Page 110 of At the Edge of Surrender

One who refused to come inside but had insisted that he was going to sleep out under the stars.

Seriously, what the hell?

I couldn’t make any sense of him. Not of Theo or Kane or the strange interaction they’d shared before Kane had ridden off on his motorcycle while I’d been standing on the front porch watching.

It’d seemed…tense.

An argument.

Theo’s own speculation rolling off him.

Kane had texted not twenty minutes later, sayingI miss her already. Won’t deny that I miss you, too.

How was I supposed to respond to that? So, I hadn’t, though I had changed Deadly Dragon to Dragon on my phone. I guessed I was having a difficult time continuing to view him that way. Now, hours later, another text had come through. One asking if Maci was asleep seemed a whole lot safer, so I quickly responded.

Me

Yeah, she’s been asleep for about half an hour. She insisted on making dinner and taking it out to Theo.

Two seconds later, another text came through.

Dragon

She’s a little caretaker.

I wavered before I let my fingers fly across the screen.

Me

I think she might be a protector, like you.

Dragon

You see her in me?

My tongue stroked out to wet my dried lips.

Me

Every time I look at her face.

Dragon

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Me

I think it’s always going to hurt a little when I look at her, because I’ll always see my sister, too.

I sat with my phone on my lap, not sure why I was so eager for a response. To see his words light up the screen. This foolish reaction the man elicited in me.

A concoction of distrust and grief and greed.

Wanting something I knew I shouldn’t have.

Dragon

Wish I could take that pain away from you, but I can’t. Only thing I can say is I get that pain. Being robbed of the one you love most.

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