Wayward Secrets: The Raven Brothers of Fallen Mountain

by KT Strange

  Derrick, behind Chad, just has his arms crossed over his chest and he’s scowling like I’ve farted real loud or something and didn’t say excuse me.

  “Giv’er your vest,” Logan says to Derrick, holding out a hand.

  “What? I wait for you an hour late, and-” Derrick shakes his head.

  “Give her your damn vest,” Logan cuts him off with a growl. Something about it doesn’t sit right with me and I scan the shoreline. There’s a boat house fifty feet from us with the lights off in it, and other dinghies and small boats shift their weight back and forth in the water slowly all around us. Beyond the shore I can see the line of houses, their yards facing the mountain and the lake like they’re ready to worship. String lights glow in the darkness, and I’m longing for the coziness of my cabin.

  “I’m good,” I interrupt the standoff between Logan and Derrick over The Vest. “Blanket’s good enough for me.”

  Tire wheels cut through the silence that falls after my decline of The Vest, headlights going from blurry smudge to sharp outline as a truck pulls up to the base of the dock.

  “Well there they are,” Derrick says snidely, not looking at me, still staring Logan down. Logan lifts a hand to shield his eyes.

  “That the brothers?” He asks. “M’yep.” There’s something so off-putting about this conversation that I need to get out of it.

  “Thanks so much fo rescuing me,” I say to Logan, as the truck door swings open and Beau steps down from it, his dark hair swept back from his face and a murderous expression haunting his eyes. He’s staring at Derrick.

  Because of course he is. It’s obvious there’s bad blood between the two of them, and I don’t even need to ask why or how. They’re both dicks, so maybe they’re just jealous the other one exists so one of them can’t be crowned King Dick of the town.

  “Oh,” I pause, “my clothes-”

  Logan waves a hand at me.

  “You run along,” he says genially, the words sounding older and more old-fashioned in his mouth than they should. “My girl will wash them up for you and I’ll bring them to the cabin. I know where it is.”

  Getting back into the boat to get my things hadn’t been in the top list of things I wanted to do just then, so I’m grateful to him.

  “Thanks, again, for everything.”

  “Cordelia!” Beau snaps from the shore, like he doesn’t want to step foot on the dock. “C’mon.”

  I’m half-way down the dock when the back of my neck itches. I turn to look behind me and Derrick is staring at me while Logan talks to him. He really hates everyone, doesn’t he?

  I reach Beau, who takes one look at me and shakes his head.

  “Nobody can leave you for a single second,” he says, which I swear is more words strung together by him than I’ve ever heard in my presence. “C’mon, cab’s warm.” He leaves me to get in by myself, which is… fine. I don’t need his help. I slip onto the seat and he’s right, the cab is piping hot and the vents are at full blast. I lift my fingers to them and sigh, letting the warm air flow over me. Beau’s door shuts with a snap and he runs his hands over the steering wheel.

  “Let’s get you home,” he says, and then turns the truck around sharply, wheels dipping and rising over waves in the gravel. We reach pavement, and I pull the blanket tight around my shoulders. I’m so tired. The heat is good, and I rest my head against the side of the truck, finding a padded spot that doesn’t hurt so much when we go over a bump.

  My eyes close.

  My heart gives a thump.

  How did Beau know to come get me, and where I was in the first place?

  My heart gives another rapid flutter in my chest and I try not to breathe too fast, sitting there in silence with him, the only sound filling the cab being the rush of air and the grind of tires over cement.

  Something… is really not right.

  10

  Cordelia

  Waking up in the forest is so different from the city. I can sense it even before I open my eyes, the hush of the woods around me, blanketing the world in it’s filmy, dusky green sound. Branches dropping with soft mossy thuds to the forest floor. Birds singing, the flutter of their wings beating the air. The solid wood of my cabin drowns most of it out, but I can feel it, like a hum under my skin.

  And in the background of it all, I can feel the lake calling me, beckoning it’s long, chilly fingers toward me, tugging me down in my sleep.

