Page 56 of Echo
“I thought you might want to get out of here for a bit.”
I hadn’t seen any sign of Echo, but a soft growl came from behind me. The feed guy held eye contact with me, but I knew he heard it too. His body stiffened.
“Or maybe just some company,” he amended softly. “We could play card games. Must get lonely out here with just you and the pup.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea for you,” I answered bluntly.
“Don’t worry, I know the ways.” He winked. “I’ll leave before the sun goes down.”
“Can you teach me?” I chuckled.
“Absolutely.”
I led him towards the house, and the growling followed, growing louder and louder. Echo’s glare burned my back, setting it on fire.
I opened the door. “Don’t disturb the salt.”
“It’s come inside?” His eyes went wide.
“Yes.”
Echo appeared in front of the door, his chest heaving with rage. His eyes glowing menacingly. I returned his glare, as I shut the door in his face.
Thankfully, Feed Guy didn’t notice. “I apologize, I didn’t get your name before.”
“Madison,” I told him.
“That’s a beautiful name. Mine’s Van.” He put his hand out with his formal introduction. I hesitated to shake his hand,but ultimately decided it was innocent enough. His hands were rough and worn from his work, but warm.
We sat at the table, and I pulled out a deck of cards. “Name your game.”
“Have you ever played Books?”
I laughed, remembering how my grandmother would play that with me every night until the day she died. “Definitely.”
“I figured.” He shuffled. His smile was so cute on such a rugged man. Ranger sat at his feet for pets. Van was more than willing to give attention to the big baby.
We played a few rounds until the sun dipped beneath the treeline and cast a ray right over the table. Small talk amounted to nothing, and I didn’t realize how much I’d needed some friendly conversation. Even if I sensed Echo seething on the other side of the backdoor, hanging on every word.
“‘Tell me, what makes a beautiful, city woman, such as yourself decide to live out here?”
“Needed a change in pace. Got myself into some man troubles, and this house seemed like a good solution.”
“Ah.” He smiled. “That shit you need to get together.”
“Exactly.” Not that any of my plans had gone how I intended.
“Space helps with a lot of problems.” He nodded his understanding.
“I’m now convinced I need space from myself.”
“You have a healing energy about you.” He shook his head. “You need someone to protect you from the ones who will use that against you.”
It was a much nicer way to say that I adored broken bad boys that wanted to break me.
“You should get going,” I told him after I railroaded his ass on the last round. He nodded in agreement, but his eyes said he wasn’t really ready to go. “I’ll walk you out.”
I didn’t need anymore blood on my hands. Especially a friendly person like Van.
