I couldn’t askanythingwith my stepmotherwatching.
“Never mind,” I said to Meredith. “I think I’ve remembered on myown.”
I headed for my bedroom as if the answer to my question was there. As soon as I’d closed the door behind me, I let out mybreath.
“Maybe the guys have thought of something,” I said to Philomena. Not that it seemed very likely. IfIcouldn’t solve this witching problem, how could they, so far outsideit?
“Or maybe you just want to talk to them more than anyone here. That’s all right. I don’t blame you.” Phil gave me a playfulsmirk.
I wrinkled my nose at her, but she wasn’t entirely wrong. When I dug the prepaid phone out from its hiding place, my spirits leapt at the sight of a text alert on thescreen.
It was Kyler, and not news, just checking in.You’ve been quiet for a bit. Everything all right overthere?
He’d sent it to me directly instead of in a group conversation with the other guys. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. I wasn’t sure what to make of his reaction to me the last time I’d seen him in general. He’d acted like he couldn’t stand to hug me. I’dthought…
Well, obviously whatever I’d thought, I’d been getting away from myself. It wasn’t as if I needed all the guys to be head over heels for me. It wasn’t as if I even knew what I could do about the three who seemed to return at least some of my feelings. But Ky’s response had stillstung.
Laying low, watching for any chance to gather more info,I wrote back.Sorry for thesilence.
His text had been from late last night, but he answered mine immediately.Don’t worry about it! Now I’ve got my peace of mind.He added a winking emoji. There was a pause, and then the app showed him typing again. A new message popped up a minute later.Actually, can we talk? In person, ideally? I can come toyou.
My breath caught.Okay, I said.Tomorrow morning, by the pond again? Around 10am?Derek was meant to drive out to see one of the properties he was considering pitching then, so at least I wouldn’t have to worry about making excuses to him. Although…Unless you have towork.
My schedule is flexible!Ky wrote back at once.10am tomorrow itis.
* * *
I took a roundabout route to the pond, in case my stepmother or the staff happened to notice me heading into the woods. During the walk there, I didn’t hear anything but the usual whisperings of theforest.
The air was dry and the sun beaming this morning, but last night’s rain had left the ground between the trees squishy. I trod carefully as I approached the pond. If I ended up sinking up to my ankles in mud, that would prompt somequestions.
I heard Kyler before I saw him. A periodic plinking as he tossed pebbles into the pond. When I emerged from the trees, he was leaning against the boulder with a handful of stones. He shot me a smile and threw another, making a face as it hit the surface and promptlysunk.
“There’s a whole formula for it, you know,” he said brightly. “Skipping stones? The best velocity and trajectory and— I could tell you all that. But I can’t seem to follow it well enough to make the damn things actuallyskip.”
“Well, when it’s your arm, there’s muscle control involved, right?” I said. “I don’t know how you’d even judge exactly how fast you’re moving. Obviously what you need to do is invent a machine with the process fullyautomated.”
His smile came back, stretching into a grin. “And what a great contribution to society that would be.” He dropped the rest of the pebbles, brushed his hands together, and straightened up. “Rose,” he said. He looked at the ground and then back at me. Something in his gaze made my heart thump. He opened his mouth, hesitated again, and then simply said, “Oh, fuckit.”
With two strides of his long legs he’d crossed the ground between us and brought his hands to my face. His kiss was determined but careful, as if to give me room to move away if I didn’t wantit.
But I did. A giddy joy rushed through my body. I leaned into him and kissed him back, hard, my pent-up desire bubbling up. My spark sprang to life in aninstant.
Ky tipped his head to end the kiss, but he stayed where he was, his hands framing my face, his hot breath tickling over my tender lips. “Rose,” he said again, like aprayer.
Giddiness was still tickling through me alongside the flicker of my spark. “Is that what you came here to tell me?” I said with asmile.
Kyler chuckled roughly. “I was worried, after the other day— I didn’t want you to think— I didn’t mean to push youaway.”
“You did kind of give the impression you needed more distance,” Isaid.
“I know. I assumed, after how quickly you left that night at my apartment—and, I mean, when you have the otherguys…”
An ache surrounded my heart. “I didn’t leave that night because of you. I thought I was still going to marry my fiancé then. I was upset with myself for forgetting that promise, for giving in to myfeelings.”
“So you do have feelings?” Ky said, his tone turning playful. “For me? Because I definitely have a lot when it comes toyou.”
A laugh slipped out of me. “So many I don’t know what to do with them, Ky.” My mind turned over the words he’d said a moment ago.When you have the other guys…My throat tightened. He knew, then. “Does it bother you that it’s not justyou?”