“My truck’s up front,” Gus said. “We can head to my house now.”
There was no phone at the camp, probably so these men could avoid their wives, and they all laughed when he asked about using one of their cell phones. The old man flirting with Willow had informed him he had a better chance of receiving a message from a carrier pigeon than getting a cell signal around here. Then one of the other guys offered to catch a pigeon for him. Willow politely declined.
However, Gus had offered to drive them to his place so they could use his phone.
“Thank you,” Declan said as he rose from the chair.
They were setting a fresh beer in front of Willow when he walked over to join her. He rested his hand on the bar beside her and leaned close enough that her shoulder brushed his chest. He was only torturing himself by getting so close again, but he missed the feel of her. Inhaling her floral scent, he smiled as he drew it deep into his lungs.
“Gus is ready to go,” he said.
The old man gave him a scathing look. He was aware they considered him incompetent and a fool for getting lost in the woods; it seemed they’d also decided he wasn’t good enough for Willow. They were wrong about the incompetence, but correct about him not being good enough for her.
“Okay,” Willow said.
“You can’t leave a perfectly good beer behind,” the old man said.
“I’d never dream of it,” she replied with a twinkle in her eyes.
Lifting the mug, she drained the contents in seconds and set the glass on the bar before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. The men all hooted and cheered while the old man banged his cane against the floor.
“Honey,” he said, “if I were fifty years younger, I’d chase you all around this bar.”
“And if I was fifty years older, your heart still couldn’t handle me,” she said and patted his hand.
The man whooped with laughter, and Willow turned toward him. Declan felt like she’d socked him in the gut when those twinkling eyes landed on him. She was aware of her effect on these men, but he doubted she realized how much she affected him.
“Ready?” She prodded Declan when he stood and stared at her like she was some oddity he couldn’t explain.
“Ahh… yeah… yeah, of course.”
The devilish smile she gave him caused a domino reaction in his body that he’d never experienced before. His heart beat faster as he resisted the urge to crush her against him. It had been centuries since he experienced the comfort of another, and he wanted it from her more than he wanted his next breath.
Willow’s smile faded when that awful torment filled Declan’s eyes again. It was the same look he had right before he kissed her. It was as if he couldn’t stand being anywhere near her but couldn’t stay away.
That look caused her heart to ache, and she yearned to wrap her arms around him and hold him close, but she feared it would only make things worse for him. Then his mouth quirked in a small smile as his eyes returned to hers. For a second, his hand stretched toward her before falling again.
Pretending she hadn’t seen that look in his eyes or his hand coming toward her, Willow smiled and acted like nothing happened. “Let’s go call home. I have to make sure Vicky’s okay, and I’m dying for a shower.”
“First, let me change their memories. I don’t want anyone recalling we were here,” Declan said.
Willow waited by the door while he used his ability to weave new memories into the minds of the people gathered around the bar. The air grew thicker from the power he exuded, and waves of it brushed against her skin while he erased them from their memories.
When he finished, he walked over to join her and held open the door. She walked out the door, and though she wanted to rub against him like a cat, she was careful not to touch him. She couldn’t stand seeing that distressed look in his eyes again.
She spotted Gus sitting in a pickup with a rusted fender, a bumper held on by string, and more dents than a golf ball. Despite looking like a pothole might break it in half, Willow smiled at the truck. It had seen better days twenty years ago, but it was returning her to civilization where she could use a phone to let her family know she was okay and find out about Vicky.
She couldn’t think about what her family was going through right now, but their worry would soon be over. That thought put a little extra spring in her step, and she practically skipped over to the rusted, passenger side door.
When she reached for the handle, Declan grasped it before she could. He opened the door for her and stepped back while she slid inside. Tufts of yellow cushion poked through the black fabric, and a spring poked her in the ass, but she could’ve been sitting on the roof, and it wouldn’t have dampened her good mood. She’d probably be safely back at the compound by morning, and she felt like dancing on the spring because of it.
Willow’s excitement beat against Declan as she tapped her fingers on her legs and grinned at him when he climbed into the vehicle. He closed the door behind him and turned to examine the fishing poles, tackle boxes, and cooler in the sagging bed of the truck.
