Guardian (The Guardian Trilogy) (29 page)

“Do you
need any help moving your stuff?”

No
, I
think.  My dad and I have it covered between his truck and my car.  “Sure, we
could use a hand.”  I want to smack myself.  What is wrong with me?

“Cool. 
Just let me know,” he says conversationally.

Dane
clears his plate.  I have half a platter of fettuccine left.  The waitress
returns to ask if I want a box.  I tell her yes.  Maybe my dad will eat it.

“Will
this be on one check or two?” she asks us.

“One.”

“Two.”

I look
at Dane.  “I can pay for my own food.”

Regardless,
he looks at the waitress.  “One.”

I shoot
him an irritated look.  He just smirks at me.

I turn
my head to see if Shel and Matt have finished eating as well.  When I look at
their table, it’s empty.  “Are you kidding me?”

Dane
laughs.  “Guess I’m taking you home.”

I sigh
loudly and cross my arms.  He pretends to pout.  “You don’t want me to take you
home?” 

“No,
I’m irritated at Shel, not you.”

He
laughs again.  “She’s a crafty one.  I have to give her that.”

“You
have no idea.”

The
waitress brings the bill and I try to snatch it from his hand as he picks it up
off the table.  I only manage to rip the corner.  Dane laughs at me.  “Your
injuries are making you slow.”

I shoot
him a look.  “At least let me cover the tip.”

He
considers it and nods.

“How
much is it?” I reach for the check.

He
holds it out to show me, and I quickly grab it from his hand.  “Ha!” I say
victoriously and jump up from the table.  I walk as quickly as I can without
running to the register at the front of the restaurant.  I’m pretty sure he
won’t chase me through a crowd.

When I
make it to the counter, I pay, asking the cashier to give our waitress her portion. 
I feel Dane walk up behind me.  I can feel his – what?  Anticipation?  Humor? 
Irritation? radiating off of him.  I can’t bring myself to turn around.

I walk
to the front of the restaurant and Dane reaches around me to hold the door
open.  I finally look at him.  “After you,” he smirks.  It sounds more like a
challenge than a pleasantry.

We walk
outside and he takes the lead; I don’t know where he’s parked although I’d
recognize his Camaro anywhere.  I follow him around the back of Mario’s to where
he’s parked in the street.

“May I
open the door for you or would you like to do that yourself as well?” he asks,
amused.

I try to
suppress a smile by biting my lip.  “If you would be so kind.  I wouldn’t want
to break a nail.”

He
opens the door in dramatic fashion, and I crawl inside the car.

The
entire way to my house we don’t speak, and we don’t make eye contact.  There’s
tension in the car, but it’s not angry.  It’s more electric and fun, like who’s
going to break the silence first with a sarcastic comment.

When we
pull into my driveway I don’t know what to say.  I’m trying to think of
something smart and witty, but nothing will formulate in my brain.  When Dane
stops the car, he surprises me by getting out and coming around to my side to
open my door for me again.  When he does, I step out of the car and give him a
curious look.

“Your
nails,” he nods toward my hands.  “I wouldn’t want them harmed entering or
exiting the vehicle.”

Raising
my eyebrows, I nod in agreement.  “Ah.  That’s very thoughtful of you.”  I step
aside and he shuts the door.

I open
my mouth to thank him for the ride and then jump as he slams both of his hands
down on either side of me, against the car, boxing me in.  “What…?”

He
leans in close, his eyes staring directly into mine making my heart race. 
“You.  Are.  So.  Difficult.”

I’m
speechless.  All I know is my heart is flipping out and my legs feel weak. 
Stop
it!
my mind screams. 
Stop this!

He
pushes himself off the car and away from me.  My brain is relieved that he put
distance between us, but my body wants him to close that distance and come back. 
Now.

“I have
to go,” I mumble and start to walk away from him.  He doesn’t stop me.  “Thank
you for falling into Shel’s trap,” I say as I back toward the door.

His
face is dead serious.  “It’s not her trap I’ve fallen into.”

Holy
shit.  I give him a small nervous wave, turn tail, and make a beeline for the back
door.

“Will
you tell me what is bothering you already?” I ask James.  This mood of his is
starting to wear on me.  Between his gloominess, and Shel’s begging me to go
visit Dane at the golf course every two minutes, I’m about ready to pull my
hair out.

“It’s
nothing.”

“That’s
what you always say!  You’ve been like this for weeks.  What gives?”

James
simply leans forward and places a kiss on my forehead.  “Don’t worry about it.”

I sigh
in frustration.  “You’d make me tell you if it were me,” I complain.

James
sits up and looks down at me.  We’ve been curled up together for most of the
afternoon while I read and he plays with my hair.  Ever since he was able to
throw Patrick he’s been getting really good at physical manipulation.  My hair
actually moves when he touches it now.  So far, it only works regularly on
really light things, like hair or a piece of paper.  But despite this
breakthrough, something continues to bother him.  He’s been silent lately. 
When he doesn’t think I’m looking he wears a far off expression, like his mind
is constantly preoccupied.  Whenever he catches me scrutinizing him, he quickly
rearranges his face.  When I ask what’s wrong, he always responds with
“nothing.”

