Page 38 of Treasured Secrets
"Good morning." The top was down on his car. He reached in and grabbed a tray of coffee.
"I wasn't sure how you liked it, so I got you some selections. I thought you might need it."
His voice was gentle. He didn't sound tired at all. I, on the other hand, was exhausted. I reached out and grabbed the one that was plain coffee with cream only.
"Simple girl, nice." He walked me around to the other side of the car and opened the door for me. I couldn't stop smiling. I sat down, sipping my coffee and buckled my seatbelt. He reached over me, picking the tray of coffee back up.
"I'm going to take this in there for everyone else so that it doesn't go to waste." He was in and out before I could even look at myself in the mirror.
I noticed my family crest imprinted into the upholstery on his leather seats and his dashboard. He saw me staring at it.
"Better protection for you," he explained. "If you're going to be with me, you're going to be safe. My crest works best on our blood, which I don't need it, but Mom and Dad do. I know your crest works better for your blood. I figured it was better safe than sorry, you know?"
I could feel myself falling more for him with each passing second. "Thanks."
He glanced at himself in the rearview mirror as he sat down. I looked at him, admiring how much better he looked than yesterday.
"Thank you for the coffee. I did need it. Four hours of sleep isn't so refreshing, so caffeine was a must. You keep saving me."
He put the car in first gear, smiling cockily. "That's what I do."
Chapter 9
Changers
It's amazing at how much better you can see when you open your eyes.
School finally ended, and Tallis was waiting on me when I walked to my locker. McKee and Taryn walked up.
"Hey, Aria, we were just going to tell you that we we're going to follow you home today. I didn't see your car outside though." McKee paused. He was talking to me but he was staring at Tallis. "I thought maybe you might want to catch a ride with us."
I looked at Tallis, hopeful he was going to join in and object to that for me. He didn't let me down.
"I'll take her home. I put her crest in my car. so you don't have to follow her. Everett said earlier that he would walk us out to the car, so we should be good." Tallis put his arm around my waist possessively.
I smiled, but then McKee made that smile vanish very abruptly. "I was talking to Aria. I don't remember saying your name."
He was angry, or jealous, or maybe he was both.
"I couldn't tell, since you were staring right at me." Tallis's comeback was quick and spoken with layers of threatening tones.
"I don't take my eyes off of a Craymon when they're around. It's bad enough that our coven let you sleep at their house, but now they're letting you touch her?"
I could see the glowing red anger racing violently through McKee's brow. He wanted a reason to fight with Tallis.
I had to interject and stop the fight before it started. McKee was looking for any reason to turn my family against Tallis. My tone was slightly more scolding than I had planned on it being. It seemed as though my frustration with McKee grew as I spoke.
"Stop it, McKee. This is ridiculous. He takes care of me. I'm safe as long as I'm with him. There's nothing more important to my family than my safety."
Tallis had been there for me when I needed him most. I wasn't going to let McKee put him down without stepping in.
"Whatever."
McKee rolled his eyes and motioned for his sister to follow him as he walked away. He wasn't going to let this go easily though. I knew there would be more confrontations between the two of them.
Everett met us outside and walked us to the car. Tallis opened my door, and then we headed back to my house. The drive was nice with the wind in my hair. I looked to the right and saw a brilliantly white horse. I started to say something, but then I saw Tallis wave at the horse.
I playfully teased him. "Friend of yours?"
