Shocked, Lena stared in horror at his scarred up torso. “Your brother did that how?”
Jenner shook his head. “He didn’t mean to. My other brother Ian saved me, but barely.”
“You have two brothers?”
A smile stuttered across his face. “We’re triplets. Multiples are common in my lineage.”
“You’re a triplet?” Her voice had jacked up an octave. “I don’t even think I’ve met a twin before. Can you read each other’s minds?”
He laughed. “No. I’ve only seen them a handful of times in the last few years, and most of that has been recently.”
“Why?”
“We don’t get along so well. We try, but there is just a part of us that is too competitive to spend any actual quality time together. One of my brother’s, Ian, he regrets the broken relationship. He’s always tried to reach out, and I’ve swatted him down. Tobias is even worse than I am.”
“Wait, so which brother did that?” she asked, flicking her fingers toward his silver scars.
“Tobias.”
“What? I flew in a plane with him! Is he dangerous?”
“Yes, but not to you. And this was an accident. It happened when we were sixteen.”
“You said Ian saved you. Where were your parents?”
“Uh.” He sat up straighter and wiped his hands, clearly uncomfortable with where the discussion had ended up. “Mom wasn’t in the picture. She couldn’t handle multiples, and Dad was more of a hands-off kind of parent. He wanted us to figure everything out on our own. Ian, Tobias, and I were kicked out of the nest at sixteen, and the accident happened right after that.”
“Oh, Jenner. Do you think that is part of the reason for the rift? Maybe Tobias feels badly.”
“Tobias doesn’t feel anything.”
The food sat in a lump in her stomach, so she pushed the plate away and drew her knees up to her chest to ward off the chill that was suddenly rippling gooseflesh over her arms. “I’m sorry.”
He watched her quietly, head canted as if he couldn’t figure her out. “You’re different from other people. Different to me. You don’t mind things about me that make others uncomfortable.”
“Like what?”
“Like that heaviness in the air that has you drawing into yourself. That’s me. Most people move away from it on instinct, but not you. When the air around me gets heavy, you stop ducking your gaze and look right into my eyes. You’re doing it now.”
“I told you I was broken,” she whispered, frozen in his predator gaze.
“Mmm,” he rumbled. “You are the least broken person I’ve ever met.”
She bit her trembling bottom lip to steady her emotions. “That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”
He huffed a breath and stood, taking their plates with him. He’d finished off four baked potatoes and a mound of other food while she’d only been able to finish two-thirds of her plate. Confused by his abrupt escape, she readied for bed, then pulled on her jacket and stepped outside to brush her teeth. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but she still pulled her hood over her head.
Jenner was leaned against a tree near the corral, as still as a sentry in the soft glow of a lantern he’d hung from a low branch beside him. Only his eyes moved as he followed her path toward a canteen that sat on a splintered table.
Teeth brushed and mouth rinsed, she turned for the tent, but stopped before she went inside. “Jenner?”
“Yeah?”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“You’ve done nothing wrong, woman.”
“Are you going to stay out here all night?”
“I have to keep you safe.”
“But—”
“You don’t understand, Lena. I have to.”
“You always sleep in the rough to protect clients?” He was making no sense. It was raining and chilly, and he could get sick staying out all night in this weather when they had a perfectly dry tent right here.
“You’re more than a client now,” he said quietly, his eyes troubled.
“Okay.” She shifted her weight side to side, stalling. After what they’d done by the creek, she didn’t want to say goodnight right now. “Jenner, can you just lay by me for a little while then?”
The steely look in his eyes softened, and he nodded his chin once. “Just until you fall asleep.”