Page 49 of The Pretenders of Copper County
It took me a second torealize it was me.
Chris woke upeverynight? He’d known I was there all along?
“And Reed doesn’t like to talk about himself much,” Chris went on. His shoulders hunched slightly, and he toyed with the hem of his shirt. “What he enjoys, or what he wants, or who he is. It’s like… it’s like he doesn’t want anyone to know him, which is kinda funny because my whole life, all I’ve wanted was for someone to know me. And, you know, that might make it sound likewhy do you like this guy?” He laughed lightly. “But I do. Gosh, I really do. I like being with him. I like who I am when I’m with him. I feel excited. And safe. Andseen… mostly. With him, I don’t always have to be cheerful even when I’m not, which is…” He glanced up, realized he had the rapt attention of four teenagers, and turned bright red. “…nice?” he concluded weakly.
Chris didn’t realize it, but he had my rapt attention, too. How the hell did he know me so well? How did he know meat all?
Then again, that shouldn’t have been a surprise any more than Chris’s adaptability was because if I’d learned one thing about my protectee, it was that Chris didn’t just see the best in people; he saw people,period. And he treated them as if they were worthy of his kindness and his time, whether they were weed-smoking gardeners in blanket capes, or angry biker-girlfriends, or an orchard owner in love with his land, or… or a grumpy, bossy Division agent who absolutely did not butcher song lyrics, no matter what Chris said.
Listening to him talk, I wondered when I’d gotten so jaded about things. When had I started expecting people to lie and situations to get fucked up? Maybe it was afterfifteen years at the Division, or maybe it had started way earlier, when my stepmother left my dad?—
Or maybe it doesn’t fucking matter when it started because it’s kept you and your protectees alive, hmm?
I blew out a breath.
See? Upside. Down. Land.
It was fucking intolerable.
“I think it’samazing,” Vega breathed. “Wow.”
“It’s pretty cool,” Mary-Kate grudgingly allowed.
“So how’d you two meet?” Mini-Watt demanded. He leaned against the railing close to Chris because, apparently, he didn’t understand personal boundaries any better than his dad did.
“Oh. Well. That’s a… a funny story, actually.” Chris’s fingers fluttered, clenching and unclenching so fast I could practically hear them hum. He rubbed the column of his neck. He shifted his weight. “We, uh… we met when I was a… a hardworking charcuterie specialist and Reed was a… a… down-on-his-luck cheese enthusiast,” he began before launching into an utterly unbelievable tale involving arsenic baked into cheese straws that I was pretty sure drew heavily from the plot of that television show he liked so much.
I shook my head, torn between horror and amusement.
“So you see, Reed basically saved my life. And now, here we are,” Chris croaked. “Honeymooning.”
Both girls sighed. Even Mini-Watt looked impressed.
“That’s stupid,” Zach pronounced, and despite my own concerns about Chris’s story, I briefly debated the ethical implications of smacking the shit out of a teenage boy for insulting my husband.
Fakehusband.
Fuckingprotectee.
Whatever.
Fortunately for him, Zach quickly continued. “Who decides to comeherefor a honeymoon?” He waved a hand to indicate the placid, sunlit lake, the perfectly blue sky, the wild calls of the loons. “It’s boring as fuck.”
“You think?” Chris smiled, clearly not offended. “I think Copper County’s awesome. O’Leary, too. You might take it for granted, living here and all, but it’s pretty special to find people this friendly in a place this beautiful. Then again, I’m a pretty boring person.”
I couldn’t help snorting loudly at that. Luckily, no one heard me.
“You’re exactly right about this place,” Vega agreed. “I only ever came here for a week or two in the summers growing up, but my uncle and I moved here permanently last fall. I thought I was going to seriously, seriously hate it ’cause it’s so small. But honestly, it’s been kind of awesome for both of us. Uncle Bennett found Theo earlier this summer, and I got a job and made friends.” She slung an arm over Mary-Kate’s shoulder. “I kinda wish I’d lived here always.”
I turned and leaned my back against the tree, letting the cool lake breeze wash over me as I settled in to listen. It turned out small-town drama was a lot more fun when I wasn’t involved in it.
“How nice for you.” Zach sounded simultaneously cranky and superior, the way only a teenager could. “I’mleaving the millisecond I graduate. I can’t wait.”
“Sure,” Chris agreed. “If you’re not happy, that makes sense.”
“See?Hegets it,” Zach said.
“Assuming youdograduate,” Mini-Watt taunted. “And don’t wind up arrested for reckless driving or tagging Copper County with yourshitty graffiti.”