My cell
rings again for the fiftieth time today.  Okay, maybe not fiftieth, more like
tenth.  But, it’s been ten calls in the last two hours.  It’s Shel.  Again.  I
let the call go to voice mail.  A minute later my phone buzzes with a message.

“Maybe
you should talk to her,” James suggests.

“No, I
know what she wants,” I shrug it off.  “It’s not a big deal to me.”

She
wants me to go up to Bay Woods with her.  Its Dane’s last day of work.  I’ve
managed to avoid him for the last week, and I’m not going to walk into another
one of her schemes again.

My
phone buzzes with a text.  I look at it.
 
Answer your phone!!

Denied. 
I put the phone down.

It
buzzes again.  I sigh and pick it up. 
Don’t think I won’t come get your ass!

“Ugh!”
I throw the phone down and it bounces on the bed.

Suddenly
James jumps up.  He looks wide-eyed and a little panicked.

“I
didn’t mean to scare you,” I laugh.  He doesn’t look at me.  “What is it?” I
ask, standing, worried now.

He
realizes I’ve asked him a question.  He focuses on me and swallows.  “I have to
go,” he whispers.

“Is it
Garrett?”

“Yes. 
And no,” he looks at me longingly.  He takes my face in his hands and plants a
soft, full kiss on my lips.  “I’ll see you later,” he says as he steps back.

My mind
snaps with precognition.  Why don’t I believe him?  “Come back to me,” I
demand.

He
nods.  “I will.  I promise.”  My phone starts to ring yet again.  “Answer
Shel,” he says.  “Do whatever it is she wants you to do.  It’ll pass the time
until I can get back.”

I eye
him warily.

“I love
you,” he says as he fades from my vision.

“I
love you too.”

Shel
impatiently taps her fingers on the steering wheel as we sit at a stoplight.  I
caved in, answered her call, listened to James, and agreed to visit Bay Woods. 
Plus I need to check the schedule since I start back on Monday.  As we sit at
the light, I try to think of all the possible scenarios she may be concocting
to get me alone with Dane again.  I think I should be safe, but you never
know.  Besides, if she does decide to leave me, this time I’ll just drive a
golf cart home.

“Come
on!” Shel groans at the light.

“Why
are you in such a hurry?” I ask.

“It’s
Dane’s last day.”

“And?”

She
gives me a sarcastic stare.

I shoot
her an exasperated look to match her stare.  “I told you to stop with this
matchmaker crap.”

“Who’s
playing matchmaker?”  She hits the gas.

“You.”

She
ignores me.  “He asked you to stop by and see him before his last day.  You
never went.  That’s not being a very good friend,” she sniffs.

“I
should never have told you that.”

We make
it to the course in record time thanks to Shelby Andretti.  She leaps from the
car and waits impatiently as I take my time getting out.  When we enter the pro
shop, the first person I see is Kris.  She gives me an enormous smile and wraps
me in a warm hug.

“I’m so
glad to see you!  How are you feeling?  Ready to come back?”

“Completely
cured and ready,” I say with a small smile.

“Well,
well, well,” I hear Dane as he enters the pro shop behind us from the
concession area.  I turn to see him check his watch.  “Your timing is
impeccable,” he notes.  “I’ll only be employed here for another ten minutes.”

Shel
shoots me a nasty look.

“I
wasn’t sure of this one’s motives,” I jerk my thumb toward Shel.

She
turns and starts a conversation with Kris, so she won’t have to respond to my accusation. 
I look at Dane and he’s wearing that damn grin of his.  “I need to check the
schedule,” I tell him.

I leave
the three of them and head to the office to look up my hours.  Ten to four on
Monday with someone named Leslie.  Sounds doable.  I take a glance at the rest
of the week to buy time.  I’m not going to lie.  Seeing Dane after a week is
making my pulse race.  Why does he have this effect on me all of a sudden?  I
worked a month with him and never had this problem!  This is not okay.  We have
to go.  What excuse can I use?

“Find
everything?” Dane’s voice is right behind me, and I jump about a foot into the
air.

“Geez!”

“Sorry,”
he laughs.  He walks over to put his shift paperwork on Kris’s desk.

“Who’s
Leslie?” I ask for a lack of anything better to say.

“Oh,
she’s new.  You’ll like her.  Older lady.”  Dane walks back around me.  He
grabs his time card.  “Well,” he pauses as he stamps it in the machine, “I
guess this is the end.”

“The
end?”

He puts
his card back and turns to me.  “The end of my excuse to spend time with you.”

I
swallow.

“Unless
you can think of another one,” he smiles.

“It’s…”
I stutter.  “It’s not like you won’t be coming around here.”

Dane
looks at me incredulously, shaking his head in disbelief.  “See you around
then,” he says as he turns to leave.

I’m
having a hard time breathing as I watch him go.  All I can manage to do is give
him half of a wave.

He
walks out of the office and out of my line of vision.  I look down and let my
breath out in a huff.  It’s not like I won’t ever see him again, right?  We’re
supposed to be friends.  I shake my head to clear it of my crazy thoughts. 
This is ridiculous.  I don’t need to be around him.

