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A loud squawk came from the lawn around the side of the house, and we both turned as Jack appeared, Chessy hot on his heels.
"That chicken is ... interesting," Jace said, his voice amused.
I laughed, the tension between us fading. "She is," I said. "She seems to like Jack."
"She slept outside his door," Jace told me.
This was new. Chessy had only been around the past couple years, and I'd been here once in that time, with Zac. He'd been so offended by the idea of a house chicken that we'd had to keep her out in the coop with the other chickens while he'd been here, though she didn't get along well with the ladies of the coop and she squawked continuously, upsetting them all the whole weekend. Tess said none of them would lay eggs for weeks after we'd gone. I wanted to tell her I was pretty sure Zac had that effect on everyone.
"Morning," Jack called as he passed.
"Good morning," I called back.
He disappeared again, around the other side of the house, and I looked back to Jace, trying to figure out how I could find time with him, how we could make the best of this. "Come to my room tonight," I said.
He nodded once, then picked up his tea, sipped it, and then went back out onto the lawn, taking up his watch again in the shade of the big oak.
I sat on the porch and watched him, stoic and proud and strong. And so handsome it broke my heart to look at him and know I couldn't touch him.
Chapter Twenty
Jace
The morning passed in a swelter of humidity and sunlight, my guts twisting into a painful knot any time I let myself think about McDonnell and his perfect straight-toothed smile being anywhere near Juliet.
Standing watch, unfortunately, gives you plenty of time to think, and as I finished my shift, I tried to tell myself this was what she had to do. It was to protect her. It wasn't about us.
By the time Chad and Christian appeared to take over, I was bleary-eyed and ragged, and it had little to do with the time change or the long night, but I still went gratefully to my room.
During the day, all four of us had areas of responsibility, but I already knew this weekend was going to be calm from a crazy-fan perspective. The house in Maryland was secluded, and the dense woods around it, along with the river on one side, made it fairly inaccessible for your run-of-the-mill photographer or star-struck nut job. Still, it paid to remain vigilant, and I had no intention of letting my guard down during our time here.
It was lunchtime when I came back out of my room, having taken a shower and tried hard to talk myself out of strangling McDonnell the next time he touched Juliet.
"Hi there," said a bright voice in greeting as I stepped out onto the back porch, following the sounds of dishes and the smell of food. Juliet's sister, Tess, had risen to greet me as I'd come out.
"Hi," I said, shaking the small hand she'd reached out to me.
"I'm Tess," she said, "and this is my grandmother, Helen." She waved at a woman with gray hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, wearing a bright pink sweat suit, complete with a thin gold chain that held a tiny clock face. I recognized Gran from the photo at Juliet’s, though in that picture she’d been wearing a dress.
"Hi," I said again. "Nice to meet you both." Gran was exactly as Juliet had painted her for me.
"There's some food on the counter in the kitchen. You're welcome to grab a plate," Tess said.
"Thank you," I said, unsure what the expectations were for staff versus those who lived here. The place reeked of old school southern tradition, and I imagined it might have been the kind of place that had a separate servants' dining room. I looked around, and spotted Chad at the table inside, wrapping his sizable mouth around a cob of corn. "I'll eat inside," I told them.
Gran didn't say a word, just swirled a brownish drink and eyed me under her lowered brow. I had the feeling the woman didn't miss much, and a little spark of worry flared in me for Juliet.
I ate quickly, sitting across from Chad, who made inane conversation the whole time we were in the kitchen.
"Some place, huh?" he asked.
I grunted a response as I took a bite of my sandwich.
"Seriously fancy, right? Like old money fancy."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I just took a sip of sweet tea instead.
"And the sister?" Chad blew out another low whistle, signaling his apparent appreciation of Tess's looks. "Good genes in the family, man. But that old lady ..."
