Dark Sexy Knight (A Modern Fairytale)(11)

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that they’d just been evicted from the crappiest motel in the Greater Atlanta area, and Colt was positive they had nowhere else to go.

“Act like you didn’t see,” he muttered to himself, unable to look away from her trembling shoulders. “Back up and drive on out of here.”

Clenching his jaw as he hissed through his teeth, his hand reached for the door handle, and he swung his body out of the car before he could force himself not to. His shoes scuffed along the gravel from the chipped cement sidewalk as he walked over to her.

“’Vic-ted, ’vic-ted, ’vic-ted,” whispered Ryan, staring down at the ground, still holding the suitcases in white-knuckled hands.

“It’s okay,” said Colt gently, prying the suitcases from his grip. He set one down on the sidewalk, then the other.

“Friend,” said Ryan, staring straight ahead, at Colt’s neck.

“Colt,” he answered.

“Stallion,” said the older man, lifting his head to meet Colt’s eyes.

“No. My . . . my name is Colton.”

“Yeah. Okay,” said Ryan.

Pulling out his wallet, Colt opened it and peeled two dollar bills from the fold. “See that pop machine over there?”

“I like pop,” said Ryan, his lips wiggling up into a hopeful smile.

“Go get two Cokes, okay? One for you and one for your sister.”

“Yeah. Two Cokes for me and Ver’ty. From Colton,” he said. Then he turned and ambled toward the machine at the other end of the U-shaped motel.

Colt sat down next to a weeping Verity, spreading out his legs in front of him and crossing them at the ankle with a sigh.

God damn these two anyway. Heaps of trouble. A couple of foundling kittens in a world full of wolves. And what now? He sure as shit wasn’t going to take them home with him, so he hoped they could come up with an alternate solution by talking.

“Got evicted?”

She nodded, sniffling pitifully, her head still down, tears falling into the open box on her lap.

“Got any family round here? Friends?”

She shook her head, a soft, mewling sound of sorrow escaping her lips.

He reached into his back pocket and took out a handkerchief, glad that his aunt Jane had always insisted he carry one. He pushed it against her hand, and her fingers grasped onto it, sliding the thin fabric across the back of his hand as she drew it away from him and wiped her eyes.

“Th-thanks.” She looked up at him, her eyes swimming and cheeks still slick from tears. “You don’t have to st-stay. We’ll, uh . . . we’ll f-figure it out.”

Right. “What are you going to do?” he asked.

She shook her head and took a deep breath through her nose, using the handkerchief on her cheeks before folding it on her lap and handing it back to him. “I don’t know. There’s a church next door. Maybe we could . . .” Her voice drifted off.

He looked over the rusted chain-link fence at the dark church and empty parking lot next door. “Listen, I could give you a few dollars. To tide you over.”

Her neck jerked around, and her eyes widened at his suggestion. “I can’t take your money.”

“You could,” he said, putting the damp linen back in his pocket as the sun dropped lower by the second, “or you two could come stay a night or two with me.”

She blinked at him, her lips parting in surprise. “What?”

Fuck. Fuckf*ckf*ckf*ckf*ck. What the FUCK are you doing?

He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “I mean, it’s going to get dark soon, and—”

“No! We don’t know you. I mean, I appreciate the help getting the job, and the ride, but we can’t just—”

He nodded. “Got it.”

“I don’t mean to insult you,” she said, hopping up from the bench, still clutching the box in her hands as though it would protect her from Colt’s inappropriate suggestion.

“I’m not insulted,” he said, and it was true. In fact, it was the first smart thing she’d done since he met her. What surprised him was that, while he didn’t feel insulted, he did feel, unaccountably, disappointed. Whatever adventure they’d been on together today was ending here, and though he knew it needed to, part of him felt . . . sad. Everything would change tomorrow when they ran into each other at work. After the rumor mill got going, she’d stop meeting his eyes, start avoiding him as he passed her in the castle hallways. That look she had that bordered on hero worship would quickly fade until she acted like she didn’t even know his name. And part of him was already mourning the loss of her sweet eyes and ready smiles. Not to mention, he felt a little worried about them, leaving them all alone in this shithole. But he figured that wasn’t his business and they weren’t his problem. It was time to say good-bye.

He nodded again, rising to his feet. “Well, I’ll, uh, I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess.”

Now that he was leaving, she sat back down on the bench and looked up at him with sad eyes. “Tomorrow. Right. And thanks again for . . . everything.”

Giving her one last, exasperated look, he turned away, striding back to his car, calling himself a stupid fool for getting involved with her, for helping her, for wishing that—

“Oh, you want this pop, dummy? Come’n git it!”