“I told you, you don’t understand. Now he’s going to be wicked upset. He’s never going to forgive me.”
“Jordan,” I said in disbelief. “He doesn’t have to forgive you. He threatens you and hits you. Please tell Lane and Gabe about that night with Eli. They need to hear it from you. I swear they will help keep you safe.”
I tried to give her a hug when she completely melted down, but it felt like hugging the doctor who had just given me shots.
“She’ll stay in the guestroom overnight,” Lane offered. “I won’t let her out of my sight. She’ll be safe.”
Though Jordan hadn’t confessed, I thought she was bound to tell the police the truth. Lane promised to make sure she didn’t go running back to Hunt before her official confession. I snickered and wondered if the attractive girl would really sleep in his guestroom.
Gabe stayed keyed up for the duration of the ride home. He drummed the wheel with his thumbs. It was getting dark, so I made one last stab at improving his frame of mind.
“Got any plans for tonight?”
Gabe grumbled, but shook his head. He seemed to be back to his moody mood.
Meggie’s house was quiet. I was relieved to learn Caleb had moved himself back into the coop. He was the last person I wanted to deal with when I had Gabe all to myself. I flipped the lights on in the kitchen and fumbled through the snack closet. I pulled out a box of Ritz crackers and a jar of peanut butter. I was famished. When I turned around, my eyes locked on Gabe standing at the sink with a long black rifle propped on a bent knee.
“We’re gonna need it,” he said. I was sure he could read the objection in my eyes.
“What the heck for?” I blanched. “Pheasant shooting out my bedroom window?”
“It’s just in case,” he told me with a pitchy accent and a surface explanation. “In case Hunt comes sniffing around.”
I floated past him and charged up the stairs with my junk food. He sprung forward and chased me all the way, rifle in one hand, a liter of soda in the other.
“So you think I’m going to let that stay in here?”
He leaned the ugly weapon on the door. The room was stifling. I gazed, puzzled, as he extracted two paperback books from his waistband.
“She goes where I go.” He sounded bubbly. “Toss me that box.”
“You brought reading material too? Am I that boring?” I flung the box of crackers across the room. They flew out like confetti and painted the floor with polka dots. “Oh crap,” I muttered under my breath.
Gabe laughed. We fell to our knees at the same time and scooped the crackers into a pile on my throw rug.
“Five second rule,” he joked with a mouthful.
I picked up a handful of crumbs and mashed them into his face. He spit and grabbed my open palm and pressed it into the mound of crackers.
“Hey! I don’t go trashing your room.” I laughed my words.
“Ah hell, Av’ry. You did this. Don’t be blaming me.”
Before I could respond, he rotated his hips and rolled the soda bottle into reach with his foot. I watched him shake it like crazy and untwist the cap. With a hand over the top, he aimed at my chest. I pursed my lips together and squeezed my eyes tight. Orange Crush blasted my shirt until the bottle was empty. I shook my hands to the side and gawked.
“Ugh! Gabe, I can’t believe you!”
“Mission accomplished. I hate his shirt on you.” He spoke with a curl in his lip.
I glowered at him. “Oh, yeah, I bet you do.” I pulled the shirt over my head and shot it at him.
The orange had soaked through to my swimsuit top. Thankfully, it wasn’t a revealing style. Sticky sweet soda was everywhere.
“You better be glad I’m afraid to touch that weapon.”
“C’mere,” he summoned, voice lowering seductively.
I raised an eyebrow and made a phony scowl. He was irresistible. “Uh uh.” I struggled to suppress a grin.
“Don’t be afraid. There’s only peanut butter left. See?” He held up the jar and smirked.
My shoulders quaked. “I’m all sticky,” I told him, my eyes trained on his face. He was leaning on the dresser, all inviting. “I need to take a shower. You stay right there.”
Gabe blew out his breath. “Not unless you c’mere first. I got something to tell you.”
I dropped my shoulders. He reached out and grabbed my hip.
“What’s so important?”
Gabe’s hands rested on my shoulders and then slid down my sticky arms and circled my waist. I knew he could feel my heart pounding. He pulled me close, our eyes nearly level. I held onto his hips and gripped his T-shirt in my fists. My breath squeezed out and my rebound breath inhaled his luscious scent.
