Page 79 of When the Woods Go Silent

“Okay?” I ask Ruby, and she nods, her expression a mixture of exasperation and flushed excitement. She’s having fun playing nurse, and Torrence doesn’t look mad about it, either. “I’m going for a quick breakfast chat with Kier, but I’ll be back before the shop opens.”

Torrence grumbles something under his breath, and Nurse Ruby smacks her patient’s chest with a decent amount of force. I smirk at him, silently sending him the message that he needs to stay the fuck out of my love life if he wants me to stay out of his.

He snaps his mouth closed, but those eyes flash a warning, and I slam the door behind me to hide the shiver that rocks up my spine. Something about that man is seriously off, and while I promised Ruby to stay out of it, if I find out he’s keeping dangerous secrets, I really will kill him.

“What’s open?” I ask Kier as we head down the porch steps.

“I had something else in mind, actually,” he answers, taking my hand and leading me across the street.

“I am not dressed for a hike,” I warn, looking down at my flimsy sandals and long skirt.

“It’s only a few minutes’ walk. Trust me.”

“I absolutely do not.”

He grins at me anyway, and I follow him into the damn woods, because no matter what level of annoyed I am right now, I do want to hear his explanation.

True to his word, we stay on a path and arrive in a tiny clearing in less than five minutes. Sunlight dapples the flower-spotted grass, and a pretty white blanket is spread on the soft ground. A picnic basket waits for us, and I shake my head.

“Wow. You’re really trying hard today.”

“For you, always,” he murmurs, settling on the blanket and opening the basket. A white bakery box - not fromGoblin Market, I note - holds croissants and jam, and there’s a couple of chopped cold salads and a container of berries and cubed melon. I give in and join him when he produces a thermos of hot coffee.

“I hardly ever even eat breakfast,” I admit, popping a raspberry in my mouth.

“And I hardly ever get in fistfights,” Kier says, grinning. “Yet here we are.”

“What do you want to talk about? And what happened last night - did we drink or something, because I have some gaps in my memory.” Suddenly I look down at the plate he’s handed me, wondering if it’s possible he drugged me last night. I barely know him, after all. I set the plate in my lap and wait, gauging the energy in the air.

“We didn’t drink. You seemed... tired. Woozy. I’m not sure you ate well yesterday.”

I nod, thinking of all the bites of rich sample food Ruby and I tried. He’s right. I never even had a proper dinner. Kier takes a bite of his croissant, and as he chews, I decide I’m being ridiculous. And I’m starving.

“I helped you into bed and left. But I... I want to get to know you better, Rose. I want the chance to make this more than something physical.”

“Awfully dramatic way to go about it. You could have just asked for my number.”

He looks down at the blanket, where his fingers are twisted in the fabric. He’s nervous, I realize, and it makes me sit a little straighter. Helikesme.

“Tell me about yourself,” he requests, looking up at me from under his pale lashes. A lock of his wavy ginger hair falls across his cheekbone, and I have to really work not to reach over and brush it away. No man has a right to be this pretty and still have so much dominating energy.

“Um, like what?”

“Where did you grow up? I know you’re not from Clearwater.”

I tell him a little bit about the trailer park where my dad still lives, downplaying the death of my mom so it doesn’t sound like I have too much trauma.

“No siblings? Aunts and cousins? No wonder you dream of a big family.”

“Just my dad and me. The only child of two only children. And my grandparents are all dead now.” I keep my voice light - I barely knew any of them. The only sadness comes from wondering how life could have been different, not from something I had once and miss now.

“What about you?” I ask, pouring some of the steaming coffee.

Kier laughs a little, the sound strained. “I have three brothers. We all have different fathers, but none of them are really in the picture anymore. My mom’s dead, too, but only a couple of years ago.”

“Wow. We’re a bundle of fun.” I offer him a wry grin. “I’m sorry about your mom.”

He snorts and shakes his head. “Honestly, she was kind of a nightmare. She pitted my brothers and me against each other, so much that it even drove Killian away for good. He hasn’t been back home since she died.”

---