“It’s going to be okay, Kate,” an unfamiliar soft voice says, and it takes me a moment to realize it belongs to the blonde girl. She reaches for Kate’s hands, trying to reassure her. Kate gives in, although it’s obvious that she’s restless. She looks down at her phone clenched in her free hand, cursing silently.
“She should have been here by now.”
“She’ll come, we can wait for a bit longer.”
“It’s already been half an hour.”
“If she doesn’t show up in the next fifteen minutes, we can go home on foot. It’s not that far.”
Figuring I’ve listened enough and not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, I clear my throat before asking, “Trouble, ladies?”
Kate’s back stiffens at the sound of my voice. She slowly turns around to face me, blocking the girl on the bench from my view in the process.
“Emmett, fancy seeing you here.” Kate crosses her arms over her chest.
“It’s a small town,” I comment, trying my best to ignore the fact that the motion lifts her tits just a tad higher, and the snug top she’s wearing definitely doesn’t help.
“Too damn small,” she mutters quietly.
I blink, focusing my attention back on Kate’s face. “You were saying?”
“Nothing. What are you doing here?”
I try to look over her shoulder, but she moves closer, drawing my attention back to her. Today her hair is piled atop her head in a messy bun, and she has a gray tee with Cute but psycho written on it. “Should I be afraid?” I ask, motioning to her shirt.
Kate rolls her eyes. “Yes, you should always be afraid. Now was there a specific reason you stopped by?”
Instead of answering her question, I ask one of my own. “You’re not going to introduce me to your friend?”
“Wasn’t my plan.”
“Where are your manners, Kitty? I don’t bite.”
“Emmett…” There is a clear warning in her tone, but do I listen? Of course not.
For a bit, we struggle, but finally, I manage to get through her and face her friend. The blonde sits on the bench looking at us curiously, her hand clenching the dog’s leash.
“Hey there, I’m Emmett. Kate and I go to school together,” I say, offering her my hand.
She looks up and gives me an uncertain smile, but doesn’t accept my hand. She looks young, probably two or three years younger than me, if not more. She’s wearing a summer dress that shows off her pale skin. Her long blonde hair is braided and falling over her shoulder, and those eyes…
“Nice to meet you, Emmett. I’m Penelope, Kate’s sister, but friends call me Penny.”
Kate mutters something behind my back, then loudly clears her throat.
“Oh, sorry.” Penelope extends her free hand and, after a bit of stumbling, grabs mine for a handshake.
“No problem. I didn’t know Kate has a sister. And one so sweet.” I take a quick glance at Kate. “Are you sure you two are related?”
“Har-har-har.” Kate rolls her eyes.
“It’s just an innocent question, Kitty.” My hand drops to my side. My eyes fall down to the dog, a golden retriever, who’s observing me carefully, but makes no attempt to socialize. “That’s a cool dog you have. What’s his—”
I start to reach for him to pet him.
“Don’t touch him!”
I freeze mid-motion. Kate’s hand is on my forearm, holding me back.
“What’s the big deal?” I turn over my shoulder to look at Kate. I don’t get her reaction at all. The dog doesn’t seem dangerous, so what’s the problem? “We have a dog back at the ranch. It’s not like he’ll bite my hand off.”
“It’s not that. Just don’t…”
“He’s working,” Penelope’s soft voice interrupts us.
“Penny, you don’t have to…”
“It’s okay, Kate.” I turn around to look at Penelope. She’s watching me, but her eyes don’t quite reach my face. It’s more like she’s looking at my chest. “He’s a seeing-eye dog, and he’s working. Nobody should touch him right now except me. Plus, we’re still kind of getting used to one another.”
“A seeing-eye dog?” I ask, rubbing at the back of my neck. My mind is working a hundred miles a minute as I work out what she’s saying. “But, that’s…”
“Because I’m blind,” Penelope finishes, that soft smile of hers not wavering once.
Blind?
“Oh, wow…” I know I probably sound like a complete idiot, but I’m at a loss for words.
Kate’s sister is blind? She doesn’t look blind.
As soon as the thought registers in my mind, I want to smack myself over the head. At least I didn’t say it out loud. Because seriously, what does a blind person look like?
But I didn’t see that one coming. Not in the slightest, although now that I look at her, actually look, it makes so much sense. The handshake, the whole watching while not quite meeting your eye thing.
Thankfully, Penelope doesn’t seem to take it personally, or if she does, she doesn’t show it.
“Didn’t see that one coming?” Penelope offers kindly. I guess this isn’t her first rodeo.
“No, I really didn’t. Sorry for being weird.”
Kate lets go of my hand and goes to her sister, looping her hand through her free one. Instantly, I regret losing her touch. She obviously doesn’t because she’s back to ignoring me.
“Maybe we should go. Mabel just texted that it might take a while, and she isn’t sure when she’ll be able to pick us up.”
Seriously, Kitty?
“Where are you girls going?” I ask, not ready to be dismissed. “I can give you a ride.”
“Oh, no, that’s not…” Kate starts, but Penelope interrupts her. “That would be great!”
“Penny!” Kate hisses in warning, but Penelope either doesn’t care, or she’s used to it.
“What? He’s offering to take us home.”
“He might be a serial killer!”
“Is he?”
“Well, no, but that’s…”
I look between the two sisters as they discuss me like I’m not standing right here. It’s like watching one really intense tennis match. The part that really surprises me is that Penelope isn’t just giving in to her sister, quite the contrary.
“Perfect.” Shaking Kate off, Penelope stands up and moves closer, the dog moving in perfect sync with her, pulling her to a stop when they’re right in front of me. “You and Kate are friends?”
I look over Penelope’s shoulder, where her sister is scowling at us. Kate lifts her brow in challenge, which makes the tips of my lips rise.
“Yeah.” I look down at Penny, giving her my full attention. This close, I can see even more similarities between the two sisters. They share the same round blue-purple eyes. The same pouty lips and stubborn tilt to their chins. They also have similar builds, which means they’re awfully short, barely reaching my collar bone. “I think of her as my friend.”
A friend with really sexy legs and a really, really stubborn streak that I’d love to kiss really badly.