by Devney Perry
“Be careful. Yell if you need me.”
“I will.” I rushed back to Karson, finding him exactly where I’d left him.
His entire body was trembling and his face ashen.
“Here.” I cracked the water bottle, then popped the lid on the medicine. “Can you sit up?”
It took him a moment, but he opened his eyes and shoved up on an elbow to take the pills from my hand and chase them down with a sip of water.
“More.” I tipped the bottle back to his lips.
He shook his head.
“More,” I insisted and only when he swallowed a long gulp did I let him lie back down. I dumped some of the water onto the washcloth. It wasn’t cold, but it was cool. Then I laid it across his brow.
“Thanks,” he murmured and opened his eyes to scan the space. “Where’s my blanket?”
“Here.” It was tucked against the wall beside his feet. I grabbed it and shook it out, making sure there wasn’t a spider or another bug between the folds. Then I laid it over Karson, watching as he clutched it to his heart.
I sat back, watching. Was the Tylenol working? What if it didn’t? “I think I should get Lou.”
“No.” Karson reached for me and took my hand, tucking it to his chin.
The whiskers on his jaw tickled my knuckles, but even past them, his skin felt too warm. “Karson, I should get Lou.”
“I’ll be okay. Just . . . sit with me.”
“Okay,” I agreed, but if he didn’t stop shivering soon, I was getting Lou.
I inched closer, crisscrossing my legs. Then I slipped my hand free of his and pulled the cloth from his forehead, folding and refolding it so it would feel cool.
“Lou gave me this blanket. Did I tell you that?” Karson’s eyes drifted shut. His words were hushed and slurred.
“Yeah.”
We all knew this blanket was special.
Maybe Aria was right after all and Lou did love us.
After Karson ran away from home, he’d wandered around Temecula for a while. Somehow, he’d chanced upon the road to the junkyard, hoping to find a spot to sleep, like on a bench or under a tree.
He’d come toward the junkyard and spotted a fire. Lou had been burning wood scraps in a metal barrel. Or maybe it had been trash. Lou burned most of his garbage, even though Karson had told me it was illegal. Lou just put wood on top to hide the garbage.
The light from the fire had caught Karson’s attention, illuminating the side gate. After Lou had gone inside, Karson had shoved it open and snuck in. Then he’d camped out on an old truck’s bench seat in the yard.
He kept coming back for a month, nearly every night.
“Scared me to death,” Karson murmured. “That night he came out with the blanket. I thought I was so clever, coming in and out under his notice. Then he tossed the blanket on me, and I realized he’d known all along.”
I gave him a sad smile. “Aria thinks he loves us.”
“He does. In his own way.” Karson’s shivering became violent. Sweat sheened his cheeks and his breaths were coming in shaky pants.
“Karson, I think—”
“Stay. I’m fine. Don’t leave, Clara. Promise.”
Ugh. This was stupid, but that didn’t stop me from whispering, “Promise.”
And I stayed. All night. Until dawn cracked the horizon and the sun’s rays bled through the gaps in the tent’s walls. Until Karson’s fever broke.
I stayed until he opened his eyes and smiled. “I had the sweetest dream.”
“About what?”
“You.”
I sighed, relief coursing through my veins. He was okay.
“Flirt.”
Chapter Four
Clara
“Clara.” A hand touched my shoulder, shaking me awake.
I flinched, sitting up on my bed in a jolt. My fingers scrambled for the knife by my side and I gripped the hilt, ready to slash and cut.
“Whoa.” Karson held up his hands and backed away. “Clara, it’s me.”
“Oh.” My heart climbed back down my throat and I blinked rapidly, clearing the sleep haze. “Sorry.”
“You sleep with a knife?” His gaze darted between my face and the weapon.
I shrugged as embarrassment crept into my cheeks. God, I’d almost slashed at Karson. Smooth, Clara. “It’s, um, just in case, you know?”
A crease formed between his eyes. “Yeah.”
I shoved the hair off my forehead and slumped against the truck’s wall. It was bright out and the heat was beginning to seep inside like it did every afternoon. My midmorning nap must have lasted longer than I’d planned.
“Are you feeling okay?” Karson asked.
“Yeah.” I yawned. Staying up beside him while he’d sweated through his fever had worn me out. “Just tired.”
“Thanks. For last night.”
“Sure.” I shrugged. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. I was just getting ready to head into work. My shift starts at two.”
“Are you sure you should be working?”
“I’ll be fine. It’s only for a few hours to cover for one of the guys until close.”
He didn’t look fine. His skin was pale, and his hazel eyes were missing their usual mischievous glint. Whatever bug he’d caught had wiped him out.
Karson needed to rest, but instead, he’d walk to town and go to the car wash. There was no such thing as a sick day in our life. We worked rain or shine.
So this afternoon he’d run the sprayer for any of the vehicles that came through, and by the time he was done, his jeans would be nearly soaked. Karson always joked that he didn’t need to do laundry, even though he still took his clothes to the laundromat anyway. In this heat, those jeans would be dry, though stiff, by the time he made it back.
“I’ll come to town with you.” I shifted and picked up my shoes that I’d kicked off earlier.
