This chapter is dedicated to sarah0715000. Thanks for all your help with my contest!

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"A chicken."

"A chicken!" Josslyn tosses her hands in the air. "I was a chicken during my third reincarnation?" She lowers her voice when she notices the gawkers beside her.

Edwin chuckles. "Yep, but not just any chicken. You were one of those lucky chickens that took to the sea in Christopher Jone's Mayflower."

Josslyn's eyes widen in astonishment. "I was on a ship with the Pilgrims?" She yells into the bluetooth. A massive crowd gawks in response to her odd statement.

"You got it, baby, you made history."

"Oh my God. Then what happened?" She yells at the empty seat across from her.

"Then they ate you. You're a chicken, remember?"

"What! Why didn't you save me?"

"Well, I can't make love to a chicken, can I? I was invisible anyway. I couldn't rescue you no matter how hard you begged - or clucked. You were a feisty little plucker though, took the skin right off of old Mrs. Pudgy Face Winslow's thumb. She grabbed your neck, pinned you down to a tree stump, took an ax and went 'Wham'!" Josslyn gasps and grabs at her throat.

"Hey," Edwin chuckles at her reaction. "I didn't enjoy watching it just as much as you didn't enjoy experiencing it."

"How horrifying." Josslyn struggles to breathe. "To think I was a human, then a lizard, then chicken broth for the pilgrims, then a... please tell me I was one of King Charles's cavaliers in my fourth lifetime."

Edwin shakes his head.

"Tell me! What was I during my fourth lifetime?" She urges him on.

"Nope, not going to tell you yet." Edwin chuckles. "I gotta have a reason to keep you half interested in me, honey."

"I'd be even more interested if you tell - hey!" Josslyn shoots to her feet. "There's someone sitting there!"

The rude man who had just stollen Edwin's seat slowly lowers his newspaper. She gasps at the familiarity of those blue orbs. "Wyatt!"

"Well, it seems I finally got your attention - and everyones else's."

Josslyn glances around the cozy rustic cafe. All the patrons were stupefied by her. She'd been sitting here for nearly thirty minutes and the chair in front of her has yet to be claimed by anyone.

"Sorry." She mumbles sheepishly and cowards back into the wooden chair.

"Seems like I took someone's seat. Who's?" Wyatt's tone spikes with amusement.

Josslyn shakes her head excessively. "No one."

He raises an eyebrow. "You sure?" He mocks her.

She felt a tinge of anger. She's not obligated to tell him anything. "Haven't you heard of common courtesy? Ask before you sit."

"Oh, you too have heard of common courtesy? Use it. I've called your name four times in a row."

"Oh," she's taken back. "Sorry. I guess, I was deep in conversation."

"With who?"

Josslyn grunts. This guy is so rude! "That's none of your business."

Wyatt ignores her. "Must be that invisible man of yours. In fact, if you weren't on your blue tooth, I would have thought you were talking to someone sitting directly across from you. It appeared like it - you going off on one of your crazy rants again, talking to air and what not."

He glances at her blue tooth. "Why are you keeping the poor soul on for so long? Hang up. I got...police business to discuss with you."

Josslyn clenches her fist. She only takes demands from two men: the man upstairs and the one probably standing beside her but she acquiesces and hangs up with Poor-Soul-Nobody.

"What do you want? I've already apologized for dragging you out into the mountains."

"Yeah, I feel pretty exploited."

She tears away from his gaze. Yes indeed, she exploited his kindness and she feels guilty about it but she sure as hell wasn't going to admit it. "You can't feel exploited if you agreed to it."

"You guilt-tripped me." He leans back into the chair and waves a finger at her. "You're more clever than you let on but that's besides the point. I've been meaning to call you."

"You gave him your number!" Josslyn jumps as Edwin's voice reverberates in her ear. "Why would you do that?"

She grits her teeth and mentally scolds Edwin. Stop talking to me! God gave me two ears to listen to one conversation, dammit!

"...so I need to know, who's Edwin?" The last of Wyatt's words reemerge and grips her attention.

"What? Say the whole thing again!"

Wyatt sighs in annoyance, seriously? "I said I could have taken you in for questioning after we returned from the mountains but I didn't. Try as I might, I can't pretend that I didn't hear a man yelling in the forest and I damn as hell know you heard it too - considering you took off running after him. You claim to know this man. Who is he? Who's Edwin?"

Josslyn sneers in mockery. "Aren't you two weeks late for saving someone?" It's her weak attempt to avoid his question.

"Yeah, and now I'm two weeks due to react like a crazy person. I mean, what was I suppose to do? Drag you in for questioning because you 'claim' to be in love with an invisible man? They'd lock you up before you can bat an eye and I don't mean jail time, honey, I mean the mental institute. In fact, I shouldn't even be having this conversation. I wanted no part in your..." he waves at all of her. "Craziness."

"Then just forget about the ordeal. Just leave me alone and please delete my number why you're at it."

"Here's your Cup of Joe!" a chirpy barista bearing the name tag Vanessa saunters toward them, interrupting their conversation. She struggles to balance a steamy cup of coffee that whirls and swishes aimlessly in a large fancy mug on saucer.

