“I suppose you consider brooding manly,” she said. “But it’s still sulking.”
He felt the corners of his mouth twitch in a reluctant smile. “Anna used to accuse me of the same thing.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Were you and Anna close, before she married my brother?”
“Yes,” he said, his smile fading. “We were very close.”
“You must have missed her this past year.”
He thought of the lonely grayness. “You couldn’t know how much.”
“I have a brother, too,” she reminded him. “I missed Dean terribly when he moved here. I do understand.”
He only nodded, knowing she couldn’t guess at what real loneliness felt like. What it was like to face an eternity of solitude. He hoped Bailey would never know that fate.
He wished he knew exactly what he had done to deserve it, himself.
“You make me crazy, Bran Cameron,” Bailey said after a moment. There was a hint of amusement in her voice, but it didn’t show in her eyes.
“Why?”
“I think you already know the answer to that”
He smiled faintly. “Yes. I suppose I do.”
“You’re not exactly an average sort of guy, you know.”
“Not exactly,” he agreed, his smile deepening.
“You’re secretive.”
“Yes.”
“And obstinate.”
“Very likely.”
“Deliberately enigmatic.”
“Perhaps.”
“Why do you keep coming around if you’re so reluctant for me to learn anything about you?” she asked bluntly.
“Maybe I’d like to help you, Bailey,” he suggested.
She looked surprised. “Help me? But I’m fine.”
“You’re unhappy.”
“Just temporarily bummed,” she said with a shrug.
He frowned. “Bummed?”
“Discouraged. I’ll get over it.”
“So there’s no need for me to keep coming around, as you put it?”
She bit her lip. “I hope you don’t stop.”