The Truth about Broken Trees (Light Keeper Series Book 3)

by Kelly Hall

  “Sorry, I got just the thing.” He winked at Hunter, opened the fridge and waved a hand at the variety of sodas. “Help yourself.” Then he looked at me, pointing. “You like grape sodas?”

  I nodded.

  “You’ll love this,” he said, twisting the top off the short bottle. I took it and sniffed it. It smelled good, so I took a swig. It was wonderful. The fizzy fruity fusion awakened my taste buds. I turned it up and took a long draw.

  “Whoa,” Owen said. “That’s pretty hard stuff, Lily, take it easy.”

  “It’s good. It’s just a grape soda.” I turned it up again.

  “It’s alcoholic.” Talon laughed as my eyes widened and I took a better look at the label.

  Outside, the music, which had been pulsing loudly over the sound system, came to a stop and changed songs. I heard a big roar from the crowd and through the window a group of people cleared an area in the yard just off the porch, where they started dancing.

  A pretty blonde came in, weaving through the crowd like a pro, and found Ray. She stood there looking bored until he acknowledged her.

  “Hey, Tia, meet my boys. This is Owen and Hunter, this is Lily and Talon and this is my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, the lovely Holly. Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Tia.”

  Tia looked about twenty years old which was about twenty years younger than Ray, even though he looked only a few years older than her. The Water had done him well. Tall, thin and bleached blonde, she had unnaturally big breasts that busted out from the top of a shredded black t-shirt.

  “Hi.” She gave a wide smile and then turned to Ray. “I’m bored! You’d said you’d dance with me.”

  Ray sighed and waved her away. “I’ve got guests. I’ll be out in just a minute.” He pulled her in, gave her a very inappropriate kiss and patted her butt as she walked away.

  She giggled and turned back to wink at Owen. “You look just like your daddy.”

  “Hey now, don’t be stealing my woman,” Ray warned Owen with a teasing jab to the arm. I glanced to see his reaction but caught Talon’s instead. He watched as Tia weaved her way out and then I gave him a nudge. I wondered what the girl from Houston looked like. Was she more like me or Tia or prettier? I felt my face get hot, unsure if it was from the drink or my thoughts.

  Minutes later Ray went off to find his girl and then the group spread out, and eventually I sat alone in the hall waiting for the bathroom to be available. I’d left Talon outside with Hunter discussing ATVs.

  Finally the bathroom became free and I had my turn. I patted cool water at the back of my neck. I felt hot all over and it was definitely from the alcohol. I told myself I shouldn’t have any more, but when I came out of the bathroom, Owen found me passing the bar and called me over.

  “Lily! I got somethin’ for ya.” He beamed at me with a wide grin and came around to meet me, pushing a drink into my hand and pulling me with my free one into the kitchen. “What happened to Talon?” he asked.

  “He’s outside with Hunter looking at Ray’s assortment of motorized toys.”

  I took a peek inside the cup then smelled it. It was nice and fruity, like pineapple.

  “So he finds that more interesting than being with you?”

  “I came in to go to the bathroom.” I sighed. “But nice try.”

  “I was just kidding,” Owen said stifling a chuckle. “I love to push your buttons.” He poked at my nose playfully.

  “I better get back outside.” I left him on his way to the poker table and went out to the shed to look for Talon. I looked across the back field and around the other side of the shed. French stood nearby talking to Coy.

  “You looking for Thomas?” he asked, using Talon’s last name, like all the other jocks in school.

  “Yeah, he should be out here with Hunter.”

  “I think they just left.” He pointed into the woods and as I turned to walk away, he grabbed my arm. “So now that I helped you, when are you going to help me?” His alcoholic breath warmed my face.

  “I’m not talking about it here,” I snapped. He grasped my arm tighter and leaned down over me. Helpless, I could never call my Light in this crowd, and he knew it.

  “You keep putting me off, Lily. I need your help and you’re wasting my time,” he spoke through clenched teeth.

