Page 40 of Crossed Wires: The Complete Series

Annie smiled. The response was so typically Dylan. The Dylan she’d come to know and consider a friend.

Hunter rolled his eyes and muttered, “idiot,” but there was no malice in his voice. In fact, Annie could sense the affection, the love they shared for each other.

“So, you and Hunter, eh?”

Leave it to Dylan to take the bull by the horns.

She nodded slowly, wondering if that was the right reply.

Dylan’s green eyes radiated warmth and affection, but none of the lust Annie had grown used to seeing in Hunter’s. “Well, I suppose we better go ahead and make sure fate was right.”

Annie frowned, confused. But Dylan didn’t give her a chance to question him.

He placed his palms on each side of her face and pulled her toward him for a kiss.

Shock held her still for three heartbeats, four, and then she joined the experiment. She softened her lips and let Dylan lead the kiss. She tried—really tried—but after several seconds, her suspicions were confirmed. Dylan appeared to come to the same conclusion as well. He released her.

“Had your fun?” Hunter’s voice held a tinge of annoyance, maybe even a bit of fear, but no real anger.

Dylan’s easy smile returned. “Bit like I imagine kissing Linda would be,” he said to Hunter. Glancing back at Annie, he explained, “A cousin from Perth we rarely see.”

As easily as that, the ice was broken. Annie gave Dylan a friendly hug that he returned. He even picked her up and spun her around a couple times.

“Damn, it’s good to finally meet you, Annie. Has my brother been taking good care of you?”

She blushed before she could stop herself and Dylan laughed loudly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Hunter tugged Annie away from Dylan’s embrace, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in a sweetly possessive gesture. “We weren’t expecting you home so soon. Sort of got the feeling you were taking a fancy to New York.”

Annie couldn’t imagine Dylan actually enjoying city life. Every time she’d tried to picture Hunter traveling to New York, she realized it would be like placing a wild stallion in a pen, never allowing it to run free. That unnerving thought had woken her up from a sound sleep the previous night. Her first week in Farpoint had passed far too quickly. This time next week she’d be the one standing near the helicopter, preparing to return to the States or—as she’d come to think of it—hell.

“New York was all right.”

“And you met Monet?” Of all the people Annie had left behind, Monet was the one she missed the most.

Dylan nodded, his easy smile fading a bit. It confirmed Annie’s fears. Whatever had occurred between her best friend and Hunter’s brother, it hadn’t ended well. “I did.”

He didn’t offer more. Annie looked at Hunter, but his expression proved he was just as in the dark as she.

“I guess we better get you back to the house before Mum stomps out here on her own to see you.”

Dylan quickly accepted his brother’s reprieve. “Much as it pains me to say, I actually missed the old duck.”

He slung his pack over his shoulder and headed for the pickup truck, climbing into the bed with Mutt.

Annie looked toward Hunter for an explanation, but he merely shrugged. “Whatever happened, he’s not talking.”

“Maybe he just needs time.”

Hunter nodded, grasping her hand and leading her to the truck. His expression told her he didn’t believe time would help Dylan any more than she did.

* * *

Five days passed and Dylan still wouldn’t talk about his hasty departure from New York. Annie stopped pressing for details as other anxieties began to creep up on her. She was scheduled to return to New York the day after tomorrow.

Annie lay staring at the ceiling of Hunter’s bedroom, listening to his soft breathing while fighting off a growing panic attack.

Her Scarlett O’Hara approach to her relationship with Hunter had been a huge mistake. She was running out of tomorrows.