Sang
"Today's event has been planned out really well," Sang said as she and North got ready Saturday morning, trying to keep her voice upbeat. "I think the kids will really love it. Or maybe I should say teenagers? They'd probably be offended if I called them kids to their faces. And call me out on it, since you and I are only nineteen. But maybe they don't know that."
They hadn't seen or heard anything from Mr. Blackbourne's team since Luke showed up at the garage, leaving her wondering what on Earth they were doing. It made sense for them to give North space after he yelled at them, but she also couldn't imagine them sitting around doing nothing. Academy boys didn't do nothing. So were they also here for a mission? Or were they using this time to make plans for how to get North back?
North snorted as he brushed her hair over her shoulder. "We'll be lucky if none of the advisors mistake us as members of the Boys and Girls Club. Especially you, baby. I'm pretty sure some people in town think you're fifteen and I'm some creep for robbing the cradle."
Sang flushed at that. North probably did look older than her, just because he was so tall and broad. But did she really look that young? Probably. Makeup might help, but she didn't like the feel of it. Not because Gabriel always told her girls looked like crap with it, it just wasn't something she could imagine bothering with. "Maybe if I wore high heels?" she suggested. She didn't want anyone thinking poorly of North.
He smiled. "I'm not that concerned about it, Sang Baby." The smile faded as he studied her. "Are you doing okay?"
She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Of course I am. You know I've been looking forward to this. I—"
His eyes darkened as he interrupted her. "Don't lie to me."
She hesitated, though she should have known North would never let her get away with deflecting or pretending that everything was okay. "I don't want to lose you." The words were out before she realized it, escaping without her permission. But it was her biggest fear. She trusted North. She absolutely did. But she'd trusted the rest of them too. Believed that they loved her and wanted her. Believed that they really were a family. It took her so long to truly feel it, to truly believe it. And it all fell apart so easily, without anyone really telling her why.
North's eyes flashed as his voice rose, his tone turning harsh. "That's not possible. There's no way I'd leave you, especially not for them. Are you seriously doubting me after all this?"
Her hands tangled in the bottom of her shirt. "But I didn't doubt any of the others before either. I never believed they'd walk away from me. And last night—" She broke off with a flush, not wanting to continue, but it was too late.
North gripped her shoulders. "You had a nightmare, didn't you? And you didn't tell me. What happened in it? Did I leave you? For them?"
She didn't answer. It wasn't quite that, but it was close enough. They were together on an island, just the two of them. They were stranded, but they worked side by side to make things work. And then, one night during a storm, he left. Without a word, without ever looking back at her, sailing away in a tiny boat as Sang cried from the shore that she promised to be better, that she promised she would do it right this time, if he just told her what was so wrong about her.
He growled under his breath before pulling her to his chest, wrapping his arms tight around her. "You're supposed to tell me about those," he chastised. "That rule hasn't changed, even if you don't get them like you used to." Then his voice turned bitter. "Of course seeing one of them again would set off the same abandonment nightmares you had after they walked away."
She still didn't say anything, hating how pathetic she felt. Every little thing shouldn't give her nightmares. Not that people who'd claimed they were her family walking away from her was little, but still. She hated it.
North pulled back to look down at her, holding her by the shoulders again as he gentled his voice. "Baby, the guys were a huge part of my life. Of course losing them hurt." His grip tightened. "But losing you would hurt so much worse. I have never regretted my choice to go with you for a single second. And I never will." He lifted one eyebrow in challenge. "Have you ever once felt like I did?"
She shook her head, and he asked, "Do you trust me?"
She flushed red. "Of course I do." She couldn't help adding. "But I trusted them too." So maybe she wasn't such a good judge of character or at least of judging how other people really felt. " When they left like that . . . It's like they just threw me away, North. And they wouldn't even tell me to my face that they didn't want me any more." She'd worked so hard to build up her self-esteem, to feel like she had value after her step-mother and half-sister hated, abused, and blamed her for things that were never her fault, and her dad walked away from her without a second thought.
Then she was left by her new family and all those feelings of being worthless and unwanted came back all over again after she'd worked through them once already. Her and North going from place and place and helping people they came in contact with everywhere they went had helped a lot. Getting outside of yourself and serving others was pretty amazing therapy. But seeing Luke again . . . brought it all rushing back. And she didn't want it to. She wanted to be strong, happy, and helpful at today's event.
North distracted her from her thoughts by cupping her face in his hands. "I could never live without you, Baby. Your smile. Your light. Your compassion. Your gentleness. How well you know and read me." He bent down to whisper in her ear, "I never could have left you, Baby. Not at any point. And now, after having all of you be mine and all of me be yours? I'd rather die than walk away from that."
She blushed at his whispered words, swallowing as heat spread through her. It made her want to prove right there and then that all of her belonged to him and all of him belonged to her—her, not the ones who'd left them. Sliding her hands over his neck, she pulled his mouth down to hers, capturing his lower lip between hers and sucking. He made a noise deep in his throat, his hands sliding down her back.