“You look so damn good,” he mumbled into my shoulder, lips tickling my skin. “You taste good too. My favorite flavor.”
I attempted to stretch and balance on my good foot, and I stared into his impressive eyes. “You’ve got amazing eyes,” I gushed and struggled to calm my ferocious pulse. He seemed surprised to hear that. Had he any idea how appealing he was?
“You got the most amazing...everything, Av’ry Ross.”
Brazenly, his hands slipped below my waist and held. Like a statue, I froze in his awkward embrace.
Did he really just do that?
One of his hands walked all the way up my back and unraveled the tie in my hair. The other remained fixed and happy where it was. My hair cloaked my shoulders as I shook my head.
He offered a satisfied sigh. “There ain’t no girls like you where I’m from.”
“Uh, actually there are no girls where you come from,” I pointed out. “You’re so deprived.”
“You got a point. I’ll amend that. I meant in all of Texas,” he told me as he ran his hands over my backside. “I’ve been deprived for a long time. It’s a cryin’ shame.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant. Was he thinking about the time since he was with Jordan? Unfortunately I was.
“You know Molly and Lane are...” I cut myself off and wondered if I should keep quiet.
Gabe’s eyes spread wide. His head jolted back. “Are what? Shackin’ up?”
I gripped his T-shirt in the center and twisted the fabric. “You knew?”
“Figured it out today when he was all cagey about something. I went to use the bathroom and her stuff was all over the place. Same junk she leaves all around the coop.”
“What about Caleb?”
I sort of knew what his answer would be. He pressed a finger to my lips. I tossed my head to the side. His finger slipped to stroke my chin, and I lowered my gaze to his waist. I poked at his rock hard stomach and he flinched. He was ticklish.
“Off,” I said.
He lifted a humorous brow and used one hand to nimbly pull the shirt over his head. Then he returned the hand to my backside. I raised my arms to his shoulders and gathered my hands around his neck. His skin was smooth like silk. He pulled me closer. I leaned into him.
I wasn’t shy about anything with Gabe.
“Better,” I whispered into his mouth. We kissed.
We pushed our weight against the dresser and melded into one form. The harder he kissed, the more I didn’t want to stop. Fully engaged, we went at the amorous sport like it was an Olympic competition. There was nothing better than kissing Gabriel Halden.
Nothing.
Gabe won the gold medal and left my lips weak and tender. I excused myself to wash off my sticky coating. But before I jumped in the tub, I tossed a roll of paper towels at his head. Upon my return, I found him sprawled out on my quilt, reading my newest issue of Glamour. The useless fan pointed at his head. His forehead was crumpled like an accordion.
“You read this crap?” he asked. “You don’t do none of this stuff with me.”
He smiled big.
I knew exactly what explicit article he was reading. “I don’t show all my cards this early,” I said teasing. We had known each other for scarcely more than a month.
He peeled his eyes from the magazine.
“You’ve shown me some,” he said with a heavy drawl. “I’m waiting for all the rest of you, darling.”
I snorted. Sometimes he cracked me up. Sometimes he made me want to cry. I wanted to tell him how maddening his mood swings were.
“Darling? You sound like some old cowboy. How old are you anyway?” I approached the bed. “You never called me that before. Guess it’s better than being called legs.”
His smiling eyes tightened in on my T-shirt.
“I used to call...”
He caught himself. He was thinking about her.
“Never mind,” he said through his teeth.
“I know what you were going to say. It’s fine.” I let my weight hit the bed. His legs bounced. “I’m curious,” I announced bravely. I was also very jealous. Though I had no intention of admitting it.
Gabe pressed his lips together and placed the magazine on his chest. He stretched his arms above his head and lodged them behind his neck.
“Yeah? Ask me then. But I’m tossing one back at you. You have to answer.”
“Fine,” I said. “Did you love her?”
“Don’t be shy there. Damn, Av’ry,” he joshed. Then he mumbled, “I think I did.”
My heart dipped a notch. What was I doing? I wanted to get up and run.
