All it takes is Rosetta and her talk of giving grace to break the dam in my head. The guilt flows straight through me, weighing me down while I fight like hell to break free from it, but I can’t. I’ve had zero patience with Kingston, and I don’t know why. Sure, he rubbed me the wrong way, but I can handle him. Surely, I’ve handled worse.
I pick up my half-finished tray of food and stand up, my appetite gone. “I better get back to work. I’ll catch up with you ladies tonight at the fire?”
Hope grins then nods. “Yes. Don’t be late.”
Giving them both a short wave, I drop my tray off in the kitchen, then I quicken my pace toward my office.
Work is my lifeline when I sense that I’m losing control. Ever since Kingston stepped off that bus, that’s how I’ve felt. I can’t explain it. I’ve never been this wound up over someone, and I’ve dealt with shitty people before.
I work nonstop for the next two hours, bracing myself for Kingston’s rude entrance to drop off the paperwork I tasked him with filling out. It’s seven thirty when I finally glance at the clock and realize that not only is it past my office hours, but Kingston is late. I specifically asked him to drop off those papers by seven o’clock.
Frustrated, yet again, by the man who now owns my trigger button, I storm out of my office and straight to his cabin. I’m nearly there when I hear Rosetta’s voice in my head. “We should be offering him grace at a time like this.”
While I’m sure that’s not what Kingston needs at this moment, I start to wonder if there isn’t something to that suggestion. Rosetta’s words start to invade my mind again. “Poor guy didn’t even bring a blanket to sleep with.”
I slow down in my tracks just after getting to his cabin. Ugh. I have been on the defensive ever since I met him. Maybe that’s the wrong approach entirely to dealing with him. I breathe in slowly and release my exhale in one long stream. A second later, I’ve made up my mind. I know what I need to do next.
After taking the two steps up to Kingston’s cabin door, I freeze, my stomach suddenly rolling over itself with nerves. But there’s no time to deliberate my latest decision. I’ve already been tossing around the pros and cons for the past hour that preceded my retreat from ripping him a new one earlier. But before I can change my mind, Kingston opens the door, duffel bag in hand. He does a double-take when he sees me standing there, then a frown immediately pulls on his face.
“She makes night calls too?”
Just like that, I remember why I was so intent on disliking Kingston. “You really have a way with your words, don’t you?”
He shrugs, looking around at anything but me. “My mouth may have a reputation, but I won’t give any specific details. Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell, if you know what I mean.”
“I’m afraid I don’t see any gentlemen from where I’m standing.”
Kingston’s focus snaps to me, his eyes narrowing and his nose flaring. “Is that so?”
Now it’s me who feels like the asshole.
Neither of us speak. Neither of us move. I’ve never won a staring competition before, but I’m determined to win this one. Although Kingston and I are a few feet apart, it feels like he’s pressed up against me, dominating my space and sucking every last bit of air from my sky.
“Jesus,” I say, tearing my eyes away and sucking in a breath. Once I’ve steadied myself, I turn back to him and glare. “Why are you so intent on getting under my skin?”
One side of his mouth turns up. “It’s not your skin I want to get under, princess.”
I twist my face with disgust and shake my head. “That’s never going to happen.”
He shrugs. “Now that I’ll agree with.” Then he shifts the straps of his duffel over his shoulder again.
I squint, confused by what I’m seeing. If I didn’t know better, I would think he’s leaving. “Where are you going?”
“Home.”
I should be relieved. “You’re leaving? Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” A flicker of pain flashes in his expression for a brief moment, but I catch it. “I don’t belong here—as you so clearly pointed out with that little prank of yours.”
My face burns with shame. “I’m really sorry about that. That’s one of the reasons I came by to see you. You wound me up earlier, and it got the better of me. I shouldn’t have tricked you like that.”
“Don’t do that,” he says.
“Don’t do what?”
“Apologize.” Amusement takes over his face. “I think I liked you better before when you were calling me names and shit.”
Once again, I’m completely caught off guard by his brashness. “Oh my God,” I say with a laugh. “You know what? Never mind. Enjoy your journey home. Nice meeting you, blah blah blah. I’m done.”
I’ve just turned my back on Kingston when I hear his bag land in the dirt behind me, then a hand is on my shoulder. “Whoa, wait a second. What are you holding?”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re leaving anyway.”
“Silver,” he demands. “What are you holding?”
I swallow, screaming internally at myself to not respond, to just walk away, to let the giant baby behind me fend for himself. He walks around me and waits until I’m looking right back at him. After letting out a big sigh, I lift the items in my arms slightly. “Blankets and a pillow. I heard you didn’t bring anything, and I thought this could get you by until you had a chance to pick something up.”
It happens in an instant, but I can feel the shift between us. In our energy. In the tension we both carry when we’re around each other. It’s like we were both granted a gift to start over, like a new moon marking the first lunar cycle. Maybe this is our new start.
His eyes tick between mine, and I swear I can hear the clock in his head while he decides something. “Okay then.” He takes the blankets and pillow from my hands and pulls them toward himself. “I’ll stay since you asked me so nicely.”
Heat spreads up my neck and into my cheeks. “Don’t make me regret being nice to you.”
A cocky grin lifts his cheeks. “Is it that hard for you?”
“Not usually, no.”
His lips spread wider. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
With that, he turns back around and heads into his cabin.
“Wait a second.” I follow after him, catching the door before it can close. “If you’re staying, then I’ll need those papers.” When he gives me an annoyed look, I just shrug. “It’s for liability purposes, and then you’re off the hook. I’ll never bother you again.”
A flash of disappointment crosses Kingston’s face, and there’s a kick in my chest I wish I could ignore.
“Fine,” he says. “I’ll sign them now.”
I wait in the doorway while he walks over to the desk, where the papers are already sitting. As he starts to go through them, I look around the open space, wondering why I never realized just how small these cabins are. They’re big enough to fit six bunkbeds and a desk, but compared to the gargantuan male currently filling up most of the space, the size is almost laughable.