The Sentinels come on, make it easy, say i never mattered.

Penn wondered what was going through her mind as she stood there. She seemed a little less tense than when he’d first come upon her, but still not right. Far from it. Not that he was judging—he was something of a disaster himself these days. But in truth, hadn’t he always been?

Her departing words seemed abrupt and sent a spasm of what could only be described as panic through him. They’d barely even had a full conversation and she was bailing already? With hardly any verbal abuse? And no physical abuse? Things were way more off than he’d thought.

”First off, the last time I saw Bronco, he attacked me for no reason, so no need to worry that we’re going to start chatting like old pals if I have the misfortune of running into that meathead again,” Penn reassured her with a bit of a grin—he liked getting under his cousin’s skin, ”And second, you’re leaving already? You’ve only insulted me four times. I thought you had a quota to fill.”

He smiled, but his heart was aching. He knew he couldn’t ask her to come along on his errand, not this time. And while he might be tempted to go jaunting about with her again, the presence of her brother made the idea far less appealing. It left him only with this one, chance encounter, so he wasn’t willing to let it go so easily.