Page 68 of Havenfall Harbor
The smile on Evan’s face falls away as soon as she’s out the door, and his annoyed gaze lands on me. “You need to work on that.”
“On what?” I know what he’s talking about, but I can play dumb.
“She’s going to be around other people, talk to other people.” Evan keeps his voice low, but lacking any heat.
Quinn continues down the stone steps, peering over her shoulder to make sure we’re following. “I was just telling him she’s busy,” I defend.
Evan scoffs, “You were staking a claim.”
“She doesn’t know she’s ours yet.”
“So you wanted to make sure he does? It doesn’t work like that, Griffin. She’ll only be oursifshe wants to be.” Evan halts on the stairs halfway up, and I pause with him. I get what he’s saying, I do, but I don’t find that option acceptable. “The quickest way to ensure she doesn’twantto be with us is by taking away her options.”
I sigh, he’s right. “Fine, I’ll try harder, be better,” I grumble, and resume walking down the stairs to meet Quinn, who’s now waiting for us at the bottom. Evan is quick on my heels. A worm of doubt wiggles its way into my thoughts. Maybe I should just let her and Evan be? I’m probably going to keep fucking up.
Quinn spins around when my shoes crunch on the walkway to the drive. There’s a slight smile on her face, making the corners of her eyes crinkle. “It’s a beautiful day.”
I take the opportunity to look beyond her to see the bright blue sky with a few wispy clouds dotted here and there, the wildflowers blooming along the edge of the woods and the warm breeze stirring my hair.
Living as long as I have, you come to take these things for granted. There truly is something to be said for stopping to smell the roses. “It is,” I agree, but my eyes don’t wander off her for long. She’s what makes it possible for me to appreciate the beauty around her. If someone would have said the same words to me a few weeks ago, I would have ignored them, probably thought something cynical about the person’s motivations for even speaking to me, but not her. She’s an open book. She is sharing her thoughts, not because she wants to impress me, but because she wants to.
“The garage is just around the corner,” Evan chimes in from my side. Quinn takes one last look around the estate, the grin still on her lips, and follows him as he walks around the east side of the building.
With a wave of Evan’s keycard, the double wide garage door opens, revealing what resembles an underground parking structure. Several UTVs are parked in the west corner, while numerous cars and SUVs are parked on the east side. Evan walks over to a large metal box hanging near the entrance. I know from experience each slot has a number and the key of every vehicle is placed in the corresponding spots. With a quick flick of his eyes to confirm the number, he grabs a key fob and hits the unlock button.
Quinn and I head over to the black SUV whose headlights flicker on. I reach for the rear door and open it for her. She thanks me and climbs easily into the backseat.
“How far is Bakersville?” Quinn questions once Evan and I are seated.
“Not too far, twenty minutes or so,” I tell her, as Evan pulls out of the garage. I’m tempted to turn around so I can watch her, but that would be creepy, even by my standards.
Quinn
We reach the gate quickly.Evan hits a button on the ceiling of the car above the rearview mirror and the gates open slowly. He makes a left turn and pushes the button again to close the gates. I watch the fence line as we speed by. The black metal sticks out against the lush green grass and trees on the other side. Within a minute or two, we approach an intersection. The fence line continues, turning to the left while Evan heads straight forward after slowing for the stop sign. There’s no other traffic, so he rolls through and picks up speed again.
I know the area is pretty rural from my journey here, so it doesn’t surprise me that I don’t see very many mailboxes or homes along the road for quite a while.
The sign for Bakersville township brings hints of life. I scoot into the middle seat so I can see better, and Evan’s eyes find me in the rearview mirror. “This okay?” I ask, breaking the silence of the ride so far.
“You’re good,” he assures me before focusing back on the road.
“Where are we headed first?” I settle back, watching the little town come into view in front of me.
“I thought I’d park and we could walk around a bit. Check out the town.” Evan shrugs his shoulders and looks over at Griffin as if to see how he’s going to respond, but he doesn’t react at all.
We park on a downtown street in front of a row of brick and adobe style buildings. The colors on the awnings and trim are a bit faded from the sun, but it just makes it seem more authentic somehow. There’s a candle shop and a small restaurant, along with a coffee shop called Cool Beans.I can’t read the other signs, but it seems half touristy, half typical small town.
Both guys meet me on the sidewalk. It’s still early, so other than the coffee shop, everything seems closed up. “Mind if I grab a drink?” I motion toward the entrance.
“After you.” Evan grabs the door, holding it for Griffin and me. The smell of fresh coffee envelops me as we enter. There are several tables—mostly all empty—some with checker games or worn cards strewn across the top.
I make my way over to the counter, noting the glass display that has a few pastries and doughnuts inside. A green chalkboard high on the wall behind the single register lists several drinks in various sizes.
A middle-aged man comes out from the back, wiping his hands on the black apron tied around his waist. The guy’s eyes land on me briefly before going over my shoulder. Evan and Griffin are behind me, but it’s not like I can do much to block this guy’s view of them. For one, they’re both several inches taller than me, plus their presence is kind of hard to miss.
The guy averts his gaze and looks down at the counter. “Morning, how can I help you?”
“May I have a black tea, honey, no milk?” I twist so I can see Evan and Griffin. “You guys want anything?”