"Sorry your coffee took so long, one of our machines are dow -" Vanessa trips over a bag. The scalding liquid swishes and hurls out of the mug, launching toward Josslyn's face like an angry animal ready to scorch skin and claw eyes.

"Shit!" Edwin instinctually steps in front of the soaring coffee but the molting liquid whips right through his invisible body. His vision blurs as Wyatt steps over him to take the brunt of the burn. All the patrons gasp in unison as the man in a pine green sweater grimace to what is sure to be first degree burns. A stubby man with the name tag Owner runs over to inspect the damage.

"Sir! Are you okay?" He glances back toward the kitchen. "Who made this cup of coffee?" He can tell this beverage's temperature is far hotter than the legal limit by the steam rising off of Wyatt's sweater. The owner scrunches his brow in worry and feels a lawsuit fast approaching.

"Vanessa, you're fired." Vanessa nods without defiance and refrains from bursting into tears. "Look at what you did to this man!" He continues his assault, "don't bother working in another restaurant, you're a liability. The damage you -"

"Stop." Wyatt raises a hand to silence the owner. "Please don't make a scene. It hurts your business more than you know." He grimace and nods toward Vanessa. "Don't yell at her. It was clearly an accident. Is your restroom available?"

"You can use my private bathroom." The owner mumbles and leads Wyatt into the back of the cafe while he does a walk of shame. Wyatt follows him and enters a small restroom in the farthest corner of the café . He closes the door behind him but it immediately swings open.

"Let me see." Josslyn locks them inside the restroom. She reaches for his shoulder where the darker shade of green outlines its lighter counterpart. Wyatt pulls away. "No. I don't need your help."

"Please just let me see the burn." Josslyn's lips quiver.

"I said I don't need your help." Wyatt whirls around but she clings on like a remora.

"Please just let me help you." She chases his gaze and blinks back tears.

Wyatt grits his teeth in annoyance. "I said no!"

Josslyn grips the chest of his sweater to force his undivided attention, "just let me fucking will you?" She presses her head against his sternum and sobs.

"Let me help you," she whispers. "It's the least I can do to thank you." Heck, this man rescues her without request, hesitation, or protest. If he hadn't taken the fall, she'd wear burn marks on her face forever or worst, go blind. She isn't guilt-tripping him. She's eternally grateful. If anything, he's guilt-tripping her and she needs to pay off the debt.

He sighs in defeat. "Fine," he groans.

Wyatt steps back, pauses to reconsider his decision, then hesitantly lifts off his shirt. He tosses the sweater to the side as Josslyn muffles her gasp with both hands. The streaks of burn mark pale in comparison to the three bullet wounds that scar his chest and stomach. The fourth bullet grazed his shoulder and has yet to heal properly.

Wyatt gulps. "By all account, I should be dead."

Josslyn slowly brings her hand down. "Somebody's been watching over you Wyatt." She nods to the wound that grazed his shoulder. "How did you get this one?"

"I'm a cop, bad guys get a real kick shooting at me."

"Doesn't sound fun to you." She whispers with concern.

He shrugs nonchalantly. "Occupational hazard. I've learned to live with it."

"And these?" She points to the remaining three bullet wounds. He gives her a 'that's none of your business' stare.

"I've shared my secret with you, share one with me." She half means it.

"Your secret? About your invisible man?"

She nods and he scoffs, "keep telling yourself that and you'll end up writing a Wattpad novel. Besides, I'm not as creative as you.

"Then tell the truth."

"No."

She nods and sighs in defeat. Hell, she was just preaching common courtesy, she might as well practice it. It's rude to meddle in other people's business anyway.

Wyatt notices her disappointment and for absolutely no apparent reason, he instantly yearns for her approval. Why do I have such a soft spot for this crazy woman? Hell, what harm could it do to tell her? The entire world knows about it and with just the slightest digging, she'd find out anyway - not that he wants to talk about it. Some things are better left unspoken, left undisturbed and lost in hazy memory.

He clears his throat, "I caught the first three bullets, I missed the last one." His throat dries, "that one caught my wife."

"Oh my God." Josslyn's heart rose to her throat. She felt deep unrelenting shame. She recalls his long drawn silence when she had ridiculed about substituting his wife.

"I'm so sorry about your wife, Wyatt."

He shakes his head. "Don't be. It was a long time ago."

"How long?"

"Six years and counting."

"Every minute, I'm sure."

"No. Every second."

Wyatt's head dips low, his shoulders slump forward and for the first time, she saw him for what he is: Broken. This man is still mourning over his wife. 

"Thank you for sharing something so private with me."

"I've never personally shared this with anyone." He turns to her. "Thank you for listening," he whispers.

A smile slowly appears on his face and her hearts misses a near beat. Wow, this man can light up a dark room with his smile. She's at a standstill, dazed and breathlessly caught in the moment with a man she finds completely insufferable. Edwin has been the only man she's ever experienced these moments with and to share them with someone else boggles her mind.

Shit, Edwin!

She bolts for the door. "Edwin!"