“My wife is going to be surprised to meet you two,” Gus said as he shifted the truck into first gear.
“Will she be mad you’re bringing us to your house?” Willow asked.
“Nah, she’s always bringing home strays; I guess it’s my turn.”
Willow laughed and settled back against the seat as he guided the truck down a dirt road about a hundred feet long. The hunting cabin sat in a clearing at the edge of the field, but as they travelled down the road, the woods surrounded them again.
At the end of the road, he turned left onto a narrow country road that wound past large maples, pines, and oaks. As much as she loved the wilderness, she hoped not to spend any time in it for at least another month.
Leaning forward, Gus turned on the radio, and an old George Jones song came on. “Is this okay?” he asked.
“I’ve always liked The Possum,” she said.
“You know who he is?” Declan asked.
She laughed as she rolled her eyes. “Of course I do. I made it a mission to listen to as much music as possible.”
“That’s a good mission,” Gus said.
She shrugged. “I was trying to find out what music my siblings hated the most and use it to torture them. But it had the bonus of introducing me to a lot of music I never would have listened to otherwise, and I fell in love with some of it.”
“I enjoyed torturing my siblings too,” Gus said. “I superglued one of my brothers to the toilet seat.”
Willow laughed. “That must have been fun.”
“It was worth the spanking my dad gave me afterward.”
“I bet it was. How long did it take him to get free?”
“Three hours, and he never kissed my girlfriend again.”
“That taught him.”
“It sure did.”
When Gus turned down another road, a small town came into view. They drove past small brick buildings and people strolling the sidewalks. Many of the people waved and called greetings to Gus.
Declan hadn’t seen a town this small in years.
“Where are we in Vermont?” Declan inquired.
“Culver,” Gus replied. “You two sure covered a lot of ground if you came here from Maine. I don’t know how you survived out there.”
“Luck,” Willow said. “We did have supplies with us in the beginning, and we were close to the border of New Hampshire when we started.”
That wasn’t true, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. She still didn’t know how much time it would take for someone to cross through New Hampshire and into Vermont, but it had to be less time than from where they were in Maine.
“How long were you lost out there?” Gus inquired.
“I’m not sure,” Willow said. “What’s today’s date?”
“May twentieth.”
Willow tried to figure out how long it would take for a human to cover the same distance they had, but in the end, she decided to play it safe. “Almost three weeks.”
She was really only in the woods for six days, but it seemed more like three weeks. If her guess was way off, it didn’t matter, they could change Gus’s memories, but she didn’t like the idea of screwing with the mind of the man who was helping them.
Gus let out a low whistle. “You’re lucky.”
“We are.”
She glanced at Declan, whose eyebrows were knit together over the top of his elegant nose as he watched the town like it was a shark about to devour them. The sun played over the elegant planes of his face and brought out the red in his hair.
The set of his full lips indicated irritation, but as she gazed around the quaint town and friendly residents, she didn’t understand what could make him so unhappy. She was thinking about moving here as Gus waved at another woman before making a right-hand turn.
Since joining the Alliance, she’d spent most of her time training at the compound, but once her training was complete, she went out to hunt Savages. Most of the missions were in Boston, and though she enjoyed the vibrant pulse of the city, she’d grown up in the country, and it was where she felt most at home.
When Gus turned onto another street, they passed a series of small, well-maintained, and in some cases, adorable homes. It was still early in the season, but many of the yards had flowers in pots or beds around their trees and porches.
All the yards were so neatly manicured that she would bet all the neighbors started their Saturdays by mowing their yards. This was the type of town where if a neighbor couldn’t take care of their yard for some reason, the whole street volunteered to help them.
Gus pulled into the driveway of a pretty, double-story home with cheery yellow paint and blue shutters. Like most of the other yards, it was recently mowed. A couple of brightly colored pots, full of pansies, led up the three stairs to the front porch and wooden front door with a glass window in the center.
“Home sweet home,” Gus said, and the hinges creaked as he pushed open his door and hopped out. He closed the door behind him.
Declan rested his hand on the door handle but didn’t open it. He’d never been around humans for an extended period. Once he walked into that house, it would be like entering a whole new environment, and he wasn’t sure he could handle it.