“You don’t have to.”
I smiled. “I don’t have anything else to do today. Besides, it’ll be unbearable in here soon.”
By early evening, the truck would be sweltering. I tucked my knife into my jeans pocket, then slipped on a shoe. When I looked up, Karson’s eyes were on the pocket.
“You sleep with it.”
I dropped my gaze. “Yeah.”
“How long?”
“Always.” Since we’d run away. Aria had stolen one from our uncle too.
We’d added the knives to our collection of backpacks and flashlights and raincoats. We hadn’t stolen those from our uncle, though we certainly had stolen the money to buy them with. When we’d dragged our haul to the cash register at the sporting goods store and handed over a fistful of cash, the clerk had looked at us funny.
But since Craig had stolen everything from us, everything from our parents, that money had been ours to spend.
“Ready?” I asked Karson when my other shoe was on.
Karson nodded, but he didn’t move from the floor. “Do you, um . . . the knife. Is it because of Lou? Or . . . me?”
“What? No! Of course not.” I hated that he’d think I was scared of him. Or Lou.
“Then why?”
In the years that we’d lived here, I’d never shared the nasty details about why we’d left our uncle’s. Aria and I had skimmed over the real story.
We’d told Karson and the girls that our parents had died in a car accident. We’d told them that we’d been sent to live with our uncle. And we’d told them that he’d been a bastard who’d made living under his roof impossible, so we’d run away.
End of story.
None of them had asked questions because they’d all had their own stories. Their own skeletons and demons.
The only ones who’d realized that Uncle Craig had been a pervert were Londyn and Gemma.
Londyn, because she’d lived two trailers down from ours and had seen Craig around. And Gemma, from her one trip to the trailer park with my sister.
Aria had decided to go back and resc
ue my bike. She’d wanted to surprise me—or she’d known I would have said hell no—so instead of taking me, she’d taken Gemma.
Uncle Craig had been there, though he hadn’t seen them. But Gemma had spotted Craig. When she’d told me about the bike fiasco, she’d shivered and commented how his beady eyes had freaked her out.
I had nightmares about those beady eyes.
So did Aria.
That was the extent of what we’d shared. After the bike, which was parked beside a pile of junk because it had two flat tires we couldn’t afford to fix, Aria and I hadn’t returned to our former neighborhood.
Our friends here had no idea that Craig used to watch us in our sleep. That three times I’d come out of the shower to find him in the bathroom, waiting with my towel pressed to his nose.
Craig was the reason we carried the knives. Because if he ever found our junkyard home, I’d kill him before living under his roof again.
“Just . . . in case,” I told Karson. Maybe someday I’d tell him more, but today was not that day.
“All right.” He pushed up to his feet and led the way outside.
I closed the sliding door on the truck, bathing my belongings in darkness. With the door closed, it would be stuffy, but I’d take some stale air over a swarm of bugs.
“Short shift today, huh?” I asked as I followed Karson out of the yard for the street.
“Yeah. One of the guys needed to leave early. A doctor’s appointment for his kid or something. So I said I’d come in and take the rest of his shift. It’s money.”
We didn’t turn down money.
After Karson’s eighteenth birthday, he’d gone to his boss at the car wash and told him he was going to find a better-paying job. To Karson’s surprise, his boss had asked him to stay and given him a raise.
He was a real employee now, with a job application and tax withholdings. Karson had even gone to a local bank and opened a checking account, using the junkyard’s address as his own. Whenever Lou got the mail, anything addressed to us kids was left in the shop’s bathroom for us to find.
I hoped that once Karson built up a little in his checking account, he’d stop stealing.
“Have you and Aria decided where you’ll go?” Karson asked as we set out down the road.
I nodded. “We were actually thinking Las Vegas.”
“Sin City. I like it.”
He liked it? Really? Ask. Just ask. I took a deep breath, listening to our footsteps on the pavement. “Would you, um . . . would you want to come with us? Because that would be cool. If you want.”
“Thanks, but actually, I think I’m going to explore for a while.”
No. My heart crashed to the street, splattering blood over my dirty shoes. But I forced a smile. “E-exploring sounds fun. Are you going to Montana?”
Would he go after Londyn? Did he still love her? I couldn’t blame him if he did. Londyn was amazing and smart and funny and sweet. Of course he loved her. We all loved her.
“Nah.” Karson shook his head. “I think I’ll head toward the coast. I’d like to hit the ocean, breathe some clean air for a while. Learn to surf.”
Part of me was overjoyed that he wasn’t chasing his ex. The other part was still devastated because I would lose him soon.
“The ocean sounds fun,” I lied. The ocean sounded lame and not nearly as fun as Las Vegas. I still had forty-six days. Maybe I could change his mind. “Don’t get eaten by a shark.”
Karson chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”
“Maybe you can come and visit us. In Vegas.”
He looked down and grinned. It was a grin that made my insides go fuzzy and the heart that had fallen only a minute ago do a tiny flip. “I’d like that.”
I smiled. “Me too.”
He stared at my mouth for a moment and the crease between his eyebrows came back.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head and faced forward. “So what are you going to do while I’m at work?”
