even tell Ian and her? It was so thoughtless and rude, downright awful behavior, really. She couldn’t even spin it about Shane.
“So we did all this for nothing?”
“Yup,” he almost snapped. The side of his face was tight where he kept re-clenching his jaw. He started to work at the cinch before him.
“How can they do that? Forget to come?”
He stopped and looked straight across at her. “Because they’re irresponsible assholes who can only think about themselves. Somehow, it’s like that fact completely goes right over your head. How? I don’t know, but it does.”
She jerked her back and stood up straight. Did he just about call her stupid? Never mind, it was almost like he seemed to know the one whom she always forgave. Definitely neither of her brothers. But no; no way. He could not have known about that.
“So they’re really not coming?”
His scowl went darker. “No, they’re really not coming, ” he replied, almost aping her tone.
She was all set to go camping, to the point of being thrilled about it. She was taking her life into her own hands and making something new happen, for once. Something good. She was tired of wallowing in her own self-pity. She had grown weary of not pursuing something different and better, and this trip was pivotal for her. Now it was all over? Gone? Like every other hope in her life? That’s all she seemed to experience: one disappointment after another.
No! Damn it! She was the one who allowed everything and everyone to control her life. Her dad’s martyrdom, her brothers’ laziness, and her own terror at leaving the familiar.
“We should just go on without them.”
Ian was turning toward the tack room and stopped dead as he lifted his gaze to her. “What? Us? Alone?”
Okay, so he was not her first choice for this epiphany: her first real effort to take her life’s reins and put it under her own control. But Ian was here, and they were here together, so why not? What did she have to lose? Going home simply meant more cleaning and waitressing. Here, at least, there was something new and different for her to experience. She hadn’t had any kind of new and different in over four years.
“Yes. Screw them. Don’t you think? Unless, you believe I can’t do this.”
“Oh, you can do this. Yeah, sure. I’m always up for doing this. That is, as long as you feel comfortable.”
No, not even a little. But her unease was less than how pissed off she was at her brothers and Shane, not to mention, her regular life in general. “What do you want me to do?” she asked, standing up and throwing her shoulders back confidently.
Chapter Six
IAN SENSED KAILYNN’S DEFIANCE when he observed her posture as she straightened her back. She acted like a prisoner about to walk to the gallows, determined not to cry, and fully ready to do herself proud. He bit his lip and turned to conceal a smirk of amusement. He also observed her disappointment over the news Shane wasn’t coming. She practically shrank into the trunk of her body and huddled there for a long moment. Somehow, her anger and disappointment over his brother worked to motivate her to go ahead and take the trip with him. He knew that was her only motivator and sensed how ill at ease she was being with him. She all but jumped whenever he walked near her or moved around her. There was no sense that they had known each other for their entire lives. He really couldn’t understand why she had the odd reaction to him that she did.
Okay, he might not have been the funniest guy in the room, but he wasn’t usually made to feel like an oddity, or an aberration, or a complete ass, which was how Kailynn seemed to think of him. He had it for the one girl who considered him a strange creep. He wasn’t a creep at all, however, and quite well liked. Most people considered him very easy to be around. But for some reason, Kailynn found it very hard to ever be alone with him.
Maybe he would get the chance to change
“So we did all this for nothing?”
“Yup,” he almost snapped. The side of his face was tight where he kept re-clenching his jaw. He started to work at the cinch before him.
“How can they do that? Forget to come?”
He stopped and looked straight across at her. “Because they’re irresponsible assholes who can only think about themselves. Somehow, it’s like that fact completely goes right over your head. How? I don’t know, but it does.”
She jerked her back and stood up straight. Did he just about call her stupid? Never mind, it was almost like he seemed to know the one whom she always forgave. Definitely neither of her brothers. But no; no way. He could not have known about that.
“So they’re really not coming?”
His scowl went darker. “No, they’re really not coming, ” he replied, almost aping her tone.
She was all set to go camping, to the point of being thrilled about it. She was taking her life into her own hands and making something new happen, for once. Something good. She was tired of wallowing in her own self-pity. She had grown weary of not pursuing something different and better, and this trip was pivotal for her. Now it was all over? Gone? Like every other hope in her life? That’s all she seemed to experience: one disappointment after another.
No! Damn it! She was the one who allowed everything and everyone to control her life. Her dad’s martyrdom, her brothers’ laziness, and her own terror at leaving the familiar.
“We should just go on without them.”
Ian was turning toward the tack room and stopped dead as he lifted his gaze to her. “What? Us? Alone?”
Okay, so he was not her first choice for this epiphany: her first real effort to take her life’s reins and put it under her own control. But Ian was here, and they were here together, so why not? What did she have to lose? Going home simply meant more cleaning and waitressing. Here, at least, there was something new and different for her to experience. She hadn’t had any kind of new and different in over four years.
“Yes. Screw them. Don’t you think? Unless, you believe I can’t do this.”
“Oh, you can do this. Yeah, sure. I’m always up for doing this. That is, as long as you feel comfortable.”
No, not even a little. But her unease was less than how pissed off she was at her brothers and Shane, not to mention, her regular life in general. “What do you want me to do?” she asked, standing up and throwing her shoulders back confidently.
Chapter Six
IAN SENSED KAILYNN’S DEFIANCE when he observed her posture as she straightened her back. She acted like a prisoner about to walk to the gallows, determined not to cry, and fully ready to do herself proud. He bit his lip and turned to conceal a smirk of amusement. He also observed her disappointment over the news Shane wasn’t coming. She practically shrank into the trunk of her body and huddled there for a long moment. Somehow, her anger and disappointment over his brother worked to motivate her to go ahead and take the trip with him. He knew that was her only motivator and sensed how ill at ease she was being with him. She all but jumped whenever he walked near her or moved around her. There was no sense that they had known each other for their entire lives. He really couldn’t understand why she had the odd reaction to him that she did.
Okay, he might not have been the funniest guy in the room, but he wasn’t usually made to feel like an oddity, or an aberration, or a complete ass, which was how Kailynn seemed to think of him. He had it for the one girl who considered him a strange creep. He wasn’t a creep at all, however, and quite well liked. Most people considered him very easy to be around. But for some reason, Kailynn found it very hard to ever be alone with him.
Maybe he would get the chance to change
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