Everything Looks Better Ch. 04

"I'm leaving for a while."

She sat up quickly. "How long?"

"Not long. A few days."

Sitting back, she fought to calm her erratic heart, tried to sound casual. "What for?"

"Just tying up loose ends."

"Is it the pilgrimage?"

"Not yet."

"It's been ten years."

"And four months."

So he was paying attention. Raine thought maybe he'd lost track of time.

"So you'll be back?"

"Mm-hm."

"Good," she said and cheekily added, "Someone has to fix the air conditioner."

"Hmph." A clipped laugh.

Several minutes went by. A distant fishing boat slowly loomed through the sparkle of the moon on the water and the waves of its passing were just now hitting them, rocking the houseboat in lazy undulations.

"You do know if you left for good, I'd really miss you," she said, flinching a little at her own vulnerability, but it had to be said. He had to know.

Auron said nothing. Not even a trademark grunt. He was so hot and cold, some days she didn't know what she was going to get.

She swallowed a lump in her throat. She didn't want her voice to crack when she mocked him, deep and scratchy, "I'll miss you, too, Raine. It sure was swell of you to let me stay here while I fulfill my promise to your dead brother—"

"Stop," he barked, reproachful. "Of course I feel the same. I didn't know I needed to say it."

Raine protruded her jaw, ripped off the striped beach towel and threw it down on the deck in a soggy wad. She was suffocating. "Just go, okay?"

Auron flashed an annoyed look. "What's gotten into you?"

"If you go, then I can stop dreading it and move on."

"You're tired," he said gently. "Let's go inside."

"Don't tell me how to feel." She wanted to be mad at him a little longer. It was the only time she felt in control. Jory could never make her angry like Auron could; her barriers had gotten too thick by the time Jory came into her life, but somehow, Auron had snuck through a breach when she was still a kid, when she was still able to trust and make connections. Raine downed the rest of the beer, feeling the sink of loneliness that always came when someone she loved went away. "Want another beer?"

From her peripheral vision, Raine saw the shine of his glasses as the moon reflected off them. "I've had enough," Auron said. "So have you."

"Don't tell me what I want, either," she said. She got up and went inside for a beer.

Auron was gone by morning. She didn't see him for three months.