“Maybe go to the library. Or the thrift store.”
“Getting another one of your books?” He nudged his elbow with mine. “A little Fabio action?”
“Whatever.” I bumped his arm with my shoulder. “You just wish you looked like Fabio.”
“Fabio wishes he looked like me.” Karson pretended to flick his hair. The dark locks had grown longer this year. It had been a while since he’d gone to get it cut. It curled at the nape of his neck and bangs draped over his forehead.
Last night, when he’d been asleep, temptation and concern had gotten the best of me, and I’d run my hands through his hair. It was as silky and soft as I’d expected.
Lucky for me, Karson would never know. That touch, along with my epic crush, would be my secret. Not even Aria knew how I felt about Karson.
It was probably for the best that we were going our separate ways, right? Ugh. No.
I mean . . . we’d have a lot to do in Vegas. Karson sort of distracted me. Without him around, I’d probably stay more focused.
Aria and I would need to find a place to live. We’d need to get jobs. As soon as I could get signed up for the test, I was going to earn my GED. I didn’t need a boyfriend distracting me from building a life. It was almost time to become an adult, right?
Ugh. No, again. Having Karson with us would just make it all better.
“Want to hear something strange?” I asked, ready for a new topic.
“Duh.”
“Yesterday, Aria and I saw this lady jogging toward the junkyard.”
“Jogging?”
“Yup. Seriously, have you ever seen a jogger on this road?”
“No. Never.”
“Strange, right?”
Karson nodded. “Yeah.”
“Oh, it gets worse. Aria and I split up at the stoplight so she could go to work. I went to the store to get a few things and I was outside, packing up my bag, and the jogger was there. She was, like, watching me.”
Karson slowed his steps and his forehead furrowed. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “For sure. I think she followed me.”
“Have you ever seen her before?”
“No. Neither had Aria.”
He frowned and glanced around, but as usual, we were alone on the road. “Could just be a coincidence.”
“Maybe. Probably.”
“Keep an eye out. Watch for her.”
“Aria and I thought we should mix up our schedule a little. She left for work earlier this morning than normal. I’ll do the same tomorrow when I go in.”
“We should all start walking together. I’ll come in with you both. Even on the days when I’m not working.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
He winked. “I want to.”
God, it was hot when he winked. He had this sexy grin afterward that made me want to melt. “Thanks.” I bit my lower lip to hide a goofy smile.
“Always.” He slung a hand around my shoulders and pulled me into a sideways hug.
I tensed, unsure of what to do, but since he kept walking, so did I. One foot in front of the other, like everything was normal. Like it was no freaking huge deal that Karson’s arm was around my shoulders.
Why wasn’t he letting go? What did this mean? Karson didn’t hug me, like . . . ever. He’d elbow me or poke me or flick the end of my hair. But a hug? Did this even count?
Was this just a guy slinging his arm around the shoulder of his friend? When he’d hug Londyn, he’d wrap both arms around her. Normally his hands would dive into the back pockets of her jeans.
That was a hug. A lover’s hug. This was . . . what the hell was this?
I held my shoulders as still as possible. I barely let my hands swing at my sides. If this was the only hug I got from Karson Avery, then I was making it last as long as I could.
The sun beat down on us, the afternoon rays growing stronger with every passing minute. I struggled to take a deep breath, my heart racing like a Ferrari in my chest.
Karson was relaxed. Content to leave his arm around me. His side was pressed to mine, his hand draped over my shoulder, his wrist relaxed.
He looked casual. This was a casual hug, right?
But what if I was wrong? What if this was Karson’s way of testing the waters? What if he liked me? Liked me, liked me. What if this hug was his way of breaking past the friend zone?
Before I could make sense of my thoughts, his arm was gone and we were in town, cars whizzing by us on the street.
“What time does Aria get off work?” he asked at the stoplight.
I glanced down the road in the direction she’d walk to her restaurant. “Five.”
“I’m done at six. Before the end of her shift, why don’t you go to the restaurant and get her? Then come back to the car wash so we can all walk home together.”
“Sure.” I glanced up at his handsome profile, hoping for a sign that his hug had been . . . more.
Karson must have felt my stare. He looked down to me and those hazel eyes held me captive. My romance novels were always describing the hero holding the heroine captive with his gaze.
Totally got that one now.
Because I was pinned to the sidewalk. The air had vanished from my lungs. I was at Karson’s mercy, waiting with every beat of my heart for his next move.
The breeze caught a lock of hair and blew it into my face.
Karson pulled it free from my cheek, tucking it behind my ear. His fingers skimmed the shell, sending a tickle over my skin. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I, um . . .”
Love you? Please, please let the rest of that sentence be that he loved me.
The beep of the crosswalk sounded beside us. Karson looked away, facing the street, and dropped his hand. Then he took a step forward and the moment was gone.
Stupid freaking crosswalk.
I kicked at an invisible clump of dirt, then trudged after him, hating every step that took us closer and closer to the car wash. When the sign came into view, I covered up a groan with a fake cough.
“Thrift store?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “I guess. There’s a dime in my pocket and I’ve got a date with Fabio.”
“Need some money for a coffee or something?”