Chapter 15: Fraying Family Ties

Garin smoothed down his chestnut hair, hoping to tame the wayward cowlick that refused to comply. He hadn’t seen Willow in a few days. After his dad had dragged him home, he had been too embarrassed to face her. That and his dad made Silas escort him anytime that he went into town until Garin had had enough and went back to his apartment for a few days just to get some breathing room.

Now he was waiting in his car outside of the café like some lovestruck idiot, hoping to catch a glance of her. The town was full of people anxiously awaiting the festival in two days. The line to the café was stretched outside. He shouldn’t bother her. Not when she was this busy.

He saw a tall, lean man come loping up the sidewalk and peer into the windows. He felt his teeth clench when he realized it was the guy, he saw her with before, Lyall. He even hated his name. Lyall cupped his hands against the glass and left, a slightly crestfallen look on his face. Good. Garin was half tempted to tell him how he and Willow had spent the night together, but he wasn’t that type of guy. No matter how much he detested him. It wouldn’t be fair to Willow to spread things about her around.

Seeing Lyall walk away, he made up his mind. He would at least grab a coffee. It was freezing and Willow really did make the best coffee in town. He took his place in line. The sun was shining brightly in the afternoon sky and it matched his mood. He had made a choice, despite his father’s threats, that he would spend more time with her. He had never felt this way before. He wasn’t going to let some old family rivalry, half of which he wasn’t even sure he believed, get in the way of that.

Her eyes met his as the door shut behind him. It was like getting struck in the chest with lightning. His entire being was consumed by sparks. She gave him a smile that made him feel like he was the only one in the room despite being utterly surrounded. He saw that she tried to hide her smile, but it kept breaking across her face as she spoke with her customers. They were as enthralled with her as he was.

He felt like he was in high school again, waiting to talk to his crush after class. Every second waiting was exciting and exhilarating. Finally, he was at the counter.

“Hey,” she said, nearly glowing. Her yellow eyes seemed brighter against her reddened cheeks. Today her hair was twisted into a simple braid that fell across her shoulder. He ached to touch it.

“Hey,” he replied lamely, wanting to kick himself.

“Latte?” she asked, breaking the awkward silence.

“Please. So, you are slammed!” he said and looked around at the teeming crowd. She nodded a giant smile on her face.

“It’s like this every year. I could close up shop after the festival and be good until spring.”

“You should. Then we could go somewhere fun,”

Her eyes widened as she passed the cup to her employee.

“We?” Her eyebrow shot up, nearly touching her hairline.

“Yeah. We. Away from…here,”

Her heart leaped. She could dream, right? Pretend that he would sweep her away and they could be together, legacies be damned.

“That sounds like…well a dream,” she passed him his latte. He flashed her a smile.

“Can I see you later?” he asked as the next customer stepped up. She nodded, not meeting his eyes as she blushed from her jaw to her hair.

He left, his step lighter, his heart full to bursting. He felt giddy. He felt like an absolute idiot and loved every second of it.

He realized he was still smiling when he arrived at his parents’ house a short time lighter. He sneaked through the basement, hoping to avoid any interaction with his father when he was stopped by his brother Silas outside of his room.

Silas pressed his meaty frame into the hallway, blocking Garin’s path. Garin sighed and rolled his eyes to meet his brother’s. Despite his brother being older, Garin was the larger of the two. He used to joke that Silas had short man syndrome despite being six feet tall. What he lacked in height, he made up for in malice.

“I see you were visiting your little she-wolf,” he sneered, looking at the cup in Garin’s hand, stamped with Willow’s café name, Dregs, across the sleeve. Garin’s eyes narrowed and he stepped closer to his brother, looking down at him.

“Jealous?”

Silas scoffed. “Please, I’m repulsed. Not only are you disgracing our name but the entirety of the Red Hoods organization. Fraternizing with the enemy. No shame. You disgust me,” Garin smiled without mirth.

“I’m not a Red Hood. Fuck legacy,” he pushed past his brother and slammed the door shut behind him. Silas glowered for a moment before stalking away. He found his more compliant younger brother downstairs.

“We need to keep an eye on him. He’s going to get us all killed.” Silas said. Miles nodded; he would do anything to earn respect in his oldest brother’s eyes.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Audrey listened to the spat, her ear pressed tightly against the door. She looked at the picture of the beautiful woman set as the background on her phone. Her black hair hung in a straight curtain of raven tresses and her mouth was upturned in a small smile. Her yellow eyes glowing.