“I’d be up for that,” Austin said slowly, using a tone that suggested there was a condition for his acceptance. Kennedy watched him carefully, tucking away her voice again until he’d finished his thought.
Austin crooked a half grin, closing the gap he’d put between them and plucking her phone from her fingers. “I feel I should warn you, though,” he said as he added his contact information. “And I apologize if I’m reading this wrong, you could be just a friendly person…but it sounds as if you’re implying that we…that you want to…”
“Are my attempts at flirting really that bad?” Kennedy blurted out with a nervous laugh, desperate for a break in the tension.
Austin joined in on her laughter. “Not bad. Maybe a bit misdirected.” He handed the phone back as her brows pulled together. “I’m gay.”
Her eyes widened, and an involuntary “Oh!” escaped her lips.
Austin chuckled and pushed his hands into his pockets. “But I’d still love to show you around. Get a drink with ya.”
Kennedy nodded, her stomach relaxing back to where it had been before she’d set eyes on him. “Yes, absolutely. I’ll give you a call once I get settled in.”
He tipped his head, and with that beautiful—and now unavailable—smile, he turned and hopped into a van that said PORTER’S GARAGE along the side. He waved out the passenger window at her as the driver pulled out and around the platform.
Well, that wasn’t humiliating, she thought, bringing her waving hand immediately down onto her forehead the second Austin was out of sight. Her first experience in even considering the idea of spending time with another man and she’d picked one there was no possible future with. It had to be a sign—just hard proof that it was definitely too soon for all of that.
She shifted the urn, snuggling it close to her side, and waited for her ride. Her time in Lyra was about moving on, and she told herself right then that it wasn’t going to be moving on like that.
Chapter 2
Kennedy
The Lyra Valley air was dry and windy, blowing a woody scent into the open window of the compact car Daniel had picked Kennedy up in. She swept her short hair out of her eyes for the fifteenth time since the train station, trying to concentrate on the sights instead of the mixture of guilt and humiliation still running under her skin from the train encounter.
“Uh…Jared liked to dirt-bike out over there,” Daniel said, breaking the silence with a nod toward a wide range of hills to Kennedy’s right. He’d been quiet so far, only awkwardly attempting conversation every few minutes. Kennedy smiled as she pondered the series of events that brought Chelsea and him together in the first place. Jared had never told her the story, and she sat a little straighter in her seat, anxious to ask her vivacious friend about it. She imagined she’d get a more detailed and entertaining telling than if she chose to ask Daniel right now to simply pass the time.
She clung to the urn a little tighter as they hit a bump in the road. Almost there, sweetie, she thought, blinking back the sudden water rising in her eyes. Even though she was always met with silence every time she spoke with Jared, it still hit her like a hammer over the head.
Shaking it off, she politely smiled at Daniel. “So…how long has your family owned the B&B?”
Daniel’s bushy eyebrow lifted at the out-of-the-blue question. “Oh, a few decades. Chelsea mostly runs things….”
He drifted off into quiet thoughts, and Kennedy couldn’t find a follow-up question in the sudden awkwardness surrounding them. Yes, she’d definitely need the story of how he and Chelsea met, fell in love, married, and had two very chatty children—from what she could tell over the phone. Daniel was nice enough, but he sure was a quiet one.
He broke the silence with a loud clearing of his throat, and Kennedy followed his gaze out the windshield. The view changed around them as he drove them into a tunnel of evergreens, the scent of wood and sap mixing together and making Kennedy remember the first moments she’d spent with Jared. While meeting someone in the woods would more likely be part of an America’s Most Wanted episode than the beginning of the most adventurous of love stories, Kennedy was lucky Jared found her that day. She’d lost the trail she’d been hiking, and her friends had been miles away. Jared, in his very sexy hiking apparel, spotted her fumbling through the trees and turned her around. Kennedy could still envision his friendly and concerned smile for her sanity as clearly today as she had in the moment.
