The North Star | COMPLETED ✔️

Chapter 50~ Wash Rags

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Chapter 50

"About that..." Scarlet walked up behind me. "She showed up not long after y'all left and has been hanging around the shop ever since."

"Her daddy died," Lexy added as she joined us. She sounded less like a brat than the last time I'd met her, but she was dressed much the same. Crop top, short-shorts, belly button ring, and enough makeup to make a nun cross her chest. "I guess Zeke knew him really well, so he's been keeping an eye on her. Mama said that was the only family she had."

I nodded, throat tight. When I looked back over, the pair had broke apart, and Bard was coming towards me with long purposeful strides.

He knows I saw him.

A green eyed monster fought to take control of my sense, but I pushed it aside and focused on being rational. He'd told me the story there. He'd done nothing to make me doubt him.

Bard ignored the two girls beside me and gently cupped my arm.

Scarlet and Lexy took the hint and left to get more groceries out of Zeke's truck.

"I didn't know she'd be here," he said. His hand ran up my arm. "She hugged me. Not the other way around..."

"I know, Bard." I heaved a sigh, held onto those rational thoughts a bit tighter, and forced a smile. "It's okay... I trust you." I laid a hand against his chest.

He smiled and cupped my cheek. "Good."

"What is this?" Zeke appeared, eyebrows raised, smile wide and open. "Did something happen out here I don't know about?"

Bard's lip twitched. "Stop. You're making her blush again."

"I don't blush."

"Oh, you're definitely blushing." Zeke rumbled a laugh as his eyes danced between the two of us. Then he took in my increasing discomfort, and blessedly offered a reprieve. "Alright, none of my business..." He lifted his hands then focused on Bard. "I thought we'd camp. There's a lot of people here. We ain't gonna fit in the cabin anyway, and Charlene really wants to head up to the hot spring. I brought a couple tents."

Having no opinion, I simply nodded and made my escape. My face was hot, my chest was tight with an anxiety I couldn't shake, and I was having a really hard time hiding these things when a patch of auburn hair still dominated my peripheral vision.

I needed a moment alone to gather my thoughts, but Scarlet and Lexy had other plans.

The moment I exited the door, I was accosted. One girl on each side took an arm and steered me back the way I'd come. They past Bard and Zeke without so much as a glance, and kept going until we reached the bedroom.

Scarlet shut the door and latched it, and Lexy threw a bag onto the bed. "Zeke said we're going camping."

I eyed them both. "Yeah... and?"

"We're going to the hot spring." Lexy unzipped the bag and pulled out a strip of black cloth.

"You need a bathing suit," Scarlet clarified since Lexy didn't seem to have any intention of doing so. "Lexy packed a couple extra for you to borrow."

I warily ran my gaze over the half-naked girl, then each scrap of material she pulled from the bag. "Those aren't bathing suits. They're wash rags."

Lexy snorted, then shot Scarlet a secret smile.

Scarlet grinned at me. "Nope. They're bikinis."