“Yeah, but none of that matters, apparently. My mom’s lawyer says she should have access to it because she’s not only taking care of him, but she’s technically the beneficiary of his will. The other lawyer says that the will doesn’t matter because he’s not dead, so until that time comes, the money will just sit there.” For the first time all night, what I’d told him got to me. The anger I’d felt since this all started began to bubble up inside.
Drew must’ve noticed the change in my demeanor. As far as I was aware, neither my expression nor my voice had changed, so I wasn’t sure how he’d picked up on it, but he did. And I couldn’t have been more thankful for the distraction he offered.
Without warning, he laced his fingers through my hair and aggressively cradled the side of my head. I didn’t have enough time to think about what he did or why, because half a second later, he pulled me toward him until his mouth was on mine. It was harsh, yet his lips softened the blow. However, he didn’t give me enough time to enjoy the kiss before the wet heat of his tongue stole my attention.
The way he kissed me caused my heart to race, my stomach to knot, and my mind to rid itself of every thought that didn’t involve Drew, his lips, his hands, or his tongue. While he was aggressive in his movements, there was nothing brutal about any of it, and all I wanted was for this moment to last forever.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. It had to end at some point, and that time came far too soon for my liking. Nevertheless, what came next was equally as satisfying. His eyes twinkled as he held my stare, a slow-forming grin creating creases that extended out from the two black sequins that captivated me. Satisfaction sang in his smile and danced in his gaze. It was like he was proud of himself, and before I found my voice to point it out, he said, “Looks like the ghosts of Chogan haunt the hills, too.”
“At least now we know that I’m not the only one susceptible to their curses.”
“I guess this means we should stay away from each other.”
Even though he was only teasing, the thought of staying away from him still stung. “No, that’d only make it worse.”
“How so?” He practically vibrated with amusement.
“Who knows the lengths they’ll go to get us together. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to risk sleepwalking through the woods in the middle of the night or being involved in some freak accident just to avoid a random kiss here and there,” I said, doing my best to bite back my grin.
“You’re absolutely right, Kenny. We should definitely continue hanging out, and if that means we have to keep kissing, then so be it. It seems that’s what the spirits want anyway.”
That made me so giddy, my soul smiled.
Chapter Eight
Drew
Loneliness didn’t exist when Kenny was around.
In fact, the constant ache of loneliness I’d felt for years had disappeared the day we’d first met. I had to keep reminding myself that all of this would eventually end. Don’t get too attached, because she will leave. And the loneliness would most certainly creep back in.
Like most idiots, I’d pretty much convinced myself that the excitement Kenny brought with her would continue long after her time here ended. Delusional, that’s what I had become. But if that was what I had to tell myself to enjoy her company without bringing her down, too, then so be it. And really, if I kept telling myself this, then there was a good chance I would actually believe it.
Okay, not a good chance.
A decent chance.
Maybe a small chance.
More like a snowball’s chance in hell.
Nevertheless, I hoped my time with Kenny would at least teach me something, help me in some way, regardless of how small. What I hadn’t expected was to get the lesson halfway through her week.
“Are you sure we’re allowed to do this?” Kenny asked, glancing around the empty office.
“Of course. The truck is mine, too; we just keep the key here so we don’t have to ask each other for it when we need to leave the property. Not to mention, sometimes one of the guys has to go into town to pick up supplies, so it’s more of a communal vehicle.” I grabbed the key and held it up, dangling it in the air in front of her.
“Yeah, but…don’t you need to tell your dad you’re taking it? Or at least that we’re leaving the resort? I thought you said this was your busiest week. You sure are taking a lot of time off. Do you swear you’re not going to get in trouble?”
Her concern warmed me—it even made me smile without realizing it. I’d caught myself grinning around her too many times to count. And the only reason I even knew I was doing it was because my cheeks would ache, alerting me to my unintentional expression. I started to worry it’d creep her out, but so far, she hadn’t shown any sign of apprehension over it.
I moved around the desk and stood in front of the main door. “No, I don’t need to tell my dad, because I’m not a child who needs his permission to do things. And yes, this is our busiest week, but there isn’t much to be done during the day other than a bit of maintenance and paperwork, which I’ve already done. I’m mostly needed at night at The Feeder, which is why we need to get going now so I can be back in time for my shift.”
I held open the door and followed her through it.
“Are you going to tell me now where you’re taking me?” she asked, pulling the seatbelt around her and clicking it into place.
I held her stare while cranking the engine, enjoying the excitement in her eyes. “The lagoon—also known as The Birdbath. It’s a few miles up the road, but you have to leave the resort to get there. It doesn’t belong to us, but we run scheduled tours there, so it’s pretty much ours.”
“Again…” Her brows pinched and her nostrils flared, but there was a hint of teasing in her Caribbean eyes and a coy shadow in the corners of her plump lips. God, she has the most kissable lips. “Don’t we need to let someone know we will be there? What if there’s a tour?”
“No, and there’s not.” I pulled out of the makeshift garage attached to the side of the main office and followed the widened dirt road to the entrance of the resort. It sat off a main road with nothing more than a wooden sign reading Black Bird Resort and an arrow pointing into the wall of trees. “The tour only runs once a week, so we’re all good.”
Kenny sat back and stared out her window, watching the scenery pass by.
After several seconds of silence, she whipped her head in my direction and said, “You really should think about doing something to get this place more attention. It’s so beautiful, Drew. I bet you could have every cabin booked at least three hundred and sixty days a year.”
I dropped my head back against the headrest and puffed out my cheeks with a heavy exhale. “If you haven’t already, I think you should look into becoming a promoter or something. Maybe a career in advertising or marketing.”
“Listen, I know you don’t want to hear it, but maybe you need to.”
It wasn’t that her constant interest in the resort annoyed me. In fact, I actually liked a lot of her ideas and suggestions. But what she didn’t—or couldn’t—understand was how impossible it would be to implement even one of them.