  Sometimes I dream of the water closing in over my head.

  Except those times, I don’t resurface in Grady’s arms. Those times, Logan isn’t there to save me.

  The world turns green and cold, and I sink to the bottom, landing on the muddy silt, my knee sending up puffs of cloudy water. Rocks stretch as far as I can see, disappearing into the smudge of murk. My mouth opens, because I want to scream, but instead I inhale deep, water flooding into my throat and lungs.

  Those dreams have been waking me up, I think, for the last few days, except I didn’t quite remember them. They’ve been like a shadow at the edge of my vision, until today. The morning after I’d nearly drowned in the lake again. And the only reason I can remember it now, is that someone banged on my door in the middle of my sleep. My fingers dig into the sheets and I stare at the ceiling, the muted sounds of the forest reaching through the glass of my window toward me.

  “Cordelia,” a female voice calls from beyond the door. I sit bolt upright in bed, feeling like I need to cough, my lungs shuddering. The clear, clean air around Fallen Mountain has made breathing easier by far, but right now I’m still reacting to the feel of the water closing over me and rushing down my throat.

  “One sec,” I yell out, reaching over for an oversized flannel shirt, tugging it over my head. I hop around, shoving my feet into the legs of my jeans before I go to the door and open it.

  Lena is standing there, bright smile on her face, plate in one hand covered over with a scrap of clean cotton fabric with a cheery flower print.

  “Hey there,” she says, and then her smile turns soft. “Did I wake you?”

  “Uh, no,” I say, and she raises both eyebrows, skeptical. I’m exhausted from last night, and it must show on my face.

  “Alright, maybe the hair fashions in Twocities are a little more wild than I though they were,” she comments breezily. “Mind if I come in?”

  “Of course,” I say, looking over my shoulder. The cabin isn’t a mess, but my bed is rumpled, and there’s a few dishes on the counter. I don’t have enough possessions for the place to look like a complete sty. Small mercies.

  She pushes past me and sets the plate down. As I follow her, I catch a glimpse of myself in a small mirror that hangs by the kitchen sink. My hair is everywhere, sticking up like horns. Of course she knows I’m lying, and that I was just asleep, but she’s clearly too nice and is going to drop it like a hot potato.

  “What’s this?” I ask.

  “Val baked you scones,” she says as she sits at one of the two little chairs.

  “Do you want tea?” I ask. She waves a hand with a shake of her head and I get out two glasses and pour us water instead. That’s something I’m getting used to. What comes out of the tap is cool, chilly even, and so fresh it makes my throat ache. Twocities water is… well there’s a reason beer is the favorite beverage of most adults.

  “Thanks for the baked things,” I say, as she whips the cotton off with a flourish, smiling at me. There’s even two little dishes, tiny bowls, one filled with butter, and the other with what looks like a dark berry preserve.

  “I thought I’d pay you a visit, see how the boys were treating you, and how you were settling in. How’s working with them?” She asks, picking up a delicate little knife that was tucked under a scone, and cutting into it. She offers me both halves, and the scent of fresh-baked dough rises to greet me. The scone is studded with squared off pieces of dried fruit, glowing like tiny gems. I smeared some butter over the pastry and sighed as I took the first, delicious bite.

  “Th
is is amazing,” I say and set it down on a napkin before sighing. “And the…. I’m not sure things are working out. They’ve asked me not to help them, they say they don’t even need help, but it’s been days since I came here and I haven’t seen a single customer. Is that normal?”

  “Normal for them, from what I understand, although we’re going into Fall so it’s not the busy season anymore.” Lena sits back in her chair and observes me. I feel like I can open up to her, but I’m also nervous to do it…

  “And also,” I pause. “It’s kind of weird that Lacey went missing the way she did, right before I got here, and never said anything to the guys that I was going to be staying there, which has caused a problem, and then a cop showed up-”

  “Officer Bradshaw,” Lena says with a slow nod. “He’s… well, he’s a person,” she says with a curl of her lip that implies that she thinks he’s a bad person but doesn’t want to say it outright. I admire her ability to keep ahold of her opinions and not blurt them out. It’s a skill I need to work on.