  “Hey, you got a problem, boy?” I heard Ray’s voice call from the shed. “Aint you been taught any manners? Never put your hands on a lady like that.” At least when French grabbed me, he hadn’t felt me up, even if it was inadvertently like I hoped. Suddenly Ray stepped closer to French’s face faster than I could speak. French dropped my hand and his eyes seemed to glaze over. “I think we need to talk.”

  French looked terrified with his brows covered in sweat. He trembled and staggered away nervously with Ray’s hand urging him forward.

  I looked inside the shed and saw that at least one of the big four-wheelers was gone. Surely Talon wouldn’t go off on it after drinking? He’d only had one, but still. Maybe Hunter offered to drive?

  I drank a sip of the pineapple concoction. It tasted so sweet and good. I could only taste the faintest trace of alcohol. Had Owen made it weak for me? I walked over to the crowd where Holly stood talking to Tia.

  “Hey, where are Hunter and Talon?” I asked, interrupting Tia.

  Holly motioned to the tree line. “They’re off in the woods on those two monster four-wheelers.”

  “Talon’s already had a drink. Hopefully he’ll be careful,” I said.

  “I know, I told Hunter to be careful. I wanted to protest, but I could see the gleam in his eye. You know how much he loves to ride.”

  Ray walked up without French and I wondered just what went down. I glanced off into the distance toward the shed, but I didn’t see him.

  Ray noticed me looking. “Hope you weren’t upset by French. He won’t bother you again.” Then he walked over and stood behind Tia, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder. “You were telling them your life story?” He laughed.

  “Just making small talk. Where’s that son of yours? I bet he’d like to talk, too.” She glanced at him with a smirk.

  “Owen is underage,” he reminded.

  She giggled. “That never stopped you.”

  “That’s a vicious lie.” He seemed truly offended. “You were nineteen; perfectly legal. At least that’s what you said.” He glanced to me and Holly and winked. “You’ll have these two thinking awful things about me.” Too late.

  “He’s really not so bad.” She gave a sly, flirting smile. “For an old man.”

  “Do I look like an old man?” he flirted back. He really didn’t. He looked late twenties, tops. I wondered at just what age he’d started taking the Water and what age he was now. If I started taking the Water from now on, how would my aging progress? Wouldn’t people notice? Did he share it with Tia? It seemed a waste to invest so much money into her only to let her sag with age before he did.

  Owen walked across the crowd of dancing drunks and joined us. He brought me another one of the purple coolers. I’d almost finished my pineapple drink.

  Tia’s eyes lit up at the sight of him, and I saw that Ray still held her in his arms, probably holding her a lot tighter than before.

  “Hey, are you still alone?” Owen asked, sliding an arm around me. “Where are the guys?” He looked at Holly and made a face. “They’re missing all the fun. I just won twenty bucks.”

  “You won at poker?” I asked. I thought back fondly to a day in the late summer when I’d beaten him every game we’d played.

  “Yeah, those other guys are so drunk! Hey, you wanna make some money?” He smiled wickedly. “Lily’s been known to play a pretty mean game,” he explained to the others.

  “Really?” Ray laughed. “I’d never guess Lily as a player.”

  “Oh, yeah, she’s a player, all right.” Owen sighed. I made a face at him, and Ray laughed as if they had some secret joke between them. Finally Hunter came walking up and I loo
ked for Talon behind him.

  “Hey, where’s Talon?” he asked, before I could.

  “I wondered the same thing,” I said.

  “He should be along any minute, then. We got separated in the pipeline. Hey, does that go all the way to Bragg?” He asked Ray. “I thought I recognized the old house just up the way.”

  “You probably did if you ride the line often,” Ray said. “That place is unsafe, though; been there for years, best to stay clear.”

  “Owen, you know the place. You thought you saw someone in the house once, remember?” Hunter looked off into the darkness toward the path. Ray’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything else.

  I felt myself getting hotter, and decided that I should slack off the coolers. I passed my drink over to Holly and grabbed hold of her arm as everything started to spin.

  “You okay, Lily?” She asked.

  “I feel like I should go sit down.” I lifted my hair with my free hand. As cool as it was outside, I had begun to sweat.

  “Uh oh,” said Owen. “You want me to take you inside to the bathroom? Are you gonna hurl?” He whispered close to me so the others couldn’t hear.

