“You think Cole and Luke might spend the Christmas break together,” Kade mused, his lips curving. “I like the idea of Luke being in Ohio for the entire break.”
I shot him a dirty look. “I thought you and Luke were getting along.”
“We are. He’s just ... a lot ... to deal with.”
Even if I wanted to argue, I couldn’t. Luke was indeed a lot to deal with. It was one of the things I liked about him … er, well, at least most of the time. Still, I would miss him if I didn’t see him for an entire month, and I was still on the fence about Cole’s motivations. I didn’t entirely trust him, though I kept that tidbit to myself because I didn’t want to explain my misgivings.
“He might be a lot to deal with,” I conceded after a beat. “He’s a good guy, though. You guys have bonded a bit. I know he gives you a hard time about hanging around with me, but ... he’s a good guy. He’s just trying to be funny when he does some of that stuff that drives you nuts. You can’t take it to heart.”
Slowly, Kade tracked his eyes to me. There was something uncomfortable buried there when I met his gaze and I quickly looked away. “Um ... back to Cave City. They have a festival for all the surrounding communities and there’s a huge tourist influx because of Mammoth Caves, so we always do really well. You don’t have to worry about attendance being an issue.”
“I’m not worried.” Kade was calm, but I felt curiosity rippling beneath the surface. “Do you want to tell me why you’re so upset about Cole?”
That was not the question I was expecting. It certainly wasn’t something I felt comfortable answering. I decided denial was my best bet. “I’m not upset about Cole. Why would you think that?”
“Because I know you.” Kade refused to back down. “I know the way your mind works, and when you’re hiding something. Right now you’re trying to hide the fact that you don’t like Cole. I don’t understand. He seems okay.”
Oh, well, of course he would think that. “Did I say there was something wrong with him?” I tried to act airy, as if I didn’t have a care. “I think he’s ... swell.”
Kade snorted. “Oh, well, that’s convincing. Whenever someone uses the word ‘swell’ it always comes from the heart.”
My temper ratcheted up a notch. “I meant what I said. I think he’s ... fine.”
“And fine on top of it? Wow. You really hate this guy. Tell me why.”
“I don’t hate him.” I felt on display. Kade could read me better than most. The only one who had a better feel for my emotions was Luke, and I’d been careful to put on a good act for him since Cole joined our merry little band. “Why would you think I hate him?”
“Because you refuse to make eye contact with him and are careful to make sure you’re never alone with him,” Kade replied, matter-of-fact. “You’ve been extra clingy with me, which I like so I’ve kept quiet. But I’m not an idiot.”
I worked my jaw. “I just ... .” What was I supposed to say? I knew my feelings regarding Cole were irrational. The reason I’d kept them to myself is that I didn’t want people laughing at me or pointing out that I was acting like a territorial hell beast.
“I’m waiting,” he prodded quietly.
“We don’t know anything about him,” I started. “I mean ... all we know is that he’s a cop. That’s not good as far as we’re concerned. He only spent a few days getting to know Luke and then announced he was taking some vacation time to travel with us so he and Luke can get to know one another. You don’t find that weird?”
Kade shook his head. “No, I think it’s smart. He and Luke obviously feel things for each other but neither one of them knows if it’s the real deal or something that’ll fade. He said he had two months of vacation saved up because he was married to his job. His boss was actually relieved he was taking it.
“Not only is he getting to know Luke, he’s traveling around the country,” he continued. “He’s hanging out with us and doing the tourist thing when he feels like it. I think it’s one of the better ideas Luke has come up with.”
That’s not what I wanted to hear. I was desperate to find someone else — anyone else really — who was as mistrustful as me. “But ... they barely know each other and they’re sleeping in the same trailer.”
“I hate to break it to you, but you and I started sleeping in the same trailer pretty quickly. I don’t understand why you’re so worked up about this. It seems irrational ... and unfair.”
I balked. “Unfair? How am I being unfair?”
“Luke is your best friend. He’s felt out of place since you and I got together, as if I’ve somehow pushed him out of pockets of your life. I was always agitated with the way he treated me, but I understood it on some level because you guys were so close.
“The thing is, I happen to believe he’s been lonely for months,” he continued. “Without you as a constant companion, he’s been searching for something. If he’s found that something in Cole, I don’t see why that’s a bad thing. Luke has been ridiculously happy the last week, and he and Cole seem to get along really well. Why isn’t that allowed?”
Oh, well, if he wanted to be rational. “I didn’t say it wasn’t allowed,” I snapped. “I just ... you don’t understand. Luke doesn’t settle down. He dates for five minutes and then dumps people. That’s who he is.”
“Perhaps that’s who he was,” Kade countered. “Maybe seeing us happy made Luke want something more. That’s a good thing.”
“Oh, I can’t even talk to you.” I waved my hand and went back to staring out the window. I wanted to wallow. “Let’s just get to the fairgrounds.”
Kade shook his head. “I won’t let this go. I think you’re being unreasonable. I won’t let you ruin this for Luke.”
I practically exploded. “Ruin this for Luke? I would never. In fact ... .” Whatever I was going to say died on my lips as my magical senses kicked into overdrive and I jerked my head to the right. “Stop the truck!”
Kade’s forehead wrinkled. “Excuse me? I’m not going to just let you hop out of the truck on the highway because you want to avoid a fight.”
“That’s not why. Stop the truck!”
He must’ve seen something in my eyes because he acquiesced without further argument. The second the truck stopped, I threw open the door and hopped out, immediately moving toward the steep embankment on the side of the road.
“What are you doing?” Kade was out of the truck, too, and he didn’t look happy. “You can’t just take off in the middle of an argument.”
“What’s going on?” a voice asked from behind us. I recognized who was talking even though I didn’t look over my shoulder. It was Cole, which meant Luke had pulled over as well.
“I don’t know,” Kade replied, frustration on full display. “She’s acting like a crazy person. She demanded I pull over out of nowhere. We were arguing at the time and I thought she was going to be a big baby and demand to ride with someone else or something, but instead she took off in that direction.”