She blinked herself back into reality and tried to focus on the scenery. She knew coming here would inevitably send Jared’s memory to the forefront of her mind, but she hadn’t thought it would be every few minutes. Her eyes flicked to her laptop bag sitting at her feet, her fingers itching to get one of her authors’ manuscripts out so she could disappear for a few hours into a world that wasn’t her own.
Daniel shifted in his seat, stretching his fingers on the steering wheel. A few hours’ drive probably felt like centuries to a man who wasn’t very social. Kennedy could almost feel his relief as the road curved and they drove past a freshly painted sign that read SWEET TEA’S B&B. An anxious butterfly flapped its wings just under Kennedy’s belly button, the anticipation of finally getting to a shower and soft bed straightening her spine as the tires crunched their way across the gravel. Jared never really talked about his sister’s business, but he did always mention it with a sense of pride. True, Chelsea had married into it, but, as Daniel put it mere minutes ago, she was the one running things.
A baby-blue and yellow building peeked through the trees, and Kennedy felt her lips tilt upward. Her nails gently tapped against the urn, her silent way of letting Jared know that she’d finally made it to his hometown.
“Uh…here we are,” Daniel said, putting the car in park in front of the quaint and cozy B&B. “Oh! Um…hang on….” He quickly hoisted himself out from behind the wheel, walking around the car with an awkward gait that Kennedy assumed came from sitting down for so long. He opened her door for her and extended a hand, helping her rise to her feet. It was a good thing he’d been raised—or advised by a very vocal wife—to be a gentleman; Kennedy doubted she’d have been able to get out of the teeny car gracefully while juggling ashes.
Kennedy opened her mouth to express her gratitude, but she was cut off before uttering a single sound.
“Keeeennnnaaaaaaaadeeeeee!”
The noise came from the wraparound porch and sounded much like a farmer calling cattle. Kennedy jerked back, knocking an elbow into the open car door as the never shy Chelsea leapt off the front steps. Her arms came around Kennedy’s shoulders in an enthusiastic tackle hug. The urn squished between their bosoms and a laugh floated from Kennedy’s mouth as she imagined all the grumbling thoughts Jared would have had to share about this particular position.
“Finally, you’re here,” Chelsea said, pulling back but not taking her hands off Kennedy’s shoulders. “I would’ve had you back from that station in half the time, but someone had to wait around for the tech guy.” Her bright blue eyes leveled with a suddenly serious look. “Our Internet service is the absolute pits out here, but I said to Dan, ‘We need decent Wi-Fi for Christ’s sake’ since, like his driving, his view on the subject is ancient. So if someone was going to wait, it had to me.”
“People need to learn to live without Tweeter,” Daniel called out, his voice playful and light as he hoisted Kennedy’s luggage from the trunk of the car. Hmmm…maybe it was only Chelsea who brought out his social side.
“I married an old man,” Chelsea teased back. The long blue scarf protecting her scalp waved in the wind as she shook her head lovingly at her husband. She’d shaved off her waist-length blond locks when Jared started treatment, and Kennedy assumed she would have let it grow back out since then, but from the look of things, Chelsea was embracing the lack of hair.
“So, how’s your ass?”
Kennedy let out a small snort and ran a hand over her sore buttocks. “About as painful as I imagine my authors get when they’re on
a deadline.”
“I’ve already called spa services.” Chelsea grinned, and Kennedy hoped she wasn’t entirely joking about that.
Daniel slammed the trunk shut, juggling the large suitcase along with a smaller bag on top. A smile teased at the corner of Kennedy’s mouth as she watched the burly man with the very pink, very floral set of luggage she’d borrowed from her grandmother. Then, as quickly as it had come, her smile dropped when her eye caught a dark blue sedan coming up the drive. Squinting against the glare off the large windshield, she could swear that it was a certain man she’d hit on not four hours ago.
“Of course he gets here right after you do,” Chelsea said, already marching toward the vehicle. “Give me two seconds, Ken.”
Kennedy was barely paying attention, her gaze dead set on the two people laughing in the SUV. The man was definitely Austin; the cut of his jaw and the lines in his smile gave him away through the glare. He was wearing the same T-shirt, but he’d put on a plaid overshirt, hiding so effectively the bulky muscles she’d noticed earlier, she started to doubt altogether that it was him. He was facing the passenger—a woman with long, red hair under a Stetson. She playfully frowned when he said something to her, and he grinned before pressing his lips to her hand first…and then to her lips as she pulled him in.