  “Just help me inside. I’ll be fine. I just want to take this coat off.” I felt myself getting dizzy again. It seemed to come in waves.

  Everyone cleared the way as Owen helped me inside. We walked to the living room where a crowd of people were gathered—way too many people.

  He wove me through the wavy sea of strangers. “I need to lie down.” It took everything I had not to kneel to the floor. I need to be low.

  “Come on, let’s get you closer to the bathroom.” He walked me down the hall to the first door past the bathroom. Once he opened it, he quickly closed it, “Whoa! That’s occupied.” He gave a short laugh. “Shame you can’t un-see things,” he mumbled, opening another door before flicking on the light. “Here ya go.”

  Boxes and mix-matched furniture filled the room. It looked as if someone had used the place for storage while moving in and had never unpacked. Probably Tia. Owen cleared a path and led me to a futon.

  I sat down, peeled off my coat, and then lay back. I felt like a fool. I couldn’t believe I’d drunk so much that I got sick. “I only had three drinks.”

  “Lily, those drinks had enough Vodka in them to make a Russian tipsy. You just couldn’t tell with all the flavoring and carbonation. It wasn’t just pineapple and grape soda. You should sip them next time.”

  “There won’t be a next time. I’m never drinking again!”

  “Never say never.” He smiled down at me. “Can I get you anything: barf bag, garbage can? Want me to hold your hair back while you puke?”

  “Could you please just shut your face?” I’d gotten woozy enough without his help.

  “I’m just saying, I think it’s inevitable. Be right back.”

  It seemed like a long time till he returned. I wondered if he’d ever come back or at least send Holly to check on me. I should have just stayed away from the drinks and enjoyed the party.

  I wondered if Talon had returned. Surely he’d come to check on me soon. Then I started to worry that he’d gotten lost or wrecked. What would I tell Tom if he got hurt? I couldn’t remember if he’d only had one beer or two. Maybe just one, but I remembered he’d also had a shot. I decided to call his cell, but I only got the voice mail, which meant he had turned it off. It was usually on.

  Finally Owen came back in. “You still hanging in there?” He sat a lined wastebasket next to the futon and then sat on the end at my feet.

  “Don’t shake the bed while the room is spinning. Where’s Talon?”

  “Well, that’s what I came to tell you.” His tone matched his grim expression. “He hasn’t come back yet.”

  My eyes widened.

  “Now, don’t get upset. Ray and Hunter think he may have broken down or gotten lost. They’re going out looking for him. Holly went with Tia to check the main road to see if he ended up there. French is even taking his Jeep down the pipeline to help. It’s a whole big search party.”

  A search party! I thought of Kevin and the way that everyone thought he died. By the story we told he’d wrecked his four-wheeler and hit a tree. I grew more nauseous with worry of karma.

  “So we should go look too!” I sat up too fast and felt the earth turning even faster. I slumped back down. My stomach rolled.

  “No, no! Ray told me to stay here, keep an eye on the house and the party and make sure you don’t puke on his carpet. They’ll find him. I’m sure it’s nothing.” He stroked my hair. “Don’t worry.”

  I tried to sit up again, determined to go find Talon, and just as I got to my feet it felt as if everything within me was about to erupt. I fell to my knees and hung over the wastebasket just in time. My body tensed as I heaved.

  “Ugh,” Owen said. “Hey cool... it’s purple.” He pulled my hair back and then he made another sound. I think he was trying not to get sick himself.

  Finally, I wiped my mouth and I slumped to the floor beside the can. My stomach felt like someone had scooped out my innards with a fork. My breath tasted awful and I hid my face, which was hot from the stain of blush and humiliation, so that Owen couldn’t see me tear up.

  “You better now?” he asked. He lifted my chin and wiped a strand of hair from my sweaty forehead. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” He helped me to my feet and walked me to the bathroom.

  The smell of Ray’s aftershave hit me so thick I glanced around to make sure he hadn’t come in too. Owen put the lid down and sat me on the toilet. “You should shower. It’ll make you feel better.” He stripped off my boots and left me alone to do the rest.