Everyone turns toward her in pure shock and surprise. Once again, she's managed to embarrass herself in front of a crowd. She scratches her head and waves apologetically all the cocked heads. "Sorry."

She clears her throat and listens. Where is he?

"Here," an employee shoves a first aid kit into her hands. "Just yell out if your boyfriend needs anything else."

"Oh no, he's not - " The employee scurries away before Josslyn could finish her sentence.

She reenters the bathroom to see Wyatt glaring at her suspiciously. "Looks like Edwin made it out of the forests okay." He mocks her. She gulps, yeah you just don't know, you brought him home.

She doesn't want to discuss about Edwin. All she wants is to repay her debt, bid her adieu, and never run into this man again. She felt a stab of pain. Stop it! You're a married woman! She drapes a cool wet towel over the burn mark that sprawls across his shoulder and bare-naked back.

"Am I hurting you?" Josslyn asks as she carefully lathers Aloe Vera over his red tinted skin.

Hurting me? He doesn't reply. No. How could such gentle fingers from delicate hands cause him pain? The soft concern tone in her voice resonates warmth and sincerity, riveting his slumbering core and mellowing his soul. He blushes. He feels an awaking from a deep place he can't pin point and for the briefest moment, he wanted to remain locked in this intimate space, cornered by narrow walls, frozen in time with this beautiful crazy stranger he wants nothing to do with. He wants nothing more than to remain submerged in the irony of it all.

Time slows and space tightens. Sparks fly and embers reignite.

Josslyn feels an unfamiliar arousal as her eyes trail down the muscular ridges bordering the gorge of his spine. His broad shoulders beckon a good leaning. The narrow of his waist begs for a tight embrace. He leans slightly onto her and her knees weaken as he gazes down on her, his eyes trailing each curve of her lash, the ridge of her nose, and the creases on her bottom lip.

She gulps and takes a step back to avoid escalating the sexual tension. Shaking her head to rid the lingering tingles, their eyes lock and she reads body language.

Wyatt is falling for me which warrants even more reasons to flee.

She grabs his shirt, hands it to him dismissively, nods a farewell, and walks out of the suffocating space. When she hears him trailing behind her, she quickens her pace.

And indeed, Wyatt is trailing behind her, closing the gap between them.

He slips the sweater over his head and glances toward the back of the kitchen to see the owner consoling crying Vanessa. Much better. He bites his lip as Josslyn bolts out the door. He races after her. Hell, he's never been more intrigued by her. Even her craziness is now half appealing. It makes her seem so genuine, so down to earth, so real and vulnerable. He smiles. I won't be calling her crazy anymore.

Josslyn makes headway toward her winter beater parked beside the curb. She shields her eyes from the sun as she searches frantically inside her purse for her key. She curses, she needs to buy a smaller purse.

"Is he okay?" Edwin asks with insincerity.

She jumps, "Edwin!"

He'd been waiting by the car. There's no way he'd be stuck inside the same building where his wife remains locked in a room with another man. He hears her breathe a sigh of relief.

She nods.

"Did you thank him?"

She nods.

"Good. Let's go home."

Yes, Home. She breathes in relief. Soon she'll be far away from Wyatt and his alluring presence. She opens the passenger door for Edwin and notices Wyatt running toward her. She slams the door and dashes to the other side of the car and quickly crawls in. Hell, she'd rather run into a bear any day than face this man head on! She's terrified by the sensations he arousing within her.

Wyatt grips her door before she can slam it shut in his face. He pins it wide open and stares down at the sweaty woman who huff and puff like she had just lost a sprint.

"Tell him to back off. You've already thanked him." Edwin snaps from beside her.

She slowly shifts her eyes toward Wyatt and gulps down her temptations. The more she looks at this man, the more she feels herself falling but into what?

"What more do you want? I've thanked you." She can barely breathe.

"Then allow me to do the same. Thank you," he whispers.

He grabs hold of her seatbelt and extends into her car, flushing her into her seat. She catches a whiff of his clean fresh scent. His face is nearly inches from hers and she's forced to trace the curve of his jawline, his close shave, his profile pout, every crease and wrinkle on his face.

Wyatt buckles her seatbelt and smirks. "I may be off-duty, but that doesn't mean I won't write you a ticket."

"I don't expect less." Josslyn suppresses a smile.

"Maybe you should expect more."

A slow grin spreads across her face. This man loves twisting her words and worst, she finds it amusing. They stare at each other for what seems like a slow eternity, locked in some sort of trance she can't decipher.

Beep!

Josslyn's car horn startles them. Wyatt cocks his head, that thing just went off on its own. "You should get that looked at." He nods at the steering wheel.

She nods excessively and glances at the passenger seat, I'll fix that all right.

Wyatt smiles, shuts her door and she drives off down the street lined with shades of autumn foliage shimmering in sunlight. She stares in the rearview mirror and watches Wyatt sauntering after her car. His moronic smile grows ever wider as both hands clasp onto his chest. She glances at the empty seat beside her. Edwin's silence is unsettling.

"Wyatt and I didn't do anything in - "

"Don't." Edwin interrupts her. Wyatt's lovestruck smile had said enough. "Be sure to wear your wedding band from now."

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