Bird cleared his throat. “Well, they’ve come an awful long way to come meet with Will…”
She dismissed us with a faint wave of her hand. “I don’t care. Send them back.”
I know Maximus had just said to not take it personally but it was too late. I felt extremely uncomfortable. What if we came here for nothing?
“Mrs. Lancaster, please,” Dex spoke up. “My wife and I have not come here to do any harm. We are here to help you. We implore your Christian hospitality to help us fight the good fight.”
I looked up at Dex. He looked the part, brow softened, eyes pleading, voice rich and sincere. For good measure, even though she couldn’t see it, he put his arm around me and squeezed.
She frowned. I wished I could have seen underneath the oversized shades.
“Christian hospitality, you say?” A dusting of amusement came across her face.
“Sarah! What are you doing up?” a voice said from behind her. A stocky man of medium height and a double-chin came out from the house. Will, I presumed.
“I was about to turn these vagrants away but it was brought to my attention that it might be very ‘un-Christian’ of me.” She laughed and headed back inside, as able-bodied as anyone.
Will looked away sheepishly and took an awkward step towards us, hand extended. His handshake was clammy and quick.
“I’m sorry, she’s supposed to be napping. She hasn’t been too happy with this whole experience that’s been going on.”
He looked at Maximus, who nodded knowingly, then at us.
“You must be Dex and Perry. I’ve heard a lot about you two. Really, I am very glad that you are here. You must forgive Sarah, she’s been dealt a few rough hands with life.”
Hadn’t we all?
I smiled anyway. Will seemed like a decent person.
“Thanks for showing them around, Bird,” Will said to him respectfully.
Bird showed his palm as if to say it was no bother. He tipped his cowboy hat at us,.“I’ll be seeing you all soon.”
He walked back to the barn, leaving us alone with Will.
“Ok then,” he clapped his hands together. “How about we get your stuff and show you to your rooms? Maximus, are you staying too?”
Dex and I both looked at him. He gave Will a quick smile, “No, I’m booked in at the hotel. Wanted to give the happy couple some privacy.”
He locked eyes with me for a second. Suddenly, I felt like I couldn’t let him go.
But he looked away, walked over to his truck and gave us a wave.
“Give me a call in the morning Dex,” he drawled before popping in the driver’s seat and leaving us in the heat. Even with Dex beside me, I now felt dangerously alone.
CHAPTER SIX
Once Maximus left, Dex and I settled into the room Will and Sarah had assigned for us. It was small but homely with a large queen bed and peeling periwinkle wallpaper. The rabbit-eared TV was on a handmade dresser, the same as the wardrobe and side tables and matched the gnarled-fence around the property. Turns out Will was quite the handyman and made most of the wood furnishings himself.
“I’ll call you for supper,” Will said before closing the door.
I looked at Dex. He was lying on the bed, arms behind his head, fingers tapping on the top of his skull. His face was unreadable.
“Not going to bother unpacking?” I asked and started to put my clothes away in the various drawers.
He didn’t say anything, just continued tapping. I didn’t like it when Dex was in silent mode, it made everything more awkward and sharing a room with him was already going to be awkward to the max.
I finished putting everything away and fixed myself up in the bathroom. It was quaint and clean with its claw-foot tub and old sink. This look would totally be in vogue in any bed and breakfast. I looked at myself in the mirror, my first look this whole day.
I looked tired, of course. There was a fine layer of dust on my hair and my lips and the skin around my nose were cracked beyond belief. I felt chagrined that I walked around all day looking like this, especially around Maximus. Not that I was thinking of pursuing him in any way (seriously, I wasn’t), I just hated to think I looked like crap around tall, handsome men. Even if they were gingers.
Then there was Dex. He was acting peculiar. I guess no more than usual, but I’ll admit I was disappointed that he hadn’t once asked if I was OK or expressed any interest in my well-being. Maybe it was the medication (and lack thereof), maybe it was Maximus, or maybe it was something else entirely.
After I slipped out of my sweaty, dirty clothes and plunked on light leggings and a flouncy jersey dress that I figured was flattering yet demure enough for a supposedly hardcore Christian couple, I stepped back into the room. Dex was still on the bed. He hadn’t moved an inch. He was staring at a blank spot on the wall, still tapping away to an imaginary beat.
“What are you drumming to?” I asked.
He didn’t look at me, just kept tapping away on his head. It was annoying, made even more so by the fact that I was trying to pick out the beat. It definitely wasn’t Slayer.
I sighed, loudly, and threw my dirty clothes across the room. They landed on the rocking chair in the corner, sending it to and fro with aged wooden squeaks. Still no response.
My next move was strangely impulsive.
I leaped onto the bed and straddled him. My arms took his out from behind his head and pinned them onto the bed.
“Hey!” I yelled in his face. “Hubby!”
He looked up at me, surprised and maybe a bit scared. I felt foolish for a second but ignored it and plowed on. I pressed his hands further into the pillow and looked straight into his wavering eyes.
“You’re going to pay attention to me now, OK? Like it or not, and I know we don’t like it, but I’m your fake wife and we’ve got a f**king job to do so I would appreciate it if you could at least just acknowledge that I’m in the room with you. OK partner?”
The fear slowly seeped off his face until I saw an expression I knew all too well. Sarcastic smile tugging at his mouth, brow aloof, eyes blasé. Of course, this regression back to quintessential Dex made the fact that I was just inches from his face, and physically pinning him down on the bed, very intriguing. And potentially embarrassing. My face was red hot in an instant.
I shoved at his hands again before coming off of him and sat on the far side of the bed. I eyed his reaction warily.