She shivered at the touch, sucking harder at his lip before slipping down to bite his neck. He jerked against her before lowering his lips to her neck, teasing her with gentle brushes of his lips before laying an open-mouthed kiss on her, then another. She held her breath in anticipation and cried out with pleasure when he finally bit down, keeping his teeth there as her grip on him tightened.
When he finally released her, he nipped at her ear before growling, "Are you still wanting to help the club today, or were you looking to spend all day at home with me instead? Because I'm more than happy to not let you leave this house for several hours."
She let out a little squeak as red covered her whole face. She'd gotten carried away. "Sorry! We already committed to being there, so we should probably go." She hadn't meant to add probably. They should go. Both because they'd said they'd be there and because they really did want to help. Attending all the events they could was an important way to show these kids that they really did care, that they really did want to support them.
He gave her a gentle peck on her lips. "Later, I'll be more than happy to demonstrate for you many, many reasons why I would never leave you."
She hadn't been sure she could get any redder, but North's latest words proved she still could. Quietly, she told him, "I love you, North." She wanted to express more than that. How much everything he'd ever done for her from the moment they met meant to her. How grateful she was for him every day. How happy she was to be married to him. But she didn't know how. Maybe later that day she could work on showing that to him.
"I love you too, Baby," he promised, brushing some of her hair behind her ear. "Now get your pretty butt in my truck before I change my mind about us staying here instead."
She flashed a smile, pecking his lips before running out the door.
~.~
Sang
Hours later as the event at the largest park in Willard ended, Sang felt much lighter. Coming here and helping these kids had been exactly what she'd needed.
One teen girl helped her lift a cooler as another walked beside her friend, accompanying them both to put the cooler that had held sandwiches back into the car of one of the few paid employees of the Boys and Girls Club.
"I really loved your last book," the girl helping with the cooler said, her eyes earnest as she pushed her blond hair behind her ear. "It's my favorite of the three you have out."
"Totally," her friend agreed, her dark brown hair held up in a high ponytail. "Your characters and stories are so relatable."
Sang smiled at them as they stored the cooler in the trunk. "I'm so happy to hear that. Readers finding something to connect with in my stories is why I write them." The paycheck was nice to help support her and North, as was getting to work from home and have flexible hours, but helping others through her writing was what she really hoped to accomplish.
"Did you have a difficult childhood?" the blond asked. "The abuse in your books reads so real, not like someone writing about something they don't know anything about."
Sang paused, not sure how to answer. This wasn't a topic she exactly wanted to discuss with near strangers, but, for all she knew, these girls could be in less than ideal situations and she wanted to connect with them. And it wasn't like she had to go into any detail. "My parents were pretty difficult," she said carefully. "There was abuse and a whole lot of neglect in the house I grew up in."
"I know about neglect," the brunette said, her tone bitter. "But I guess it's better than other things."
"Better doesn't make it okay," Sang said quietly. She'd told herself so many times growing up that other girls had things so much worse than her. Kota had once told her she was too dismissive over her own abuse. The thought of him nearly made her wince. With a whole lot of effort, she'd gotten good about not thinking of the other guys. She hoped spotting Luke wouldn't ruin that. Or them being in town for who knew how long.
The brunette gave her a grateful, lopsided smile that made Sang glad she'd shared the little she had. Then the brunette sighed as she looked across the park at the boys. "I hope one day I find my Prince Charming, like you did with North."
Another adult volunteer standing nearby raised her eyebrows at the girl's comment. She flashed a self-conscious smile when she caught Sang looking at her. "I'm so grateful you and North are helping out. Just look at all those boys talking with your husband. He's just . . . a little bit intimidating, so charming isn't my first thought when I think of him."
Sang returned her smile. "I'm well aware of how my husband can come across. I thought he was intimidating the first time I glimpsed him too." Which hadn't been helped by the fact that he'd thought she was some random girl who'd broken into the church his uncle was thinking of buying.
Naomi, another volunteer who owned a bakery that Sang really enjoyed, winked at Sang. "But apparently the tall, dark, handsome, and brooding type is your kind of guy."
"He can give off a brooding air sometimes," Sang admitted. Though she imagined people in town thought that because North still wasn't interested in talking to people who weren't important to him. He was polite enough with anyone who talked with him, but he didn't start conversations on his own. Though she couldn't help thinking to herself with a pang that North wasn't the only type of guy she was attracted to. But she certainly wasn't bringing that up.
Sang blinked as she saw several adults not part of their group setting up folding chairs in a grassy area near a stage-like cement structure that was part of the park. Naomi had told her the town sometimes held concerts there during the summer.
Naomi laughed at Sang's confused look. "Did you forget about the town meeting today? We're discussing the decrepit old colonial section of the town. It's been a protected historical site for forever, but Willard ran out of money to keep maintaining it years ago, and now that area is practically a public hazard." She slid a look at the two teenage girls still nearby. "It's getting harder and harder to keep bored teenagers out of it."
The brunette held up her hands with an innocent smile. "Don't look at me. I'm always hanging out at Andrea's house or at the club."
The blond nodded with wide eyes. "Right. We always hang out together, usually at my house, like Jen said. My mom would ground me for a year if she heard I'd been there. And my step-dad would be so disappointed in me, I'd probably cry."
