Credence

“Watch a movie with us?” he suggests.

“I thought you said they couldn’t get up here,” I say instead.

He plops down on the couch, propping up the weapon on the arm of the sofa. “They can’t.”

“So why are you both up guarding the place?”

“Precaution.”

“For what?” I press, almost amused. “Is your plan really to open fire on police officers if they show up?”

Noah shakes his head. “Not them.”

I shoot a look to Kaleb, who watches the fire as he takes a drink of his beer, and then back to Noah.

He must see a puzzled expression on my face, because he’s quick to explain.

“Holcomb and his cronies know that we’re safe from them up here during the winter,” he points out, “but also…whatever and whoever is in town… is safe from us, too.” He grabs the beer on the end table and twists off the top, tossing it next to the lamp. “If the snow isn’t as thick as we want, I wouldn’t put it past him to ambush us tonight and try to take you back down the mountain before we woke up and lost our chance to follow you in the weather.”

So…

I glance between them. “You’re guarding me?”

He feigns a smile as his only answer.

They’re awake at one in the morning, armed and alert for me?

“Awwwww,” I croon, faking teary eyes and putting my hand to my heart.

“Shut up,” Noah grumbles.

I laugh quietly, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a beer from the fridge.

“So, what will happen, then?” I ask, sitting cross-legged on the couch next to Noah. “When the snow melts, will Kaleb be in trouble?”

What happened tonight was the locals’ fault, but I know if I wasn’t here it wouldn’t have happened at all.

“It’s not your fault,” Noah assures me, pointing the remote and clicking the TV on. “They were looking for you for a reason.”

“Why?”

He takes a deep breath and sighs. “Because for some people, it’s not enough that they have their share,” he explains. “They want it all.”

I study him as he scrolls the streaming choices. I’m not sure I know what he’s talking about, but at least it sounds like this didn’t start with me. I pull the blanket off the back of the sofa and cover up my legs, taking a drink of my beer.

The room falls quiet as we view the selections, but I’m not concentrating very hard. Noah is dressed in black pajama pants and a white sleeveless T-shirt, his skin still so tan and smooth, and I want to roll my eyes at myself for noticing. I just don’t get many opportunities to lounge around with them. They often stay up to watch TV at night, but I’m so wiped by the end of the day, I’m aching for my bed.

He settles on a film, something with Tom Cruise when he was younger, and I lie my head back, holding my beer as I try to watch.

The only thing I know about this movie is that he dances in his underwear, and I find myself constantly looking at Kaleb to see any sign of amusement. Or perhaps a foot tap to the music.

But his face is hidden behind the curve of the chair back, and his body barely shifts during the film.

There’s a decent soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, though. Unfortunately, Tom (or Joel) is a good kid, trying to lose his virginity at the behest of his stupid friends when his parents go out of town for a few days. So what does he do? He hires a hooker and turns his parents’ house into a brothel. It’s nothing more than a teen male fantasy, and I can’t believe this is the movie that turned him into a household name.

I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest. “This film is so dumb.”

“Is it?” Noah asks, watching Joel and Lana have sex—in public—on a train. “Your laughing over there is sending me mixed signals.”