“My turn,” he gloated before I could react. His back slid up the headboard, and he cleared his throat. He looked me square in the eye. “You feel somethin’ for my brother?”
He came out of left field. I felt a blush heat my face. The blush, like the unanswered feelings I had for Caleb, were out of my control. There was no way I could tell him the truth. I was inexplicably attracted to Caleb’s cockiness, and I didn’t know how to stop it. But I loved Gabe with my entire being.
His shoulders wilted noticeably because my answer was evident, even before I spoke.
“I don’t know. I love you—Gabe,” I said with all sincerity. I was so annoyed with myself for starting the conversation.
“Let’s not do this, okay? It’s stupid. I’m really sorry I asked.”
Gabe’s silence was long and uncomfortable. I pulled my legs onto the bed and balled up at his feet. I settled my head on his knee and focused on the sound of his deep breathing. Then I placed a hand on his thigh and traced his odd scar. I wondered where it came from. After a long spell, he played with a wisp of my hair. He was watching me.
“Av’ry, hey.” He tugged. “That’s just a battle wound from a rattlesnake. I slayed him with my bare hands. Come up here.”
I sighed against his leg and then scooted up his body to rest my jaw against his bare shoulder. “Were you scared?”
“Naw. It wasn’t a snake. I just like to tell that story. Caleb stabbed me with a fork when I was five.”
We didn’t speak again. I fell asleep thinking about the Halden brothers and listening to the rhythm of Gabe’s heartbeat.
* * *
A noisemaker cracked. Bucking tires tore up the drive. A vehicle door slammed. The porch door banged. Feet hammered up the old stairs like tromping elephants. Then the knocking jerked me out of my dream state. Gabe sat up straight as an arrow. I rolled off his arm.
“Avery! Avery! Open up! Are you in there?” Josh shouted outside my bedroom door.
I blinked and Gabe had his rifle in hand, his back to the door.
“You alone, Josh?” Gabe called out coolly.
For a moment, Josh was quiet. Gabe’s voice must have startled him. “Yeah—Gabe?”
The door opened and Josh shot in, red-faced and winded. Gabe closed the door and shuffled to the window to lift the shade.
“What’s going on?” I inquired nervously. I was wearing very little, a T-shirt and half of my bathing suit. I pulled the shirt over my legs and gathered my hair into a knot. “What happened, Joshie?”
Josh lost his voice. He shook visibly.
Gabe placed a hand on Josh’s trembling shoulder. “C’mon. What’s with you?” Gabe prodded. “Catch some air, brother.”
I gazed at the two boys of similar heights and stature. I never realized Josh’s eyebrows were dark and arched like Gabe’s. My cousin had morphed into a full-grown man during the last month.
“I...I...was driving home from Max’s. His stepmom kicked me out when she found a joint in the laundry. I had nothing to do with it. Swear on my life!” He drew in a shaky breath and coughed it out. “I was driving the back road and a monster truck with big floodlights came out of nowhere. Then it started rubbing up against my bumper. I was gassing it all I could. Then I got passed by another one, and they slammed the brakes in front of me, trapping me. The truck had those mud flaps with naked girls on them. Some guy in the bed started yelling stuff about you and Jordan Halverson. I had my windows down. I thought they were gonna kill me! One took a shot at my tires!”
Gabe’s mouth tightened. The skin crinkled around his eyes. His nostrils flared; his fists balled. The rifle was firmly pressed across his chest.
“Where’d they go?” he snarled.
Josh cleared his throat. “I turned in here, and they kept going. Ma’s gonna die when she sees my bumper.”
“You got a twenty-two, Josh? Go fetch it right now.” Gabe started for the door. Josh just stared. “Go!”
“Where are you going?” I called out.
Gabe’s eyes swooped around. “Stay here. Don’t go leaving this room, not even to the kitchen. I’ll come back,” he said coldly. “And get dressed.”
He still didn’t answer. I didn’t move until he was gone. Did he forget I don’t take orders?
