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He turned and strode out of the kitchen, shutting the door behind him. Savina burst into giggles, the look of discomfort on her brother’s face familiar. The idea of his baby sister having sex had grossed him out from the time they were teenagers, and she found it endlessly amusing.
She turned to Hal, the giggles dying out. “Hal? Honey, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said.
She hurried over to him, sliding her arms around his waist. “Warren wasn’t upset, honey. I know my brother, and that wasn’t him upset. That was him surprised and completely grossed out by the fact that I’m having sex.”
“Right,” Hal said, but he was still a stiff board in the circle of her arms.
She pressed a kiss against his chest. “It’s no big deal. Warren isn’t a gossip, but I’ll talk to him later this afternoon and ask him to keep what he saw to himself, okay?”
Hal nodded, but he looked like he was only half-listening.
“Hal?” She cupped his face. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m fine,” he said. “It’s all good, Savina. I need to grab my shirt. I’ll be right back.”
She didn’t believe him, but she nodded and released him. He headed upstairs, and uneasiness making her a bit queasy, she grabbed the bread from the pantry and a mixing bowl from the cupboard.
When Hal returned, she tried to smile naturally at him. “How many pieces of French toast would you like?”
“Oh, actually, I have to go,” Hal said. “I forgot I told Solomon I would help him with something at the ranch this morning.”
“Okay,” she said, that unease growing steadily thicker. “Do you want to call me when you’re finished, and we can have lunch together?”
“I’m not sure I’ll be done by then, but yeah, I’ll text as soon as I’m done.” Hal headed toward the front door, and she trailed after him as he slipped into his jacket and grabbed his helmet.
“Hal?”
He stopped with his hand on the doorknob. After a moment, he turned and smiled at her, but his smile looked off.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I am,” he said before leaning forward and pressing a quick kiss against her mouth. “I’ll text you later.”
He left, closing the door quietly behind him as a wave of cold apprehension settled over Savina.
CHAPTER16
Savina slid out of her truck and walked toward the vet clinic. She was here to talk to Warren, but not seeing Hal’s car or his bike in the parking lot was giving her already stressed out brain another thing to worry about. Hal had been acting strange and distant since he’d left Sunday morning, declining her invitation for dinner on Monday night and giving brief replies to her texts. It’d only been two days, but she couldn’t sit around on her ass any longer. She would talk to Hal tonight, but, first, she wanted to speak to Warren and confirm that he and Hal weren’t fighting or being weird with each other.
The reception area was empty and quiet and Laila smiled at her from behind the reception desk. “Hi, Savina. How are you?”
“I’m good. How come you’re behind the desk today?” Savina asked.
Laila was the clinic manager and didn’t typically handle reception.
“Oh, Brooklyn had a doctor’s appointment, and Fatima needed to leave early for her son’s basketball game. Do you have an appointment this afternoon?” Laila scanned her computer screen. “I don’t see you on the schedule.”
“I don’t have an appointment,” Savina said. “I’m here to see Warren.”
“Ah, well, he just finished his last appointment for the day, so he should be free. Head on to the back,” Laila said.
“Thanks, Laila.” Savina pushed through the swinging door that separated the rest of the clinic from the front foyer. A girl with bright green hair stood in the treatment area, drawing a clear liquid into a syringe.
Nathan stood at the treatment table, petting a large gray rabbit that sat docilely on the table. He glanced up. “Hi, Savina. How are you?”
“Good, thanks. How are you?”