Kennedy’s heart froze in her chest, a hundred different thoughts floating in and out of her head as if on a loop. Gay? Did that woman know or was Kennedy just given a fudged excuse from a man who was too afraid to pass out an honest rejection? Her breathing took on a different tempo as he stepped out of the sedan, the woman easing behind the wheel before leaning down for another kiss goodbye. Chelsea stood nearby, tapping her nails on the hood with one hand on her hip, not a single indication that the exchange was anything but expected.
“No wonder,” came a mumbled grunt from Daniel, shaking his head as he passed by Kennedy with all her things.
“Sorry?” she said.
He stopped in his steps. “Oh…” A blush crept up his ears; he was obviously talking to himself. “I was just saying…whenever Natalie’s in town at the same time he is, he runs a bit late.”
Daniel nodded to the pair as Natalie drove off waving and blowing kisses in Austin’s direction. Austin grinned and adjusted a messenger bag on his shoulder, turning to start up what seemed to be a friendly conversation with Chelsea. A rush of warmth ran through Kennedy’s neck, making her hair feel like it stood on end. The nerve. Did he really expect to show up here kissing another woman without Kennedy seeing? He knew where she was headed, knew where she’d be staying….
She let out a sound similar to a bull ready to take down a matador and quickly set down the urn inside Daniel’s car so her sweaty palms didn’t end up failing her. He had the gall to grin at her before his brow furrowed into a look of innocent confusion. The man could act, she’d give him that; Kennedy knew that she didn’t possess the same talent, and her emotions were etched into every hard line on her face.
“Chels?” A girl’s voice came from behind Kennedy, somewhat snapping her out of her anger. All eyes went to the teenager on the porch holding a thick landline phone in her hand.
“It’s the school,” she said, shifting her weight from one foot to another. “Grant this time.”
Chelsea blew out a long breath and turned to Kennedy and Austin. “Sorry, another two seconds.” Then she jogged up the porch steps, taking the phone on her way inside. Daniel followed after, dragging Kennedy’s luggage behind him.
The dry summer air turned icy cold as Kennedy brought her gaze back to Austin. He attempted yet another friendly, slightly confused smile at her, which she narrowed her eyes at. Her thoughts teetered on the tip of her tongue, and she pursed her lips together to keep them from tumbling off the edge.
And of course he looks even better, she grumbled to herself as she caught a glimpse of a chin dimple she hadn’t noticed earlier. His short, dark scruff covered most of it, but the glimpse she got when his smile twitched wasn’t fair.
“Did you not get the room you were hoping for or something?” he asked, causing Kennedy’s eyebrow to tilt upward. A sexy smirk curled on his lips when she didn’t answer. “You just don’t seem too happy, is all.”
The thoughts she’d been doing so well at keeping at bay started dropping out as soon as her lips parted. “Oh, so that’s how this is going to go, huh? We’re just going to fake pleasantries until everyone comes back?” She snorted. “No thanks.”
The smirk dropped from his face completely, making it look adorable and infuriating all at once. “Uh…”
Kennedy turned to face him dead on. “I know I’m a novice when it comes to flirting, but can you really blame me? It’s been a long time, and I know it was probably weird since I was holding my ex…old…late boyfriend on my lap, but I wasn’t trying to hit on you….I was only trying to get to know someone, and you seemed polite enough. If you weren’t interested, fine, but don’t give me some excuse that you’re gay and then drive up with another woman in the same afternoon.”
“Um…I think you’re confusing—”
“I’m confusing? No. I was pretty blunt, as were you.” Kennedy let out a frustrated sigh, now speaking more to herself than him. “I finally put myself out there and…and…ooh, I can’t stand a liar. It would’ve been fine if you’d been honest, but I swear, I allow myself to actually be attracted to someone again and the universe pulls this one on me. Of course, who wouldn’t be attracted to someone like you, right? You probably get hit on all the time, and here I am…and well, I’m sorry I’m not a fiery redhead with a gorgeous smile, but you could’ve said that you were unavailable. Using homosexuality as an excuse to say no is an insult to all legitimately gay men. Ugh, to think I wanted to spend time with you while I was here.”
