Kiernan
Trying to breathe as little as possible, Kiernan sat down next to Matthew. This close, he realized something else. Matthew was related in some way to the Hunter that killed his parents. His anger flared, and he saw red. If Matthew hadn't been Carly's brother, or had been old enough to have done it himself, the younger man would be dead by now.
Kiernan tamped down on his roiling emotions. It was best not to reveal himself, and to do that, he needed to carry on a conversation with Carly's brother. And hopefully not break out in hives from the wolfsbane. "Do you like Matt or Matthew better?" he asked.
"Matt," Matthew said. "You can call me Matt. You spend the night with my sister, I figure it's better if we're on familiar terms."
Kiernan wasn't sure if Matthew was being the "cool brother" or being a dick. "So, is this my interrogation?"
"Absolutely," Matthew said. "Glad you realize that off the bat. Parents, hometown, social security number?"
Kiernan had to laugh, despite his discomfort. "I don't have a criminal record. Not even a speeding ticket. I'm from a small town in Wisconsin. My parents... died when I was a teenager."
That, at least, made the tenacious Matthew pause. "Oh, man, sorry to hear that." But it was only a brief reprieve. "What's your last name?"
"Peters," Kiernan said. "What's yours?"
"Wow, sleeping with my sister and don't even know her last name," Matthew said, shaking his head.
"It didn't come up," Kiernan said.
"I'll just bet it didn't. Our last name is Waite," Matthew said.
Waite. He'd have to remember that for research later. Matthew wasn't the only one who was going to be doing a little background check. Kiernan wanted to know the name of the person who'd killed his parents. "And your parents are living, and you all live on a farm and grow corn," Kiernan said.
"Someone was good in school," Matthew said.
"Carly went to college at the U of M," Kiernan went on, "and studied literature. Do you go?"
"Nah," Matthew said. "I mean, I'd like to, out of state. But my dad needs my help around the farm."
I'll just bet he does, Kiernan thought. "It's good of you to stick around and help your family."
"Family's everything," Matthew said. "Do you have any siblings, at least?"
"No," Kiernan said, a pang in his chest. "It's just me." And the pack, but he hadn't seen them in years. He'd become more of a lone wolf, especially since he'd fled the Beta position the Alpha had been trying to put him in.
"Dang, man, I'm sorry," Matthew said. "That's... kind of really depressing."
"I have friends here and there, but I travel a lot," Kiernan said. "You know, going from fair to fair."
"You figure you're taking my sister with you from fair to fair?" Matthew asked.
Kiernan nodded. "If she'll let me, yeah."
"You're gonna butt heads with our dad, then," Matthew chuckled. "Can't wait to see it."
Kiernan was afraid he and Carly's father would do more than "butt heads," but he didn't say anything. The wolfsbane was becoming thicker in the air as Matthew sweated, and Kiernan coughed. His eyes had begun to water. "So, your father is more of the 'protect my daughter's virtue' type."
"Hell yes," Matthew said. "Though he has no idea that ship sailed back in college, and I'm not going to tell him." He regarded Kiernan with keen eyes. "Something wrong? Your eyes are watering."
"Hay fever," Kiernan said quickly. "It's a bitch."
"Doesn't that season end in July?" Matthew asked.
"Maybe not hay fever, then. I don't know, some sort of allergies," Kiernan said. Another group of people approached his tent and Kiernan sprang from his chair. "Sorry, I've got to go. Can we continue this later?"
Matthew frowned. "We sure will," he said, also rising. "Later."
* * *
Carly
Carly was at her spinning wheel when Matthew approached their booth. She was all smiles until he slammed the cooler from their mother down on the counter and beckoned her over.
"What's up?" Carly asked, coming from the counter. Dawn watched with curiosity behind them.
"Don't see him again," Matthew said without preamble.
"What?" Carly said. "Why not?"
"He's bad news," Matthew said.
"He's—Matt, you just met him. How can you say he's bad news?" Carly said.
Matthew shook his head. "I know he is. Just do this one thing for me, okay? Stop seeing him." He gripped Carly's hands. "Please."
"Matt, you're out of your mind," Carly said, her anger rising. "I know he's not seeing anybody else. He hasn't been here long enough. So why warn me off him?"
"Just... reasons," Matthew said. "Okay, I didn't want to do this, but I absolutely forbid you to see him."
"I'm sorry, you what? You forbid me?!" Carly said.
"Oh, this I've got to hear," Dawn said, stepping away from her loom and coming to the counter herself. "Did he actually say the word forbid? I thought I heard him say forbid."
"He did," Carly said. "Look, you asshat, I'm sorry if your conversation with Kiernan didn't go well, but I don't think you're giving him enough of a chance. I mean, how much time did you spend with him, anyway?"
"About twenty minutes, but that's not the point," Matthew said.
"TWENTY MINUTES?!! I'm getting this crap over a twenty-minute conversation?!" Carly said.
"I'm telling you he's not a good guy," Matthew said.
Carly folded her arms. "And you figured that out in twenty minutes."
Dawn had meanwhile dug in the cooler and was munching on an apple as all this went down. "I'm with her. Twenty minutes isn't long enough to call a person bad news. You should give him a chance."
"Because he wears tight pants?" Matthew snapped at her.
"Hey, you leave Dawn out of this. What's gotten into you?" Carly asked.
Matthew took several calming breaths. "Look, just let me do some research, okay? Just a little bit of research, and then I can tell you for sure whether or not he's good enough for you."
"Matt, you have gone and lost your damn mind," Carly reiterated. "I'm not going to stop seeing a guy just because you had one bad conversation with him."
"It's more than that," Matthew said.
"Oh? What else could you possibly have figured out in twenty minutes?" Carly asked.
Matthew's eyes shifted. "I... I can't tell you."
"You can't tell me," Carly said.
"Ooo, a mystery," Dawn grinned.
Matthew rounded on Dawn. "Shut up, Dawn, I'm serious!"
"Hey!" Dawn said.
"Don't you tell her to shut up!" Carly snapped.
"So you're not going to stop seeing him?" Matthew asked.
"Of course I'm not going to stop seeing him!" Carly said.
Matthew looked sad. "Even for me?"
"Matt, this is the first guy I've liked in a long time, and all you can tell me is you need to research him. Can't you and dad just let me be happy for five minutes?" Carly sighed.
"Fine," Matthew said, taking a deep breath. "But when I tell you I found something bad, you have to stop seeing him, okay?"
Carly worried her lower lip. "Depends on what it is. This 'I can't tell you' crap is not going to fly with me."
"Can't you just trust me because I'm your brother?" Matthew asked.
"Not after Chris, no," Carly said.
Matthew shook his head. "That's disappointing. But I'm going to prove it to you. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. And if you still won't listen to me, I'll tell Dad."
Carly's jaw dropped. "You wouldn't."
"That would be a real dick move, Matt," Dawn agreed.
"If he's as bad as I think he is, I'll tell Dad everything," Matthew said. "But for now, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Because you're asking me to. I just... I wish you wouldn't see him until I can find out more about him."
"Let me find out for myself," Carly pleaded. "Please, Matt. Just once, let me have a normal relationship with a guy. If there's something wrong, I'll figure it out on my own."
"You wouldn't even know to look for this," Matthew said sadly. He sighed and stepped away from the counter. "I'm going home. No, I won't say anything to Dad, yet. But just so you know, I think you're in danger."