Page 30 of Saving Jared

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“So…”

Willa finished pulling on her jeans and frowned at Kinsley sitting on the edge of her bed. She’d hated leaving Jared sleeping. But it was a good thing she’d gone back to her room once he’d dozed off. Kinsley had come to her room early. A twinge coursed through her lady parts as she zipped up her jeans, and she grinned. Hopefully that little sensation wouldn’t go away anytime soon.

“So, what?” Willa grabbed her t-shirt and began pulling it over head.

“How was the sex?”

Willa froze with one arm through a sleeve and stuck up in the air while her head remained covered. “Um…” Maybe she had been too loud. God, did the whole house know? She managed to get the shirt on, pulled her hair out from the back, and smoothed the fabric down over her stomach and sides. “Sex?” Heat filled her face as she sat on the vanity bench and unrolled her socks. She ducked her head as she put them on. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Right.” Kinsley sat forward, her eyes wide and expectant when Willa glanced up at her through the fall of her hair. “Come on. You. Jared. Last night. Understand, I don’t want all the gory details.” Her friend snarled up her nose. “He is my brother after all. But, again, I ask. So…”

“So…” Willa picked up one leather boot from the floor and slid her foot inside without looking at her prying friend. “I have no details—gory or otherwise—to share with you.” That wasn’t going to appease Kinsley. She knew it. But she needed to—

“I heard you.”

Willa’s head whipped up as she dropped the other boot she’d just picked up, while her heart raced and a mortified heat swept through her body. “What?”

A sly grin spread over Kinsley’s face. “I heard you.” She nodded toward the door. “The floors in this part of the house creak and I was awake reading my Kindle. So, I heard you. And I might have peeked out and watched you tiptoeing down the hall. And I might have seen you go into Jared’s room. And I also might also have waited a couple of minutes to see if you left. But that was all.”

God. That was enough.

Willa slumped forward and pressed her hands to her face as Kinsley left her spot on the bed and sat beside her on the bench.

“Like I said last night about the kiss. It was about time. You’ve been in love with him forever.”

Willa sat up and gave Kinsley the side-eye. “No, I haven’t.”

“This is me you’re talking to.” Willa didn’t take much comfort from Kinsley’s hand rubbing over her back. Jared didn’t need to find out his sister knew they’d been together. “And, yes, you have.” Kinsley ignored Willa’s groan and kept talking. “And I think it’s great. Who knows, one day you might actually be my sister,” she said excitedly. “How cool would that be?”

“I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself,” Willa said, giving herself a mental shake before reaching down for her discarded boot. “It was one night and we…” She frowned. “There’s no way I can even talk to you about this.”

“Sure, you can. Just use euphemisms.”

“Euphemisms.” Was her friend serious?

“Sure. Instead of…of…” Willa had to chuckle as Kinsley cast her face upward and studied the ceiling with a deepening scowl. After several seconds she lowered her gaze to Willa’s. “You know what? You’re right.”

“Of course, I’m right,” Willa said, standing and stomping her now booted feet. “If I did it would scar both of us. Just… Just don’t say anything to Jared about knowing.”

Kinsley stood and wrapped Willa up in a tight hug. “I promise. But in return you have to keep your promise to not leave my side tomorrow night and Sunday. I need someone to be my conscience when the asshat invariably does something to piss me off." Her gaze turned somber. "You might be all that stands between me and life on a women’s chain gang."

Willa snorted. "I don’t think you have to worry about that."

Kinsley smiled and held Willa around the waist as she led her out of her room. "Well, anyhow, you’ll be my Jiminy Cricket. Now, let’s eat. I’m starving.”

Willa was too—ravenous, in fact. Battling a fire, dealing with an asshole and then drama, followed by two bouts of exhausting sex without any food for twenty-four hours could do that to a person. So, she was ready to eat all the food. But minutes later Willa nearly lost her appetite when she stepped into the McComb’s spacious kitchen and immediately tensed up.

Her brothers sat around the big farm table, eating and drinking coffee. That wasn’t the problem. She was happy to see them. The problem was Darin’s plate sat right where her butt had been planted the night before. She glanced at Jude whose complexion had turned a funny shade of red as his gaze bounced back and forth between her and her oldest brother.

Beside her, Kinsley snickered—the brat.

"Willa-bear," Ben said, standing, though he didn’t move any further. "I’ve missed you, baby sister. We all have," he said motioning with his head to Darin and Eric who also stood—their expressions expectant.

Her eyes welled as she looked at each endearing face. "I’ve missed you guys too." She sniffled.

That was all it took to be immediately surrounded by the three who promised to not pry in her life ever again. It was a promise she knew would be more like a work in progress, but at least they were ready to try.

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