Austin settled his hands on hers, which had grown more and more wild as her words spilled out of her. Kennedy wanted to ignore the jolt she felt at his touch, but she couldn’t, and it made her all the more angry.
“Hold up, will ya?” he said, his smile back on his face. She threw him a grimace and ripped her hands away. “I was saying…I think you’re confusing me with someone else.”
“Oh please.” She looked him up and down, noting all the things she’d found appealing about him earlier—now all the things she wished she hadn’t. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”
He had the nerve to chuckle. “No. But I do think you ran into my brother at the train station.”
Something drooped in Kennedy’s stomach as she processed his answer. “Brother…?”
“Yeah. Austin, my twin. Who happens to be gay.”
Silence permeated the air between them. Kennedy’s lips stayed parted as if she were trying to catch flies. She studied him, refusing to believe she’d just made a fool of herself twice within a few short hours of being there. There were subtle differences between the Austin from earlier and the Austin now, but they could very well be things she overlooked. Had to be things she overlooked.
She let out a small huff. “The twin ploy. Wow, haven’t met a man with the guts to use that one.”
He grinned. “Only works when it’s the truth.”
“Well, then. What’s your name?” she asked, hoping he’d fumble with finding one. His mouth opened and then his eyes flicked up to the porch.
“Okay…” a breathy Chelsea interrupted as she leaned against one of the patio chairs. “I think I have a second to breathe now.” She smiled and straightened, waving her hand out between the two of them. “Aaron…this is Kennedy. In case she hasn’t already told you.”
And now Kennedy’s stomach was definitely filled with something very heavy and leadlike. An involuntary grunt floated from her lips as she turned back to him, humiliation dripping down from the tip of her head. Yet the amusement she expected to see in his eyes wasn’t there—instead it was a look of shock…and a little sorrow.
“Kennedy…” He paused, eyes flicking to just past her elbow into the open passenger door of Daniel’
s car.
“Yes,” Chelsea said, stepping down to join them. “Jared’s ex-girlfriend.” Her brow pulled inward as she looked to Kennedy. “Old girlfriend?”
“I’m still trying to figure out the title,” she admitted, hoping her awkward laughter eased the tension instead of making it worse. Austin’s…Aaron’s smile started to form again, and he moved his gaze from the urn back to Kennedy.
“How long you in town for?”
“I—”
“Indefinitely,” Chelsea cut in, wrapping an arm around Kennedy’s shoulder and pulling her close. “Or at least she can be once you get the high-speed hooked up in this place.”
Aaron the tech guy—his story was starting to check out as much as Kennedy didn’t want it to. What a way to make a first impression.
“Let me settle her in first, mkay?” Chelsea babbled on. “Then we can get started, yeah?”
Aaron nodded. “You got it.” His eyes moved to Kennedy, and she begged her face to remain a natural color. “It was nice meeting you.”
Go figure…he actually seemed quite genuine with the sentiment. Kennedy laughed at herself, reaching inside the car for the urn. “I promise, I’ll be nicer next time.”
His chuckle was lighthearted and warm, wiping away at the awkwardness of Kennedy’s massive mistake. To be fair, the two brothers looked insanely similar.
Chelsea brushed off her confusion at their exchange and led Kennedy inside. The B&B was painted just as colorfully as the exterior, baby blue and popping yellow in the entryway, with beige furniture accented with pastel pillows. Kennedy felt an instant sense of home as she followed Chelsea up the stairs, and she wondered if it had something to do with Jared’s ashes in her arms, or if it was purely because she was so happy to be in a place with a bed after three days of travel.
Chelsea led her up to the very top floor of the four-level B&B. Kennedy bit her lip, crooking her neck over her shoulder. Poor Daniel…she wondered if he’d hiked up with all her luggage.