A glimmer of doubt reflected in her eyes. She was blaming Aidan for something that most likely wasn’t his fault. Kane was family, after all. And Aidan was like family, too. If anything, she was the one who didn’t belong.
“But maybe I should have called him,” he challenged. “You wouldn’t have been attacked if he’d been around.”
“Is that what you think?” Rebecca’s entire world lurched sickeningly. Had that been Kane’s whole purpose? To guard and protect her, to look over her when she would allow no one else to do so? She asked her brother outright, no longer having the patience to pussyfoot around the issue.
“Of course not!” Aidan protested angrily when she confronted him. “Jesus. Do you really think Kane is the babysitting type, Becca?”
She considered the possibility, not wanting to believe it. Even when he’d brought her back from the cabin, she still felt that he had spent time with her simply because he wanted to. It was only when she had crossed the line that that had changed.
“Then why would you say such a thing, Aidan?”
It was Aidan’s turn to snort derisively. “You haven’t been yourself for weeks, Becca. You’ve been so distant, so distracted ever since you came back from the mountains. You took off alone, heading to a dark building that was supposed to be empty, ensuring you made the perfect target. What the hell happened up there anyway?” His eyes narrowed. “Did he..?”
“No,” she laughed, the sound desperate and just shy of hysterical. “He didn’t.” Her face hardened. “But I offered myself to him, Aidan. I practically threw myself at him and you know what he did? He packed me up like a naughty child and brought me straight home.”
“Jesus, Becca. I’m your brother, for God’s sake. I don’t want to hear that shit.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said, deflating again as she stepped into him, into his familiar warmth, just as she had when they were kids and something upset her. She might be older, but Aidan had always been so much stronger.
“It’s just... He’s different, you know? I thought maybe he was the ...” Her voice trembled as she just barely stopped herself from voicing the horrible heartbreak she felt. To say it out loud would be to experience it all over again.
“Ah, baby, I’m sorry.”
She sniffled against his shoulder. “Me, too. Just... don’t go blaming him, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. He held her like that for a moment; it didn’t make her pain go away, but it did help a little.
“Come on,” he said finally, tugging her toward the church. “I’m starving.”
Chapter Sixteen
Kane parked halfway down the block and cut the engine. Rebecca and Aidan were still at the church; a quick drive by had confirmed that. Probably not for much longer, though. Dusk was settling quickly, and the church would be closing after the last remnants of the afternoon meal were cleared away.
It was a quaint little Victorian, done in tasteful, neutral shades. Lots of small, angled roofs amid larger ones. Windows with actual workable shutters. A small front porch with a swing. Well landscaped bushes. A cobbled walk to the front steps. Detached garage in the back. It looked like something out of a storybook; so much so that he half expected to see Rebecca glide onto the porch and have a bluebird swoop down and land on her shoulder affectionately.
A closer look, however, revealed that it needed some work. A few shingles hung loosely on the far side. The gutters needed replacing, as well as the worn porch steps. Things he could fix easily. Things he would fix if Rebecca gave him the chance. Anything to be near her again. He’d be Bob Fucking Villa if it gave him the chance to spend time with her.
Within the hour, he spotted her little silver car pulling into the driveway and down the back. The dusk to dawn light back there wasn’t working. This was a nice neighborhood, but it wasn’t safe for her to be getting in and out of her car in the dark like that, out of the sight of her neighbors. It would be the first thing to be fixed, he decided, wondering why her brother hadn’t already taken care of it. But he already knew why. Because Rebecca probably wouldn’t allow it. Screw that.
A few minutes later he saw a light come on at the back of the house. The glow filtered through the flimsy sheers of the big bay window in front. Her silhouette passed back and forth a few times before settling.
Darkness came early this time of year, the winter solstice only a few weeks away. When the light had faded sufficiently, Kane left the comfort of his truck and made his way closer to the little house. He stood among the shadows of the large maple in between the sidewalk and the street, and gazed inside.