  The hot water felt good running down my body. My head ached and my knees wobbled, but I just wanted to know that Talon was okay so I could go to sleep.

  I decided I’d smelled enough like Ray’s soaps, so I stumbled out of the tub, knocking over all of his shampoo bottles on the way. I caused so much of a racket that Owen called in after me, “You all right?” He sounded like he stood right outside the door. Had he been there the entire time?

  “I’m fine!” I yelled, wincing at the loudness of my own voice. My head pounded.

  Finally, I wrapped in Ray’s robe. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind. I’d only borrow it until Holly got back with my clothes, which were still in the car.

  I was thankful she didn’t drink so she could go look for Talon and again I felt totally irresponsible and useless. I decided to stop beating myself up and get dry. I didn’t see a blow dryer, so I bunched my hair up in the towel and opened the door.

  “You okay?” Owen stepped back from the door making way.

  Steam from the bathroom billowed out into the hall and I stepped out into the chilly air and felt the temperature change. As soon as the chill hit my warmed skin, I passed out.

  My mind started coming back into a slight consciousness when I felt Owen pick me up. His hand gripped my naked thigh, which made me wonder what else was exposed. I didn’t care. I couldn’t do anything about it.

  I heard rustling as I was being lowered onto crisp, clean sheets. Owen must have dressed the futon. They felt nice and smelled slightly of cedar. Glad to lie flat, I hugged the pillow under my head and turned on my side, not once opening my eyes.

  I felt Owen brush the loose, wet strands of my hair out of my face and I realized that the towel had fallen off my head. Then I felt him gather up the heavy strands of my hair in bunches and I opened my eyes to see him towel-drying the ends.

  He noticed me looking. “You’re going to catch a cold,” he justified with a shrug. “Besides, you’re getting the bed wet.” He finished and helped me wrap my hair the best we could. Then he stood up and walked to the door. “Get some rest.”

  “Did you call Hunter?” I asked.

  “Yeah, still nothing.” He came over and sat back down. “Here let me try again. Maybe they got him.” He poked his phone. Suddenly I heard voices in the hall near the bathroom. Owen stood up ab
out the time the door flew open. It was Holly.

  She peeked in the door and made a face. “Lily! Oh my gosh! Talon. In here.” She looked behind her.

  “What happened?” Owen asked, heading for the door. He reached it the same time as Talon, who looked confused seeing me lying on the bed in a robe.

  “What’s going on?” He walked in and I sat up, bunching the robe up around me.

  “I got sick. Seems I can’t hold my liquor.” I reached up for him. “What happened to you?”

  He sat on the bed and held my hand. “I got lost and then had a little accident. I’m okay, though,” he said before I could panic. “I had to push that monster for at least three miles and finally, somehow, I ended up on the main road. I tried to call for help, but my phone went dead. Holly and Tia found me.”

  “Thanks, Holly,” I said before kissing Talon’s cheek. “I was so worried.”

  “What’s going on here?” He tugged at the collar of the robe. “Are you naked?” He gave me a strange look and then frowned at Owen, cocking an eyebrow.

  “I had a shower, and then I passed out.”

  “And Owen just happened to be here to rescue you, no doubt,” he mumbled.

  “Hey, I had to watch her puke purple juice. Not attractive.” Owen made a face, and then winked at me.

  “Thanks. I’ll never drink again.” I held Talon’s hand tighter. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  “I called Hunter and everyone’s on their way back,” Holly said.

  Talon dropped my hand to stretch his arms up high. “Well, the party is over for me. I’m beat. I’ll get our stuff out of the car and I’ll be right back.” He kissed my cheek and got up to leave.

  Holly paused at the door and turned to give me a pitiful look. “Hope you feel better, Lily.”

  I closed my eyes to keep the room from swaying. “Thanks for finding him.” I sighed.

  “No problem. Have fun!” She winked and then followed them out.

  Talon brought my bag in and set it down next to me. Then he stripped off his pants, revealing his red plaid boxers. He pulled his shirt off and watched as I searched through my bag. Owen had set my dirty clothes and boots in a pile on the floor by the bed. I was thankful that he didn’t leave them in the bathroom for anyone to find.