Page 35 of Moon Blind Hearts
“No problem,” he says, smiling at Genie. It makes his whole face light up. “I was coming to find you anyway.”
“Oh?” I ask, watching him carefully.
He nods. “We’re on tonight.”
“Right.” I turn and spot Bonnie, waving to her. She immediately comes rushing over to take the spitfire trying her hardest to get down in my arms. “Can you watch Genie for a few minutes? Just gotta discuss some business.”
“Of course,” she replies, her eyes crinkling. “Wouldn’t want to get in the way of you two’s conversation.” She winks at Oak like she’s hinting at something else, which only makes the large man frown. “Come on, Genie! Let’s go make some slime!”
Genie claps her hands and practically launches herself at Bonnie. That girl, like most kids, can never say no to slime.
Once they’re out of earshot, I turn back to Oak and smile. “What did we need to discuss?”
Ratrick sits on my shoulders, gently making noises at Oak as he watches. I know lots of people don’t particularly like rats. I don’t know why. They’re actually very clean creatures and they’re intelligent. They’ve gotten a bad rap over the years, but Ratrick? He’s family.
“You wanna hold him?” I ask, tilting my head. “He’s friendly.”
Oak shakes his head. “No. Just make sure to watch him out here. We’ve got hawks.”
My eyes widen and immediately dart to the sky. “I didn’t even think about that.”
“I’d hate for him to get swept away. I imagine that would be pretty traumatic.”
“Definitely,” I nod, pulling Ratrick down to my arms in paranoia now. “So, what are we discussing?”
He gestures towards the driveway. “Walk with me?”
I look down at my bare feet and then over at the gravel. “Can we walk in the grass?”
Oak tilts his head, following my gaze to my feet. “I’ll do you one better.” He pops open the screen door, reaches inside, and grabs a pair of boots. When he plops them down in front of me, I raise my brows. “They’re my old ones. They’ll be too big, but they’ll protect your feet.”
I slip my feet inside the warm boots and wiggle my toes. They are insanely large compared to my feet which isn’t surprising with how large Oak is. But I look extra silly in my sweatpants bunched up around the top of them. The moment I have them on, Oak steps down the stairs and looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to follow. So, I do. I clomp after him in the boots, the too-large shoes moving too much around my feet. It takes everything in me not to trip and I end up walking like I’m trudging through snow. When I look up at Oak, I find him watching me with a smile on his face, but the moment I catch him, that smile wipes clean.
“Don’t laugh,” I chastise. “This was your idea.”
He shrugs. “I thought you’d at least be able to walk in them.”
“Says the man with giant feet,” I grumble.
He walks slower so I’m able to catch up with him and then continues to walk slower so I can keep pace in the massive boots. “Now we talk?”
Oak nods. “Everything okay in the cabin? With Genie? You have everything you need?”
Aww, he cares. I nod. “We have everything. Thank you. You’ve been more than accommodating.”
“Good, good.” He stares off into the mountains, his face expressionless. “So . . . about the last scene . . . with Sawyer . . .”
Shit. I was wondering when that was going to come up. I’ve been replaying the moment over and over in my mind, and honestly, things did get out of hand, but I can’t figure out if it’s because of me, because of Sawyer, or something else. Maybe I imagined the chemistry there and Sawyer was just damn good at what he does. Maybe I imagined something that wasn’t happening. I’ve been meaning to talk to Sawyer about it, but I’ve honestly been a bit of an ostrich, preferring to duck my head in the sand for a little while. But now here Oak is, bringing it up.
“Yeah, about that . . .” I start, wanting to ask clear questions. Oak was watching. He’d be able to tell me if it was real, if I’m imagining things, if Sawyer is actually interested in something with me.
Which is a wild fucking thought. I can’t ask that. I can’t date anyone. Not while I’m in hiding. I’ve lost my damn mind apparently.
“We know that this is a paid collaboration,” Oak says when I don’t continue. He seems to sense my panic and thinks that it’s because of what he’s saying. It’s not. It’s because of my own thoughts. “We want you to know that emotions won’t play a part in this.”
My eyes crash into his. “Okay?—”
“Things went further with Sawyer than planned. I just want to reassure you we’re not here to cause any issues or harm and that we’re grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with you,” he says, cutting me off.
