Page 10 of Creed
Magnus crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his blue eyes, but didn’t’ say a word.
Brody, on the other hand, kept a more pleasant expression on his face, but he did raise an eyebrow at me in a subtle demand for answers.
“Is she right? Are you reckless?”
If they wanted to interrogate me, that was fine. It wasn’t anything new. Whenever I showed up as a foreigner in a new place, the locals were always skeptical of me at first. However, half of my success as a travel writer came from my ability to earn local favor so they would eventually tell me the stories worth writing about.
We may still be in America, but on this particular patch of land, I was once again the foreign visitor.
Shoving my hands in my pockets, I let my shoulders slump a bit to soften my posture, but I still stood firm.
“I don’t get paid to sit around and politely keep to myself. It’s my job to get out there and experience what the world has to offer so other people can see it for themselves. Sometimes that means taking risks, but I try to make sure the danger is always calculated. I’m not stupid, I’m just not shy.”
I’d taken my stand and made myself known. Now I waited for my verdict.
Before either Magnus or Brody could say anything, however, Creed grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward one of the houses.
“Come on, you dicks. Stop with the third degree. Kayden had a long drive out here and he’s probably tired. He doesn’t need you two bothering him.”
I followed after Creed so he wouldn’t have to drag me along, but out of the corner of my eye I noticed Magnus and Brody share a brief nod.
I’d been accepted.
Creed was a normally silent man, so his willingness to speak up for me probably did more than any argument I could have made.
Inside one of the houses, which I learned was Brody’s house, dinner was just being set out on the table. An extra plate had already been set out for me, and I eagerly accepted the invitation. I’d skipped lunch while I was driving, not wanting to risk getting lost on unfamiliar roads, and sustained myself on snacks I could eat on the go. Chips and beef jerky were convenient, but not very filling, and the meal spread out before me looked amazing.
I was so hungry, I barely tasted the first few bites of it. They could have poisoned me, and I wouldn’t have cared. The food was simple, but well made, and probably the closest thing to a “home cooked” meal I’d had in a long time.
Restaurants were all well and good, and I always tried as many as I could while traveling, but they lacked a certain warmth that could only be found in a meal made specifically for you.
Over the course of dinner, Trent and Ellis took the initiative to ask me about my work. I told them about some of the places I’d visited and was surprised to learn that they’d even read some of my articles. Eventually the topic of Covid came up, and the effect that the global lockdown a few years ago had on my work.
“It wasn’t easy, of course,” I said as I pushed my now empty plate away. “Not being able to go anywhere makes my job nearly impossible. But it wasn’t as bad as I thought. During that time there was an uptick in interest for my older articles. Since everyone was stuck inside, I guess they instead lived vicariously through my writing.”
“From what I saw online, a lot of your fans discovered you during Covid times,” Ellis agreed. Despite his size, he was a soft-spoken man. I would expect someone like him to get overshadowed when surrounded by so many large personalities, but the others of this little group went out of their way to make sure he had just as many opportunities to speak as everyone else.
“You’ve been reading reviews from my fans? Uh oh. I hope they didn’t have too many bad things to say about me.”
Ellis quickly shook his head, his dark curls falling into his eyes. “Oh, no. Most people only said good things about your work.Although, there was one thing people kept mentioning that I didn’t understand. What was the llama incident?”
Groaning, I hung my head in my hands. Of course that was coming back around to bite me in the ass.
“Okay, first, what you have to understand, the llama didn’t look that dangerous.”
I spentthe night sleeping in the guest bedroom in Magnus’s house. My original hopes of coming up with an excuse to room with Creed were dashed almost immediately when it was pointed out that, of the two houses on the property, each only had one guest room. Creed was already staying in the guestroom of Brody’s house, so that left only one clear option for me.
It was a tragedy, but I consoled myself with the reminder that soon we’d be sharing a tent together. We’d have plenty of time to get... close... soon.
Although, that may not matter if he was already with someone. I still hadn’t managed to determine the exact nature of his relationship with Magnus and Brody. It didn’t seem like they were sexually involved, their body language wasn’t quite right for that, but they were more protective of him than the average friends.
Of course, most average friends didn’t buy a property and build a home together, either.
By morning, I still didn’t have any answers, and I looked forward to getting our camping trip started.
I’d been camping before, but that had been at a designated campground. This would be true wilderness camping. I could already picture the article I was going to write about it, and made sure to bring my laptop, camera, and plenty of supplies to document the whole trip.
Even if things didn’t work out with Creed the way I hoped, I’d at least get a new experience out of it.
