“I’m not sick.”
“Okay, good.” He nodded, looking somber. “Good.”
I was more than uncomfortable suddenly. I shifted back on the couch. “So you got what you wanted. Can we turn some lights on?”
“You don’t wanna stop do you? We just got a great hit, and there’s still one shell left.”
“I get the gist of what you do, you’ve proven your point.”
“You don’t have to be scared of this.”
“I’m not scared!”
Orion flinched.
“Sorry, I’m getting tired. It’s been a long day. Okay, just…” I waved my hand at the periwinkle. “Do the last one.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Orion eyed me cautiously, but nodded. “All right.”
As he reached for the final shell, a new concern hit. If he could see my sleepwalking fears, what else could he see? The turbulent thoughts in my head right now perhaps, while I sat across from this man I was attracted to?
“Wait!” I grabbed his hand just as he lifted the shell, and fell back on the scarf.
Orion’s lips parted in surprise. I began to withdraw my hand but he grabbed onto it. “Why’d you stop me?”
I gave my hand a tug but he held tight.
“Kurt. What are you afraid I’ll see?”
“Nothing. I’m just done with this. Can you let go please?”
Warm, soft fingers slid over mine as he released my hand. His dark eyes narrowed, but he didn’t push me further. “Okay.”
“Thanks,” I said, feeling awkward. “I found that…interesting.”
“I’m sure.” He gave me a sly smile that made me feel mocked. I couldn’t blame him. I was the one acting clownish tonight, my boastful skepticism turned instantly to skittishness just because he made a good guess.
Three hard bangs at the door rang out, and we both jumped. I stood, glancing at the clock. “Can’t imagine who’d be knocking at this hour.”
“It ain’t that late,” Orion said.
“It is for me. I don’t get many visitors.”
I hurried to the front door, happy to have an excuse to get away from him. My palms were sweaty and another boner was trying to rise. Orion had no idea what it did to me when he touched me. Even that quick brush of fingers on mine had me off balance again.
I could see a blurry figure through the panes of dimpled glass flanking the door, someone tall with broad shoulders on my porch. I opened the door to an angry looking redhead with a short beard. He wore a white tee shirt, thick biceps and tattoos along both arms, with a thorny vine inked up one side of his neck. His blue eyes took me in, then shifted away as he leaned to the side, peering over my shoulder. “Orion!”
“Excuse me?”
“Where’s Orion? I know he’s here. Orion!” he shouted.
I moved to block his view. “Hey, asshole. This is my porch.”
His gaze slid back to mine, and he held up a phone. “I know he’s here. I tracked his phone. I don’t care who you are, where the fuck is—”
“Chapel what the fuck!”
Orion stood behind me, looking almost as angry as the guy at the door. “Who is this?” I asked.
“I’m his brother,” the redhead said.
“Foster brother,” Orion muttered.
“Why you always gotta qualify that, huh?”
“It’s just a fact, Chapel. Why are you here?”
“Are you all right?”
“Jesus! I’m fine. This is fucking embarrassing.”
“You weren’t answering your phone! Or seeing my texts.”
“I had it on silent. I had something to do, why the hell you hunting me down?”
“You know very well why. You forget the last time you weren’t answering your phone? That I had to get you out of trouble?”
“Shut up,” Orion said. “Don’t embarrass me.”
“I’m not trying to embarrass you, I was fucking worried. So was Kora.”
“Right,” Orion scoffed. “You mean you got her worried by your own worrying.”
It was still drizzling outside and I was tired of standing in the doorway, my head swiveling back and forth between them, so I looked at Orion and asked, “You want me to invite him in so you two can talk?”
Sighing, Orion threw his arms up. “I was just leaving anyway. He can come help me carry my shit out.”
I let Orion’s beefy, tattooed foster brother in, and we both followed Orion back to the living room where he began packing up his things. Chapel frowned down at the box of seawater as Orion blew out the candles and stuffed the scarf in his bag. “You’re here for a reading?” Chapel said. “Why didn’t you tell us? You only had one party listed on your schedule and they said you left ages ago.”
“Oh my God, you called my client too?”
“Jesus Christ man, I was worried! You didn’t answer the phone, what was I supposed to think?”
Orion glared up from where he was crouched on the floor with his bag. “I just had to swing by here and deal with something. I didn’t know how long it would take. I don’t have to tell you guys every fucking move I make.”
Chapel pointed a finger down at him. “Yes, you do. We had an agreement after the last time—”
“Shut up!” Orion stood and shoved his backpack at his foster brother. “Hold this,” he said, then leaned over to tend to the box with the seashells.
“How were we supposed to know? You didn’t have anything else on your schedule. Kora tried to hone in on you and said you were with an older guy and she sensed you were nervous.”
My eyebrows rose at that, and Orion glanced at me. “I wasn’t nervous. Chapel, this is Kurt Varley. He’s Jasper’s son.”
“What?” Chapel looked me over, hands on his hips. He did a double take at Orion. “You’re kidding.”
Orion shook his head. “Nope.”
“Oh.” Chapel looked at me and his face smoothed out. “Oh. Wow. I’m sorry. Hey. I’m Chapel.”
He stuck his hand out and I shook it. “Kurt.”
“Shit, Orion, why didn’t you just tell us you were coming here, I feel like an ass now!”
“Because it was private,” Orion hissed. “Can you go in the kitchen and grab my other bag? I need to talk to Kurt.”
“Yeah, sure.” He pointed toward the hallway. “Down there?”
“Yes, right through there,” I said, and Chapel left the room. I looked at Orion. “Protective, is he?”
“He’s an asshole, is what he is.” Orion picked up his box by the handle. “Sorry about that.”
“What did he mean about you getting into trouble and him having to help you?”
His gaze shifted away from me. “I tend to make people worry about me. Story of my life. But it was nothing.”
“He was panicked. That was not nothing.”
Orion shrugged. “Had a client behave badly once, unhappy with my performance. It turned into a bit of a situation, and Chapel won’t let me forget it. He and Kora, my foster sister, always worry I’m in trouble now. I should have let them know I’d be stopping here. It slipped my mind and then you and I…got talking, and whatever.”