  “He was pretty rude,” I admit. She makes a noise of agreement, and spreads jam on her scone, eating it slowly with a sigh.

  “He’ll do that,” she comments. “Ignore him, or at least, ignore his attitude problem. We grew up together, and ever since he hit that growth spurt and put on seven inches and a hundred pounds of muscle, he’s been convinced he’s the biggest badass on the planet. Instead he’s just an ass.”

  Her flippant and dismissive words filled me with relief and I laughed, the sound nervous and tired in my lungs. She sips her water and sets the cup down before giving me a level stare.

  “Do you want to stay here?” She asks, gesturing around at the cabin. “We’d have you at the Gato if you want. I know our cat is a bit of a pain, but if you really need a place to stay, I’m sure Val could find something for you to do. Like, I said-”

  I make a noise of protest. That is a hugely generous offer, and I can’t take it. She can’t even be serious.

  “Don’t make that face,” she chides me gently, “I mean it. Women help out women, and if it doesn’t work out for you here, we will always have a place for you. I’m sure there’s a job you could take in town to contribute, and especially with it being our slow season coming up, we won’t be having many, if any, guests for a few months at least.”

  I have to think about it. I imagine it, sleeping in the rose room, waking up every morning to those crisp white sheets.

  It won’t be dusty and smell like dark wood in my cabin. I won’t have the quiet murmur of the breeze in the trees.

  And I might leave Val and Lena with the horrible task of finding my corpse one morning.

  I can’t ask that of them.

  I swallow, because it feels like I’m going to cry, even though I shouldn’t do that. She’ll know things are very wrong if I do.

  “Think about it,” she says, seeing the hesitation on my face. “We won’t be offended if you say no, but we’re here for you.”

  I smile, and my vision is misty.

  “That’s awfully nice for someone you don’t even know that well.” I take another bite of scone, but my throat is tight and scratchy. I need water to wash it down.

  “Someone I love was stuck before, in a situation that didn’t suit her, and a nice person helped her,” she says, “I wouldn’t have found Val if she hadn’t been given a hand out of her predicament. I’m living a happy, very pastry-filled life now with her, and I think everyone else deserves the same.”

  “How long have you two been together?” I ask, switching to an easier subject.

  “Since we were in school, or at least, I was. She came into town on the back of a wagon. The wagon left, and she stayed.” Her smile gets vague and memory-filled. My chest aches. I wish I had someone to love, or be loved by, like her and Val.

  Some of us don’t get to experience that kind of love in their life though. That’s just my fate. And I have to accept that.

  “So she stayed? Who took her in?” I ask. Lena smiles down at the pile of scones.

  “My parents. They loved her as much as they loved me, the moment they saw her.”

  “You two were so young though, didn’t they think-”

  “It wouldn’t last? I don’t know. Something about the power of the Gato cast a spell on them. They were school sweets too, you see, and I think they just understood. I’d found the person I was meant for, and that was enough.”

  It sounds so charmed that it physically hurts to listen to. It’s so different from my life, cold and brutal and, well, ending.

  Sooner, rather than later.

  I don’t want to resent her though, because she deserves happiness, and it sounds like Val wasn’t safe on the back of that wagon when she’d stayed behind. I am glad that Val’s safe. I’m glad they have each other.

  “I’m being selfish,” she says, “look at me, talking about my life. So, nobody special back home in the city?”

  The laugh that startles out of me is bitter, and sharp-edged.

  “No, no one left. And that’s okay. I’m hoping I can stay here as long as I’m still above the ground,” I say. “I’ll just have to prove to the guys I’m useful.”

  Lena reaches across the table and pats my hand.

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” she says gently, “and if you need anything, just let me know.”

