Shady Acres

Date?

When Karyssa woke up, she looked around and did not recognize it. She started to panic until she heard a groan beside her. He may not have said anything, but she recognized that voice.

"Siren, it's like 7am. It was an intense night, now go back to sleep." Liam groaned.

"Um.." She mumbled.

"Come here." He said, holding open his arms. "It doesn't mean anything. I'm just trying to comfort you. Please just let me do it."

She fought back and forth between herself.

He sighed, grabbed her arm, and tugged.

"Come here." He said.

She gave in and let him hold her how he wanted. If it helped him feel better, then maybe it would make her feel better. He kissed her on the head and snuggled onto her breathing in her scent. After a little while, they both fell back asleep. It's now 10am, a few more hours helped some. She woke up cuddled into Liam. He was awake playing with her hair.

"Siren, I know you're awake. We need to talk." He said. She cuddled into him some more. If this was the last time she would be in his arms, she was going to savor it.

"What do you want to talk about," she mumbled into his chest.

"Do you know who drove the truck last night?" He asked, rubbing her arm as a cold chill went down his spine.

"No. I wish I did." She sighed.

"Could it have been the Creep that's been texting you?" Val froze. How did he know about the text.

"How do you know about those?" She pulled away sitting up and to look at him.

"I plugged up your phone last night so you wouldn't wake up with a dead phone, and it popped up before I set it down." He stated.

"OH my gosh. You can't tell anyone. They threatened Kolton. Please." She begged him.

"Hey, hey, hey." He tried to calm her. "I'm not going to tell anyone about them, but I do have questions that I need you to answer."

"Ok. What do you know?" She asked.

"Do you know who this is?"

"No, at first, I thought it was my ex, but I don't believe it is now." She answered.

"When did this start?" He asked.

"The night of the cookout"

"The was the beginning of July, Karyssa." He shouted.

"I know, at first I thought it was my ex, when I found out it wasn't he threatened Kolton. What was I supposed to do?" She shouted back.

"I'm sorry for yelling." He said with a quieter voice.

"It's fine." She whispered.

"Let's go get some breakfast." Thank God he changed the subject. She didn't want to talk about it. He got out of bed and held out his hand for her. She hesitated but took it. When she stood up, she realized she was only in a shirt.

"Did you undress me?" She asked.

"No, you got to hot last night and took everything off, then complained that you were cold awhile later, I gave you a shirt so you wouldn't be complaining." He was staring at her legs, clearly checking her out.

Karyssa looked around the room and saw her pants grab them.

"You done gawking?" She asked as she slipped on her pants.

"Never." He smirked.

They made their way to the kitchen area, and she saw everyone gathered around the table chatting and eating. The warmth she felt coming from the warmth made Karyssa smile.

He sat at the head for the table to the left was where Zack sat. Karyssa was hesitant on where to sit after grabbing herself a plate.

"Siren, what you doing come over here and sit." Liam waved her over.

They ate breakfast and chatted here and there. She would smile and try to engage in conversation. They finished eating.

"Come on. I'll show you around the club." Liam nodded his head in the way he wanted to go.

"Club? This place is a freaking compound." She mumbled to herself.

They walked back outside. The place looks better during the day, a whole lot friendlier too. There are grassy areas for kids to run around. A small garden that has what seems to be growing vegetables. There's a little walkway that leads to a small building. There are several dogs and a chicken in a huge fenced-in area.

"We rescued them from a dog fight ring a few years back. Some have been adopted. These ones are the last of about 50 we rescued." He said while Karyssa stared to them.

"Can we go in and pet them?" She turned and asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Sure, fair warning the pit is a little skittish around new people." He said, opening the gate for Karyssa to walk through. When the gate was shut back, the dogs started wagging their tails, wanting scratches. A little while went by Liam and Karyssa chatted and joked with each other. The dogs were lying around, not interested in them, but they were still sitting there. Karyssa was feeling a little worried about going home later. She was getting ready to say something when she felt a head settle in her lap. She looked down and saw a black and white American pit bull laying its head on her lap. Shocked, she looked over to Liam. She was about to question when Liam spoke up.

"Just go with it. Dogs have a sixth sense and can judge people's character better than we humans can." He shrugged.

The longer she sat there, the longer she felt a connection with the pup. Even though the dog seemed to be older, Karyssa thinks of all dogs as puppies.

"If you want him, all you have to do is ask." Liam told karyssa as she petted the pup.

"I would have to talk to Pal first." She smiled to herself. She knew Pal would be perfectly fine with her getting a dog but still would ask.

They left the area, and Liam finished showing her around and made it to her bike.

"Umm.. are you busy right now?" She asked Liam.

"No, the only thing I have planned today is making sure Zack has everything ready for school next week. Why, what's up?" He gave her a curious look.

"Umm... is there, umm.. anyway, would you you ride with me home?" She stumbled out.

"Oh, I planned on riding home with you anyway. It would make me feel better anyway." He smiled at her. "I gotta make sure my woman is safe."

"Your woman?" She asked.

"Yup, I decided." He smirked.

"You haven't even asked me out." She stated.

"Fine. Go out on the date with me." He demanded politely.

A date? His woman? Her divorce wasn't even final. Was she ready to jump into another relationship?

He's nothing like her ex. They hopped on their bikes, and she didn't give him an answer.

They made it back to Pals without any problems.

"Hey, you never gave me an answer, Siren." He said, stopping her.

"Umm.." She started. He pulled her closer hugging her.

"Don't say no. Go on one date with me. after the date you can decide, I know you just got out of a marriage, and I'm more than happy to take things slow. I just know what I want."

She looked up, looking into his eyes. She saw hope. "Okay,"