either admiring the view or figuring out the best way to get to the truck. She longed for something more. She wanted a family and a stable home. Those were all things we had here. Those were all the things I wanted.
But more than anything, I wanted her in my life.
“Smells good. What’s in it?” she asked, still staring out the window of the door.
“Ham, peppers, mushrooms, cheese. Everyone likes ham, right?”
“If they don’t, they have a serious issue. They should seek professional help.” Her voice was far away. There was a sadness coming off her in waves. My dragon and I didn’t know what to do about it. But we wanted to do something about it.
It took everything in me to focus on the task at hand. I flipped the omelet onto a plate and pulled the cinnamon raisin bread from the toaster. “Yours is done. Dig in while it’s hot.”
She jumped a little. “Oh, thanks. I was a little lost in thought there. Sorry.”
Coming over, I noticed the way her hips swayed back and forth like a dance, just for me. I was going to be in trouble if I didn’t stop looking.
“How did things go today? Did you put Liam in his place? That little fucker has been a claw in my ass since high school.”
She smiled and held up her fork. “This is really good. I’m not sure about that guy. He’s shady. Some things he does and says don’t really add up. Plus, he’s a little creepy.”
I tried like hell not to flinch. “What do you mean? He’s pretty good at his job, regardless of how I feel about him personally.”
Whatever I’d said in those two sentences was the end of the ease in our conversation. She clammed up like I’d put duct tape on her mouth and hardly spoke for the rest of the meal.
I watched her eyes. They never met mine again, which was different from what I knew about her so far. Every time I’d talked to her, she’d looked me straight in the eyes. My grandpa always told me that was a sure sign of someone honest and loyal.
“What’s the deal, Kallie?” Between talking about food and Liam, something had changed in her posture. Her shoulders had squared off. If I knew her better, it would tell me she’d remembered her resolve—either that or she realized that maybe the townsfolk were better company after all.
“We’ll see how proficient Liam is at his job. Don’t you worry.”
8
Kallie
As the door slammed behind me, the implications of
what I had just managed to do slammed into me with equal force. How I had gone from enjoying an amazing home cooked meal made by a man with far too much influence over my body, to stomping out like a petulant child, carrying with me his truck keys, was beyond me. There was just something about him that had me all worked up, and this time not in the yummy I want kisses way, because that was the farthest thing from my mind at the moment.
As I opened the truck door I waited a moment for him to call my bluff. Not that it was really a bluff. I wanted to leave, but taking his truck keys, even if he had told me from the start it was my way out, was pushing it. I probably looked like I was second guessing leaving. My inadvertent flirting was blatant, and he knew that, even if I was mad at him for treating me like I was dumb. Or more like I was a flighty “female” who liked to make a mystery where there was none.
Was it so hard for him to think that Liam actually was a slimy shit? It wasn’t as if he seemed to even like the guy. In fact, I was under the impression he tolerated him only the tiniest of bits and probably just to keep the peace. In a small town, that kind of thing was important or so the television sitcoms I enjoyed seemed to indicate.
Inhaling deeply, letting the fresh air clear my head, I put the keys in the door and managed to lock it on myself. Of course he didn’t lock his truck when he didn’t lock his door. Sighing in frustration, I unlocked the door and practically threw myself in the truck. So much for a smooth exit. I didn’t need to look back to the house to know he was watching. I could feel his amusement from here. And now, once I again I became crazy. Ignition started, I pulled down the driveway, using my tiptoes, before braking and adjusting the seat like a person with an actual IQ.
As I turned out of the driveway, I found myself waving, not to Knox because a girl has to have some pride, but at the largest of the statues. I was still blown away by the fact that Knox was able to turn random items that would normally fill a landfill into beautiful works of art. As much as I loved the statue I purchased on my way into town, it now became a treasure knowing that it was his hands that had forged the metal.
I was a goner. Three minutes after storming out of his place in anger, here I was swooning over his art work and picturing his smexy smirk. Even if I never saw him again, which was an impossibility because I sort of, kind of, stole his truck, I was going to leave town different then when I arrived. From a summer intrigue, to a dream hottie, to a real life sex on a stick artist and all around frustrating person, Knox has seared a place in my heart. A heart I expected would leave here battered at a minimum and most likely completely broken.
Pulling up to the building, I quickly found a spot and jumped out. I contemplated putting the keys on the seat since Knox was so comfortable with the safety of the town, but as people began to step out of their prospective buildings and began to stare, I decided to lock the door, shoving the keys in my pocket as I did so. An older woman gave me her best evil eye, and instead of cowering to her, like I normally would’ve, I squared my shoulders and walked up to the steps as if I owned the place. If I were lucky it would avoid her calling the police on the suspected grand theft auto her glare indicated she was positive was taking place.
“I’m back,” I announced far louder than necessary as I made my way into the office.
“You know the forms to fill out,” he answered without looking up. His computer screen was still rebooting, based on the noises coming from it, so his intense attention to the screen was an avoidance technique. The man was smarter than I gave him credit for because he was spot on with what was coming. I was about to give him guff.
“And you knew I would be back.” I slammed my notebooks down and started to fill out the requisition forms for the second time that day. I began with the file Liam had messed with, hoping he would make a mistake. Maybe if I flirted just a wee bit, I could fluster him. Normally I sucked at flirting, but this week seemed to be an exception to all my rules, so I looked for my in.
“Rules.”
