Love Like This (The Romance Chronicles-Book #1)

CHAPTER TEN

"Are you sure you need to travel back tonight?" Eve said, holding onto Shane's hands. "It's ever so dark now."

Shane nodded. "We'll be fine, Ma. Don't worry."

He pulled open the driver's door but didn't get a chance to get inside because his sisters tackled him from behind.

"Stay!" they cried.

"We want to have a sleepover with Keira," Hannah whined.

Keira desperately wanted to stay the night—for the rest of her life, if she was being honest with herself—but her anxiety over her piece was starting to rear its head again, no thanks to Joshua's curt email. Only now the pressure was even worse because she was wrestling with the addition of feelings of self-loathing.

"I'm sorry," Shane told his youngest sister. "But I'll bring Keira back another day, okay? She's here for the whole month, after all."

"Are you, Keira?" Hannah squealed, looking more excited than ever. "Will you come back next weekend?"

"I don't know about that," Keira said. "If my work is going well then I can. I'm a bit behind at the moment." Saying it aloud made her feel it more keenly, and her stomach sunk.

"Not everyone spends their days skipping through buttercup fields, sis," Shane said drily to Hannah. "Some people have to work."

His little sister pouted. Shane pulled her into a bear hug. "I'll see if I can convince her to another trip later."

Keira couldn't help but feel rather mournful at the thought of a missed trip to see the family. She wished she'd met them all under completely different circumstances, perhaps as a traveler or wandering nomad type, then she could stay guilt free on their lovely farm for as long as she wished. As it stood, she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt about the piece she was supposed to be writing. How could she insult this wonderful place that created such delightful humans as Shane and his family? And how disappointed would they be when they read her words in print, bashing them for being simple? She felt sick with anxiety.

Finally, they got back into the car and Shane waved his final goodbye to his family. He reversed the car out of the drive and turned them around onto the small dirt path. There were no streetlights and Keira found the darkness somewhat suffocating. Even when Shane turned out onto the main road, which was at least made of asphalt, she still felt the blackness crowding in on her.

"You okay?" Shane asked.

Keira nodded.

"Are you mad that I kept you away from your writing for so long?" he said. "We won't get back until about midnight at the earliest."

"It's not that," Keira said.

Shane fell silent, turning his attention back out the windshield.

"Is it Zach?" he asked after a long moment.

The pit that was already in Keira's stomach grew. She hadn't given Zach so much as a second thought all afternoon. She'd allowed herself to get completely sucked into the magic of Shane's family home. Now it felt like reality was back to bite.

"It's work," she said dismissively.

"Writer's block?"

"Something like that."

Shane gave up trying to get Keira to talk. She slumped in her seat, resting her chin on her fist and watching the hedges zoom by out the window. She felt like she'd blown everything, her writing and things with Shane. What a mess it all was.