Free Familiar Strangers by Allie Standifer Page B

believe.”
    “Ugh. Why did I bother telling you anything in the first place?” Her face scrunched up like she wanted mentally to smack herself for the loss of control that allowed the slip to pass her lips. “You caught me at a bad time,” she explained. “I was tired and cranky, and it had been a rough afternoon. Hell, Damon, I thought the man had shot Annie.”
    He smiled slightly, wincing at the pulling pain of his lips as he did so. “He shot at your dog and is still breathing? The man must have done some serious smooth talking to be alive and kicking right now.”
    Her toe dug into a loose board on the step and seemed to hold her fascination.
    Maybe he had accidentally hit on something between the two of them. He’d been praying and hoping for something like this for years, but he wasn’t sure Galen Matthews was what he had in mind.
    “He didn’t really shoot at her,” she huffed. “He thought someone was attacking me and he went all Bubba Earp on me. Whipped out his gun, shoved me behind him, and crouched like Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon.” Her lips tightened around the edge as her brain processed the information once again. “Come to think of it...”
    She stepped on to the porch pacing back and forth, stopping long enough to pat Annie on the head or scratch her ears. “Why would a man carry a gun on his own island? Who was he expecting to attack him in broad daylight?”
    He sensed she was getting too close, time for a change of subject. “I’ve heard Cajuns are a strange lot, probably going alligator hunting or something.” He shrugged his shoulders dismissing the subject. “You never did tell me what happened between the two of you at the pond after I left.”
    Regin waved a hand in the air without breaking the pace. “Nothing happened between us. We just met in case you’ve forgotten. As first impressions go, let me tell you, his was a whopper. Nothing like getting thrown to the ground, your dog almost shot, and a man practically sitting on you to impress a girl.”
    “Good point, though I don’t think it would be such a good idea for you to antagonize him. You are, after all, sharing a very small island with the man in the middle of hurricane season.” He pointed out. “You never know when you might need him.”
Regin thought it over. True, she and Galen had gotten off to a bad start, a really bad start, but tonight, holding hands by the pond, none of that seemed to matter. She’d lost any intention of shoving Galen back into the water the moment his warm flesh touched hers.
    It was as if he had stripped her outer shell away and seen beyond the barriers. This was what she was afraid of. It’s what made her so eager to leave the bar in Killeen that night. Something about him made her afraid and, like she told Damon, it wasn’t him she feared. Rather, it was something he would bring with him. If she had been forced to put words to what “it” was, she would have had to say evil.
    These feelings disturbed her more than she cared to admit. Not that she didn’t believe evil existed. No. She, more than anyone, knew malevolence abounded in the world and had touched her that awful night seven years ago. She’d felt it, faced it, and almost died from it, but she’d survived.
    A sudden chill in the air had her briskly rubbing her arms. Rather than try and push Damon for more conversation, she decided to call it a night and wait until morning to battle him for information once again. “Sweetie, I’m going to bed and you should too. Looks like your eyes have already lost the battle.”
    He remained sitting even though his eyes had closed and his breathing was slow and even. If not for the slight movement behind his lids, she would have thought he’d fallen asleep on her.
    Regin didn’t bother checking to see if he followed her into the house. She knew he would, just as he knew the conversation wasn’t over and he’d only been granted a reprieve.
    She crawled in between the sheets ready