Page 71 of Delta
“Positive, Dad.” I push to my feet. “I need to shower and get fresh sheets on the guest room bed before she gets here.”
“You get in the shower,” he says as he stands. “I’ll handle the guest room.”
“It’s okay.”
“I don’t mind, son. I’ll even make you a fresh pot of coffee.”
I grin, seeing an opening to ease the tension a bit. “Doesn’t Mom usually make the coffee?”
“Hey, I know how to use a coffeepot.”
“I believe you,” I say, holding up both hands, then bending down to retrieve my bag. “But if you set off the fire alarms, I’ll never let you live it down.”
Chapter 20
Emma
“Look, if you aren’t comfortable with this, you can stay here,” Kennedy insists as I finish packing my clothes into a duffel bag she let me borrow. “It’s totally okay. I don’t care what Dylan’s reasoning is, I’m not scared of this Slater guy.”
“I’m okay.” It’s not entirely the truth—but not a lie, either. The idea of being so close to Dylan is actually the first bit of true joy I’ve felt since this entire nightmare started. It’ll be the one bright side. Except there is a part of me that is also afraid I’ll do or say something that will push him further away and undo all of the progress we’ve made.
Then again, maybe being in close proximity to each other will push us past the rest of the walls he’s placed between us.
Maybe, at the very least, I can get my friend back. Even if it can’t go any further than that.
“Are you though?” Kennedy asks. “I love Dylan, but sometimes he’s not the most comfortable person to be around.”
“He used to be,” I tell her sadly.
She winces. “I shouldn’t have said it like that. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean?—”
I pause what I’m doing so I can focus fully on her. “I know what you meant, and it’s okay. Dylan was the love of my life. Even before we were in a relationship, he was my best friend. I believe that part of him still exists.”
“I believe it does too,” she replies. “I just want to make sure you’re both okay.”
“I know,” I reply, smiling at her. “We’ll be fine.”
The door pushes open the rest of the way, and Bradyn steps inside. “You about ready? I can drive you and Ash over. Dylan just texted and said things are good to go over there.”
I zip up the bag, then turn to face him. “Your charge is ready to go.”
He laughs and, in true Hunt brother fashion, reaches out and takes my bag from me. These guys have always had legendary manners. Their parents wouldn’t settle for less. “Let’s get going then.”
Bradyn sets my bag into the backseat of his truck, then opens the front passenger side door so I can climb in with Ash in hand. The litter box and all of Ash’s food is already in the backseat since he’d loaded it for me earlier.
After kissing Kennedy goodbye, he climbs behind the wheel and starts down the road that leads to Dylan’s house. My stomach is a pit of nerves that grows deeper with every inch we travel closer.
“If you decide this isn’t what you want to do, you can call, okay? I love my brother, but you know he didn’t come back the same man. The last thing I want is for this to hurt either one of you.”
“I know. But we’ll be fine. It’s not like we’re strangers. And I’m not nearly as fragile as you guys seem to think.”
“I know you’re not. But you’re kind of like our second little sister,” he says as he turns down Dylan’s drive. “So we’re all a bit protective of you.” He grins at me, and I smile right back. Since I never had siblings, I always felt like the Hunts were mine too. With them, I had four brothers and a sister.
Dylan was never a sibling connection for me though. With him—even before I knew what it meant—there was always something more. A jolt of electricity that shoots through me anytime we’re together.
Almost as though part of my soul recognizes his.
We come to a stop in front of Dylan’s expansive wildflower garden. Bright, beautiful blooms that make me smile just looking at them. I’d barely been able to see them the last time I was here since it was dark.