  ***

  I knock on the door to the main cabin and wait. Seconds tick by. A bird chirps on the roof, the soft sound of it’s feet thudding on the shingles as it hops about.

  There’s no answer. Just like my questions of how Kyron knew I’d been talking to Kat in the grocery. And how Beau knew where to find me on the lakeshore. And where Lacey went and who disappeared her. No answers to my call, or to the mysteries that are swirling around these guys like cigarette smoke.

  “Hello,” I call. I am going to find out what’s going on. And I am going to make myself useful. I’ll prove to them all that I belong here. That way at least I’ll have a chance to figure things out with them… what’s going on and how they seem to have eyes everywhere in town all at once. With a sigh, I reach for the doorknob.

  To my surprise, it twists and the door swings open. The inside is dark and quiet. None of the guys are there, although the trucks are all parked out front.

  “Hello?” I whisper, feeling like I’m trespassing. The large cabin is hushed, and I step in, almost feeling like I should kick my shoes off so I’m quieter as I walk. They must be gone, hiking, or something.

  I creep in, letting the door shut quietly behind me. The floorboards are worn smooth under my feet, but they don’t creak or groan. The guys must take good care of this place, if it’s able to put up with me walking all over it like a bad spy, and not give me away. There’s a hallway that leads toward the back of the cabin, and I’ve never been down that way. With the main room empty of guys, I might as well look.

  Because I’m not just looking for them, or for a purpose, or something to do. I’m looking to answers to all my questions. I try not to laugh at myself, because really, am I expecting Lacey to pop out of a closet?

  The hallway is dark around me, closing in, as I step into it. Doors lead off in all directions, and I creep towards the first one closest to me.

  A soft groan makes the hair on the back of my neck rise. My breath stalls out in my chest and I turn my head slowly.

  There, on the bed, through a crack in the just opened door, lays Grady, shirtless… and everything-less. He’s naked, laying on his blankets, one hand wrapped around his cock as he runs his fingers up and down the shaft.

  It’s… it’s been a long time since I’ve seen one up close and personal, and this is about as near as I’ve gotten to one in half a decade, but it’s bigger than I remember them being.

  The guy I’d been sweet on after school, he and I, well, we’d gotten about as far along with things as you could go without delving into weird territory.

  That was so long ago though.

  And Grady i
s right here, his eyes closed, thick lashes fanning on his cheeks. The skin of his cheeks are pink too, his lips parted and dark-red… dark like the head of his cock. He looks determined, his arm tense as he works his dick with short, hard strokes, his hips rising up to meet each one. Heat flares in the pit of my stomach to my pussy, making it wake from it’s multi-year slumber and clench hard. It’s like I haven’t ever been instantly aroused before, and maybe I haven’t, but I am now, breathless and shocked at what I’m seeing and not hating it for a single second.

  It’s not the noise out of my mouth that betrays me. It’s the squeak of the floorboard under foot as I try to step back. The one loose board in the whole goddamn building and I step on it right then and there.

  Grady flings himself off the bed in an instant, and grabs the blanket, wrapping it around his body and jerking the door fully open.

  “Cordelia!” He shouts, his voice awkward and booming.

  Now his face is red for a completely different reason. Just like my face, which is probably blooming like roses all over.

  “Uh,” I say intelligently, truly winning every oratory competition with that single utterance. “Hello.”

  Hello is one of those words that disarms people. It makes them feel more positive. Or that’s what a book I read once claimed.

  From the way Grady’s eyes are so wide they’re nearly popping out of his head, and he looks like he’s about to choke on his own tongue, hello is not working as well as the book’s author claims.

  “I was looking for eggs!” My voice cracks like his just did. “The kitchen is behind me, but here I am, ah-ha-ha-ha!” We both stare at each other and with a grunt, Kyron opens up his door, to squint at us. His hair is a mess, and he’s in boxers and nothing else.

  “The fuck is going on,” he asks. He glares at me, and then at Grady, the expression quickly shifting into a sly smile. “Were you two…” He cocks his head.