“Rules smules,” I teased. “Speaking of rules, are you allowed to, you know, show me around after work or is it a conflict since I was researching here?” Even I could hear the incredible level of stupidity in my words. Of course he could do whatever he wanted on his own time. It wasn’t like he was a lawyer on a case I was arguing against or the cop who would probably arrest me for driving around in Knox’s truck.
“Not touching that one with a ten foot pole,” he mumbled as he made his way to grab the files he assumed I was requesting. I shook it up a bit to keep him on edge, but I would let him figure that out the hard way.
“Ouch.” I wanted him not at all, but hearing him so boldly state that I was less than desirable sucked. I could have sworn he flirted the tiniest bit earlier. Guess I got that wronger than wrong.
“Ouch would be if I decided to take Knox’s girl anywhere. I’m probably in trouble right now just for breathing the same air as you.” He slapped the files on the counter, taking my only partially completed requisition forms with him.
“I’m hardly Knox’s girl,” I countered as I snatched up the files with a little more force than necessary. I watched him like a hawk as he grabbed them, and unless he fixed things before I walked in, I might have just gotten lucky. Score one for insanely pathetic attempts at flirting.
“You drove his truck here.” His voice held a coldness I hadn’t heard from him before. I wasn’t sure if it was anti-Knox or being pissed at his inaccurate assessment that I was lying to him, but something forced the change and it was one I was far from comfortable with.
“I maybe took it.” I shrugged my shoulders, giving off a subtle smile.
“Stole it?” He clarified, his voice so quiet I wasn’t sure if I heard him correctly.
“No, more like borrowed it to leave his place when he pissed me off.”
“As I said, Knox’s female.” He turned, dropping the requisition forms on his desk and making the way to the back bookshelf, which I was fairly confident was being used as a prop.
“I borrowed it to leave his place in anger. He’ll probably be here with the police any minute.” That brought back some of the posturing Liam had been known for in the short time since we met. Me being pissed at Knox made him far happier than it should have. The curious side of me wanted to know what was up between these two, but the emotional side of me reminded myself that Knox didn’t deserve my attention right now.
“I’ll be in the next room. Don’t worry, I already turned my phone off.” I sashayed out of there, stopping at the door long enough to hear him reply.
“I’m sure you did.” He chuckled, aware that the action was directly related to being pissed at Knox.
Without wasting a moment I shuffled through the files until I found the one he had been tampering with. I sat down at the table and turned the pages, one by one. I didn’t need to read them, I only needed to find the ones that weren’t there before. Halfway through the file I hit the jackpot.
It was a second police report. I read through it a few times and nothing stood out in the actual report as being off. Nope. The report itself didn’t say that much. That wasn’t what made it so valuable and worth hiding. What mattered was the name of the recording policeman, Chief Renouf. Same last name as Knox. It didn’t feel coincidental in the slightest, especially with the sketchy way the paper disappeared the first time I requisitioned the file.
I quickly put everything back into the file and put the stack back together in the same hodge podge fashion it had been in earlier. The last thing I wanted to do was to alert Liam than he had messed up and that I knew he messed up. I had no idea why he was covering for Knox’s family, but I was sure as daylights going to figure it out, starting with Knox.
I walked back in and crossed my fingers that the middle school play I had been in gave me enough skill to pull this off.
“Here, I need to go.”
“Wait, what? I took all of those out and you are done?”
“I need to return Knox’s truck. I read one page of o
ne file five times and remember none of it. I don’t know if it is the guilt for stranding him or the worry of possessing a truck that isn’t mine, but I need to get it back to him. Want to follow me and drive me back?” I crossed my fingers I read him correctly and he’d decline the offer, but knew the offer on the table gave credibility to my story.
“I’ll just leave these here for when you come back.” He grabbed the files and plopped them on the shelf beside him.
“No new requisition forms?” I teased.
“Just go.”
I didn’t need to be asked twice. As I scurried down the steps, I was shocked to see the increase in people on the streets, all of them with their eyes on either me or the truck. Freaking awesome.
I climbed in and pulled out of my spot as quickly as I could without letting on that they frazzled me to the core. That was the last thing I needed. The ride to his home took far less time than I remembered and all of the argument planning I usually did in my head was only halfway done. Oh well, winging it was a strategy I needed to strengthen anyway.
The door opened before I even made it out of the truck, but no one filled the doorway. I was expecting to have an angry Knox at the door, but as I got closer and closer, the reality of the situation hit me. He opened the door letting me know I was welcome, but he sat on the couch as if it were no big deal. Knox forgave me. What the heck. I had stomped out with his truck keys in tow and he was forgiving me.
“I brought your car back,” I called into the home unsure if I should enter. He waved me in as if sensing my unsureness. I took a few steps in the door and closed it behind me and watched as his shoulders relaxed slightly. At least I wasn’t the only one whose emotions were all over the stupid place.
“Truck,” he corrected with a teasing lilt.
“Fine.” I took the remaining steps between us and held his keys out. When he didn’t grab them, I added, “I brought your truck back.” And his hand opened up below mine and I dropped in the keys.
“Are you done for the day or feeling guilty?” His eyes met mine just as his words brought me back to reality. I was here for answers, not to flirt. But all thoughts of the case had fled the moment I saw him sitting on the couch, giving me room to work my way out of the mess I found myself in. What was it about this man? He tilted his head to the side, indicating the seat beside himself.