Naomi nodded. "Programs like the Boys and Girls Club helps keep kids occupied, but an abandoned area that's off limits is really tempting to plenty of kids on a weekend night."
"What does the town plan to do with it?" Sang asked. Now that Naomi was talking about it, Sang vaguely remembered hearing about a town meeting to discuss some historical site, though she hadn't seen it yet.
Naomi shrugged as the two girls waved and walked off with the third volunteer to be driven home. "That's what we're going to discuss today. Some people want to tear it down and turn it into a business area to attract more businesses to Willard to help the town grow, but a lot of people are protective of our town's history, especially the families who've lived here for generations. Some of them argue we can spruce it up and turn it into a tourist attraction that will still help the town grow, but who has the time or money for that?"
North reached them then, and Sang pointed to the chairs being setup. "Should we stay for the town meeting?"
He shrugged as he slid his hands into the pockets of his black jeans. "We decided to set down our roots here, so why not take an interest? Though I don't really care what happens to an old section of a town we don't have much connection to yet. Do you?"
She shrugged. "Maybe hearing the history would be interesting."
North lifted one eyebrow. "I doubt it, but we'll stay if you want to."
She hesitated before nodding. It wasn't like they had anything else they needed to do that day. Well . . . they technically had plans together that very much involved them being alone, but there wasn't any timeline for that. And she wanted to be more invested in Willard. Even if they didn't end up caring what happened to this section of town, they could still support what the majority of the town wanted as a show of solidarity with their new community.
"Let's go help set up," she said, taking North's hand. Naomi smiled as she followed them, also grabbing folding chairs to put up.
An older man helping to hand down chairs from a truck that had driven them to the park beamed down at her and North as he handed them chairs. "Look at the two of you. Coming out early on a Saturday morning to help out the Boys and Girls Club, and now sticking around to set up for the town meeting. We're so lucky to have you here. And it's nice to get some new blood in town."
Sang smiled back at him as she took the chairs. "Thank you. We're more than happy to help." Though she nearly laughed at her taking a measly two folded chairs, while North walked away from the truck with six. She helped him set them up, hearing two kids running around nearby talking with each other.
"Have you seen the fairies at the creek bed?" a little boy asked a girl.
She shook her head, her pigtails slapping her cheeks. "Not yet, but my older brother has! He said he'd take me when I'm older."
"What's that?" Sang asked Naomi, who'd ended up beside her as they unfolded chairs. "The fairy and the creek bed?"
Naomi laughed. "Oh, it's just a local legend that if you go to the creek bed on the west side of town as the sun is setting, you can see fairies dancing over the creek."
Sang smiled. That sounded cute. Now she kind of wanted to check it out. She'd never lived anywhere that had local legends before.
North snorted. "On the west side of town, it's probably just the light of the setting sun glinting off the water that they're seeing." Sang tried not to pout at his attitude. It wasn't as though he knew what she'd just been thinking. And she knew he would go with her if she asked him to . . . but he would also think it was silly.
Soon, North and Sang were seated by Naomi as the mayor stood by a microphone up on the stage, a charming smile on his face. North always called it a politician's smile, though Sang wasn't quite sure what that meant. But the way women in town always stopped to watch Mayor Caleb go by made her wonder if his good looks, fit body, and wavy hair had helped him win his position. Not that she didn't think he was competent, she just couldn't help wondering if it was a factor. And being in his early thirties and single might have helped too.
"Welcome everyone," Mayor Caleb began, his smile still in place. "And thank you so much for coming out today. There have been many ideas put forth, as well as a lot of concern expressed, regarding our town's beloved historical site. For our meeting today, my primary question to all of you is: how would our town feel if there was a group willing to restore this area, as well as set it up to be a tourist attraction, as has been suggested by so many townspeople? Who all would support this?"
Several hands went up, though Sang spotted more than one disgruntled look among those who she assumed wanted the area used for businesses instead. But . . . if she'd grown up here, she would probably want the historical site to remain. So she raised her hand. North lifted an eyebrow at her before raising his hand as well. Naomi, her hand already in the air, smiled at them before whispering, "You're both part of this town too, so your votes absolutely count."
On the heels of her words, Sang heard a young woman seated in front of them loudly say to her friends on either side of her, "I can't believe the town is still arguing about this. There's no point in fixing up dusty old buildings. I'd much rather have new clothing stores instead." Obviously, her hand wasn't up, and neither were her friends.
The mayor beamed at the crowd, clapping his hands together once. "Wonderful. I'm so happy to see that the majority of you support this, because I have incredible news. An amazingly competent group has come to me with just this offer. I looked into their backgrounds, and they come highly recommended, and have all the skills and know-how to pull this off." He waggled his eyebrows almost conspiratorially. "I have it on good authority that they are also eager to become part of our community here in Willard, and I can't imagine a better way than them saving our beloved historical site."
He turned to gesture at the other end of the cement platform, where stairs lead up to it from the back. "I'd like to invite the town to welcome this team who've swept in like our very own superheroes." As he spoke, eight handsome young men climbed the steps to line up on the platform as all the blood drained from Sang's face, her hand blindly gripping for North at seeing all their old family members at once.