I
decide to hang out a few extra minutes in the office, so that I can avoid
running into him again on my way out.  When I estimate enough time has been
wasted, I walk back to the pro shop to find a seething Shel.

“What?”
I ask.

She
says nothing and walks out of the shop with her arms crossed.  I give Kris a
wave and tell her I’ll see her on Monday.  I follow Shel to the car and get
inside.  She immediately turns on me.

“He’s
says you’re not interested.”

I give
her an exasperated look.

“I gave
him your number.”

“You
did what?”

She
smiles sweetly at me.  “You’re welcome.”

Back at
home I try to pass the time by picking up where I left off reading.  Will I
ever finish this damn book?  I’m having a hard time concentrating on the
words.  Where is James?  I hope everything is all right.  I silently pray that
this won’t turn into one of his prolonged absences.  That will surely drive me
insane.

My
phone buzzes with a text.  What does Shel want now?  I already fulfilled her
demands for the day.  I roll over and pick up my phone.  The text is from a
number I don’t recognize and contains only one word.

Grace?

I hang
my head.  And so it begins.  I respond
Yes?

A
minute passes. 
Just making sure this is really you and not the pizza joint
.

I
smile. 
Really me.

My
phone goes silent.  I set it down and pick up the book.  I actually get a
chapter in before my phones buzzes again.  I look at the message.

Come
over
.

My
mouth falls open.  Come over?  Is he serious?  My heart involuntarily starts to
beat double time.  No.  No, no, no, no, no.

I send
back
Sorry.  Can’t.
and set the phone down.

Buzz. 
Why?

Maybe I
should just turn my phone off.  I hit ‘Reply’ and stare at the empty screen
trying to find a reason.  The reason I want to send is ‘James’.  I wonder how
that would go over.

I feel
the hair rise on the back of my neck, like someone is watching me.  I look to
my right, over my shoulder, and see James has returned.

“Hey,”
I toss my phone aside.  I swing my legs off the bed so I sit facing him.  “So
what’s up?  Everything okay?”

James wears
a haunted expression.  He looks lost and anxious.

My
pulse picks up as I take in his demeanor.  “What’s wrong?” I ask nervously as I
stand and walk toward him.

His
eyes focus on me and soften a little.  “I’ve been assigned a Ward,” he says
quietly.

I
breathe a sigh of relief.  “That’s…that’s sooner than we thought.” I try to
bring my pounding heart under control.  “But this is a good thing, right?  It
means you’ve done well.”

He
looks at me like he wants to say more, but he can’t find the words.

“This
means we’ll see less of each other, doesn’t it?” I ask sadly, remembering our
conversation from weeks ago.  I wrap my arms around his waist and place my head
against his chest like I always do.  How will we manage to see less of each
other?

James
makes no move to hold me.  I glance down to see that he hasn’t moved and then look
up into his face anxiously.  “Does this mean you can’t touch me anymore?” I
ask, panicked.

“Emma,”
James places his hands against my shoulders and steps out of my arms.  “You are
my Ward.”

His
statement takes a moment to register.  “How…how is that possible?”

“Your
Guardian has been released,” he says gently.

“You
said that rarely ever happens,” I blink, confused.  My heart begins to pound as
my mind races back in time.  I remember how adamant James was over the idea of
being my Guardian, how it was against their rules, how he wouldn’t be able to
love me anymore.  “What does this mean?” I whisper.

James
looks down and slowly takes my hands.  He stares at them while he speaks.  “It
means I will always be bound to you.  That I will be the one to guide and
protect you throughout your life.”

“Until
I release you?” I ask hopefully, choosing not to remember that he told me it
would be impossible if he were my Guardian.

He continues
to look at our hands and shakes his head no.  When he looks up, his expression
is full of pain.  “I am no longer allowed to love you.”

I feel
like my breath has been knocked from my chest.  “How did this happen?”

“Garrett
assigned me.  He felt I was ready.”

“Why
would he assign you to me?” I ask him, distraught.  “Is this a punishment?”

 James
closes his eyes.  “When your Guardian was released, Garrett saw it as a way to
help me.”  He stares at me again.  “Ever since you were attacked I knew I couldn’t
bear to lose you, whether some outside force or a new love took you from me.  I
couldn’t shake that possibility from my mind, and I let my mood overshadow
everything else.  Garrett saw this and he understood it.  He explained that
binding you to me as my Ward will keep me in your life for as long as you
live.  And at least I’ll have that.  Because the likelihood of you choosing me
in the end, the likelihood of you releasing me, is...small.”

“No,” I
shake my head, trying to erase what is happening.  “Who is he to say what I
would decide?  He doesn’t know how I feel!”

James
looks at me defeated.

“Where’s
my
choice?” I demand of him, pointing to my chest.  “I don’t choose
this!”

“It’s
not up to you.”

I
clench my fists as my eyes fill with angry tears.  The pain in my face is
registered in his.  “I love you!  I need you in my life!”

“And I
will be,” James tries to reassure me.  “I’ll still be able to see you, to talk
to you.”

“But you
won’t be allowed to love me,” I say flatly.