Page 72 of Tempt Me

“Who cares what random people think? I only worry about doing right by my family and friends.”

Studying him, I use my shirt to dry my face. “You saved me on the road.”

“You’re my friend.”

I smile at how casually he says the words. I’ve known Indigo for as long as I have Tack. We’ve hung out a hundred times over the years. Yet, I’ve always assumed he was spending time with me so he could be around his real friends.

As we sit on the porch swing and watch the sun come up, I consider asking Indigo about his feelings for Siobhan. Maybe a woman’s opinion of the situation would give him the courage to make his move.

Of course, I chicken out. Indigo always feels on the edge. When he’s quiet, like right now, I can’t work up the courage to be the reason his good mood ends.

We sit quietly for an hour before Tack stumbles outside, looking crazed. “I couldn’t find you,” he mumbles and tries to fix his bedhead. “What are you doing out here?”

I stand up and hug Tack. “I had the stupid idea to look at the videos of the attack and then watch a bunch of fucking human zits talk shit about my life. Indigo helped me remember what matters,” I say before Tack kisses me. “We also talked about your weird habits.”

Tack fires a dirty look at Indigo who grins at him. I laugh at Tack’s eye roll.

“We just watched the sun come up and chilled with the dogs.”

“Wake me up next time.”

“Maybe. Depends on how cute you look while you’re sleeping.”

Indigo chuckles at my teasing while Tack shepherds me back to his room. We remain cuddled together until breakfast when I force myself to face the world.

Looking for distractions, I take a few foster boys to the standalone music room. I play guitar while they take turns on the drums. Tack watches me like I’m magic, totally detached from how the boys bang wildly on the drums.

Just before lunch, my family’s realtor sends information on a pocket listing. The fourteen-thousand-square-foot gothic beauty sits on ten acres and is located at the edge of the same neighborhood where Siobhan and Natasha live.

“You’d be five minutes from my place,” Siobhan says, bouncing in her seat.

The photos reveal a house filled with character. However, the current owners ruined some of its greatness during a renovation. When their money ran out, they just gave up and put it on the market.

I’m already considering a lowball offer to test how motivated the sellers might be. Few people will want to invest the necessary money to fix a house stuck between gothic and contemporary styles.

By dinner, I’m obsessed with the house. However, Tack doesn’t seem particularly interested in the photos.

Instead, he focuses on Indigo’s refusal to eat with us before zeroing in on Kiera’s chigger bites. When Elvis walks by and asks us to join them at the farmhouse, Tack gets tense and scoots closer to me.

“Are we in trouble?” I ask Siobhan. “What are punishments like around here?”

She realizes I’m mostly teasing Tack for being so tense. He catches on and scoots away from me. We laugh at his reaction.

“You’re always ganging up on me,” Tack mutters.

“Don’t make him cry,” Deirdre warns us before smiling at Tack. “You’re a good boy.”

“Thanks, kid.”

Deirdre then whispers something to her sister. The twins look at Tack and giggle.

“I’m getting ganged up on again.”

Indigo walks over with the dogs at his side. “Your whining is upsetting Sleepy.”

Tack grins at the dog. “Finally, I have someone on my side.”

As he pets Sleepy, I think about Tack’s dogs when he was a boy. He learned people weren’t trustworthy. Then, his dogs ran off. I think he worries I’ll run off next.

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