Lane’s Expedition charged onto the property twenty minutes later. I gazed from my window, fully dressed as requested. Gabe tromped out of the coop and grabbed Jordan’s hand after Lane opened her door. Something thumped hard in my chest as I observed Gabe touching her, leading her to his room. I watched Josh and Lane converse. I pulled the chain on the light bulb that hung above my bed and ran out the door. Molly’s truck coasted in as I fixed my feet in a spare pair of flip-flops on the back porch.
The night air was charged.
“I told ya not to come out,” Gabe growled out of the side of his mouth. He slammed his door and approached. “C’mere. Get outta the way of the drive.” He tugged on the hem of my shirt. “I told you to stay put.”
“It’s my fault Jordan’s here and Josh almost got hurt. I’m not hiding up there when I can help down here.” I braced my curled fists on my hips.
“They’re coming for you! You can’t be out here,” Gabe yelled. The rim of his HalRem hat was bent clear in half like a pup tent. “They’re pissed and armed, Av’ry. This ain’t no game. Hunt’s prepared to do anything now. He knows Jordan’s gonna talk.”
I grimaced. “I know that.” I added, voice careful. “Will you call your father?”
Gabe scowled. “Not ’til we get her to the police tomorrow morning. When she snitches, he’ll know it. He’ll just get all over me for provoking Hunt. Now I get my chance to give Hunt a taste of what he did to her.”
My shoulders lifted and fell. I was relieved Meggie wasn’t home.
“So you’re just going to stand guard all night and shoot whoever comes by?”
“Pretty much,” he said. He looked about the fields with a predatory glance. Lane unloaded two rifles from his trunk.
“C’mon. Seriously? Why do you have to do this?” I hugged myself. Goosebumps prickled my skin.
Lane and Molly walked away. Josh followed. We had a minute alone.
“You don’t know anything. You better get inside.”
His words were terse. I felt myself slowly coming unhinged. I persisted aggressively, unaware of how close to his boiling point he actually was. “Can’t we just hide inside until morning?”
I didn’t want him getting shot—or killed. Didn’t he see that I was concerned? That I loved him?
“Av’ry!” His voice was short, hard. His dark eyes burned me. “This is how it is, alrig
ht? Why don’t you go stay in there with Jordan?”
My breath sucked in. The tingling in my hands started up. How could he address me like that? I turned and backtracked toward the house while holding in my tears.
“C’mon,” he said pulling at my elbow, a little too rough. “Now. I’m not kidding. You need to be safe. C’mon.”
I told myself he was just being overprotective. I didn’t like it. He led me to the coop. I noticed the number two by the door turned upward. Gabe reached for the nob and urged me through the entry, but I made him go first. I didn’t want to be holed up with Caleb or Jordan, or both of them together. But I caved.
“What in the bloody hell are you doing?” Gabe roared.
The room was dark. I couldn’t make out why he was so vexed. Until he stepped aside and offered me a glimpse.
The exterior light flooded the center of the room. Caleb and Jordan were linked together in the shadow, unable to hide themselves. Over her bare shoulder, Jordan flashed her gaze to Gabe. She hurried to cover herself, kangarooed off the bed and raced into the bathroom.
I gaped, dumbstruck. They’d only been alone for minutes.
Caleb drew a sheet over his bruised chest and slapped his hands on the covers. His eyes jumped to meet mine. He grinned.
Gabe took a leap to the bed, rifle in hand. I wrenched his arm, but he forced his way past me.
“Gabe! Don’t touch him!”
“What are you doing with her? Can’t you keep your hands off any of them? I can’t believe your nerve. How many have you played behind our backs?”
I had never seen Gabe so angered. I was incensed that he thought something like this went on between me and Caleb. He never found me doing what Jordan was doing. Why was he so concerned about Jordan anyway? The only reason he would care was if he still loved her.
“Watch it, little bro,” Caleb said.
He winked at me from his bed. Caleb’s flirting persisted despite his newest conquest hiding in the bathroom. The tension climbed to a highpoint. Had Caleb been working Jordan up to a confession too?
Gabe’s shoulders rose with noticeable rage. He brushed past me without even a glance. I kept my eye on his rifle. Then he roared, “You’re not my brother!”
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