Page 56 of Take Me Slowly: part 2
"That was strange," I said.
Josiah sighed. "Not for me. We haven't spoken to each other for twenty years, but whenever we're around each other, one of us will stop and stare. Sometimes I feel like I should try to say something, but then I don't know what. Sorry, I suppose." He dropped his gaze toward the sidewalk.
"I'm no expert, but you could start with hello," I suggested. "Or wait for those DNA results." They'd have plenty to talk about then. Amends to make. If that was possible.
"Yeah," he said softly. "There's still a chance…" He didn't elaborate and I didn't ask. We all knew what the possibilities were and that whatever happened, there'd be more questions. Hopefully some of them had answers to go with them.
I was half tempted to contact my father or my stepmother and ask them myself, but not only would that piss Leah off, they were her questions to ask. She'd want to see them face-to-face, to see the expression on their faces and hear what they had to say.
I won't say I wasn't tempted to do it anyway, because she and I had an antagonistic relationship for so long it was a difficult habit to break. We enjoyed getting a rise out of each other, but that would be a few steps too far, even for me.
Of course, even knowing that boundary, I still wanted to push it.
It seemed as though both Josiah and I had some work to do on ourselves. Admitting it was the first step, right?
"What the hell?" Connor's irritated words broke through my thoughts. "What are they doing there?"
"Good question," Riley sounded just as annoyed. His voice held a darker tone than I'd heard from him before. Whatever was going on, it sounded like he was ready to start throwing punches.
I tried not to think too much about how hot it was. Violence wasn't supposed to be attractive, but with these guys, it was scalding hot. Every word made me want to peel off my skin and crawl under theirs.
"Fuck," Josiah said, ducking his head.
"What is it?" I said, confused. We were a handful of steps from Leah's house. The door was open and she stood just inside, talking to two men I recognised. My new boss, Jacob Ferguson, and Riley's father, Henry.
What the hell were they doing here?
23
LEAH
"Think about what we said, okay?"Jacob Ferguson wasn't quite as forceful at getting his opinion across as his son, but he expected to be obeyed.
"Yeah, I'll think about it," I said, if only to appease them so they'd leave. This whole conversation was uncomfortable. In the corner of my eye, I saw the guys approaching. Each looked less impressed than the last. Josiah hung back, while Connor and Riley strode toward us.
"Is there a problem?" Connor's jaw was tight.
"No problem, son," Jacob said. "Just having a little chat with Miss Kent." He patted his son's shoulder before nodding to Henry. "We should get going, we have plenty to do." He gave Josiah openly hostile look before stalking past, in the direction of the pub.
"Dad," Riley started.
"Like he said, we have plenty to do," Henry said. "I'll see you at the shindig?"
"Are you a hundred years old?" Riley asked, his tone lighter than the look in his eyes. If he thought something was going on, he wouldn't hesitate to act on it. He still wasn't sure ifhe shouldn't, if the doubtful look he gave his father was an indication.
Henry laughed. "It feels like it sometimes. You lot stay out of trouble, okay?" He also glanced at Josiah before heading off down the street.
"What the hell was that about?" Connor demanded as he herded all of us inside.
Josiah hesitated, his hands pressed close to himself, but he followed anyway.
I rubbed the heel of my hand across my forehead. "They came to warn me about spending time with all of you. Apparently people are talking."
"Fuck people," Riley spat. "I should have—" He turned away and stepped towards the door.
It was Connor who grabbed his arm and stopped him. "What are you going to do? Strangle your father and bury him in a bank of snow?"
"If I have to." But Riley sagged and ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Where does he get off?"
