Then I remembered something and ripped myself off the quad, charging to my tent. A hand caught my arm, but I pulled away.
“Daniels! Wait!”
“No! I have to-” I said as I scrambled away from whoever it was. “I need to get it.”
“Get what?”
I slipped and tumbled into the mud, taking the person with me. Running feet passed us as I looked up into the midnight eyes that belonged to Tyler.
I pushed against him, trying to get up. To get him to move. I looked over to the tent again to find it gone.
I swung back to him. “Where is it? Where did it go?”
“We moved it on top of Peter's quad trailer so it would be out of the water. His is the biggest." Relief flooded me. The family photo that Sarah gave me would be ok.
“Your things will be fine.”
He brushed back my wet hair from my face and leaned in close as if he had a secret. “We're muddy, Daniels.”
I snorted and pushed at him, but he didn't move. His next question...I was not expecting. It actually caught me off guard.
“You like me, don't you?” His voice was rough, deep as if this question had been burning in his mind for a while.
I looked up into his eyes as rain fell down on us, answering him honestly.
“Yes.”
“And you've kissed both my brothers.”
This time, I was embarrassed and turned away. Maybe Lincoln was wrong. Maybe not everyone was ok with their competition—not that I was a prize to be won or anything.
“Yes.”
I gasped at the next thing Tyler did. He got close and kissed my forehead, my cheek, my neck. My hands were in his hair when he brought his mouth to curve of my ear and whispered.
“I refuse to be like my brothers, Faith,” Tyler whispered in my ear. “I won't be the one stealing your kisses. I want to be the one stealing your heart.”
With his words, I did what I had been dying to do.
He’d fought for me. Protected and cared for me, just as his brother's had, and had never once asked for anything in return. So I gave. I kissed him.
I pulled his head down to nip at his bottom lip before pulling his lips to mine. He groaned and held my head, taking control. If anyone was watching, they would think us fools, but I wouldn't change this moment for the world. This was something I'd never forget.
Tyler pulled both of us out of the mud, then leaned in and gave me a swift kiss before he stalked over to where everyone else was. They were trying to maneuver Raina's SUV and Kayden's truck next to the trailer to provide some protection from the wind and rain.
Next they put tarps across the trailer, tying them to the SUV’s luggage rack and the truck window, hoping to keep the rain off the tent. By the time they also covered the sides, we had shelter within the shelter on the trailer.
It was quite ingenious and necessary as well. I helped to tie down the sides as the guys brought the camp stove over to the trailer under our little shelter so we could, at least, provide some heat. The rain was so bad and visibility almost nil, that even the thought of driving out of the campsite was near impossible.
After we had everything squared away, Raina spoke up as we all stood there, outside in the pouring rain, that had become a little bit harsher on our bodies as we grew numb from the cold.
“I think we need to strip again," she said, “to wash off the mud, and then we can crawl into the tent.”
With three twin beds, I knew that there wasn't going to be enough room for all of us to share, and I brought that up.
Kane shrugged, “I guess we could try to get our air mattresses out and leave the blankets behind.”
The guys looked at each other and nodded, striding over to their collapsed tent, extracting their own mattresses from it. They were soggy but they were also plastic. The guys leaned them up against the trailer on the inside of the small shelter and did the best they could to wipe them down before they were wedged into the tent.
We then all stripped down to our underwear, freezing, and tried desperately to wipe off the mud from our bodies as the rain provided us with its own natural shower.
I glanced over Kayden, then to Lincoln and finally to Tyler. I would think this was all comical if it had not been for the cold.
After all of us had cleared off the mud, we walked over to the trailer and sat down on the edge of it to clean off our feet. Each one of us tucked them underneath us, standing on the trailer’s wood platform, wiping them down as much as we could before we went into the tents.
In the tent, we had almost the whole entire floor covered with air mattresses.
At least I had clothes, I thought to myself as I walked over to my bag.
“Turn around, boys,” Raina told the guys, “We need to get into dry clothes.” They all grumbled, but turned to face the tent wall.
“We're freezing too, you know,” Lincoln stated the obvious. “What about us?” Before I searched for my clothes, I made sure my photo was undamaged, then I searched for my things.
I slipped out of my bra and underwear, knowing that the Lincoln was right. They were probably freezing in their wet boxers. I threw on a T-shirt and shorts as Raina and Wendy threw on a similar wardrobe.
“You guys can turn around now,” Raina told the guys.
They had their arms folded, rubbing the sides of their arms, trying to keep warm. The wind was blowing, harsh, and they were still soaking wet.
“I'm guessing you don't have any dry boxers to wear, right?” I asked them. Each one shook their heads.
“It's just us," Raina reasoned. “We don't want you to get hypothermia. So we'll turn around so you can take off your boxers. You guys can just wrap up with one of the blankets.”
It was funny. I could see Peter blush as if he was embarrassed. I so badly wanted to giggle, but I kept it in. The girls and I took the boys’ place as we looked at the tent wall.
It was now my turn to blush as boxers were thrown towards me, and then I rolled my eyes when I heard Kayden state, “I knew you were going to get me out of these someday. I just never thought it would be quite like this.”
“Kane,” Raina called out.
“Ouch,” Kayden exclaimed. “Really, sister of mine? You call on your boyfriend to deliver my punishment?”
“Don't be crude, bro," Tyler tossed out.
“Whatever. I'm so cold, I honestly couldn't do anything if I tried—Hey!”
“Well, quit with the innuendos," Tyler reprimanded him.
Chapter 17
We all snuggled together as the rain pattered against our tent and temperatures dropped. It had finally gotten dark, and the glow of the stove provided a little light, heat, and shadows.
I was currently stuck in between Kayden and Tyler with Lincoln on the side. The guys refused to cuddle together, saying that it was fate that this had happened and that we girls should just get over it and snuggle down.
I worried about how tomorrow was going to be, and how tonight was going to fare. I mean, if it was raining and cold like this, how were we going to survive the night?
“Anyone up for never have I ever?” Wendy asked, and I chuckled. She was always trying to find out information.
“Sure, but we don't have anything to drink, and we're all naked anyways," Peter reasoned. “Well, we guys are.”
“No backlash. Just questions and answers.”
“Fine with me," Lincoln agreed.
“Ok. I'll go first. Yay or Nay” Wendy volunteered. “Never have I ever stolen a car.”
“Nope.”
“No”
“Nu-uh.”
“Not me,” I answered. I knew she had started with that because of Tyler, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“No.”
Tyler stayed silent for a moment, then spoke. “It was a hearse, not a car," I giggled.
“Why did you ever even agree to do that?”
“It was my boyfriend who challenged him,” Raina told me.
“Not me," Kane def
ended himself. “It was before I met her.”
“Before you moved?” I asked curiously.
“Yeah. He was kind of the reason we moved," Raina sighed.
“Why?”
“I don't want to talk about it,” she whispered.
Hidden scars. I thought and my heart raced.
“What was his name?” I prompted. I couldn’t help but wonder.
She laughed a harsh laugh. “It's funny really. You remind me of him. Hell, even your first name is the same as his last.” An eerie feeling settled within me, and I didn't know if I wanted to hear any more. “His name was Austin Daniels, and my whole family moved because I was the one driving when he died.”
I stiffened. Her answer sent a knife straight into my heart. I pressed my lips together to prevent my cries from escaping. Tyler brushed my hair back, trying to give me comfort over my unknown distress. She had been my brother’s girlfriend. She thought she had killed my brother. I took a deep breath and let it out. I was going to tell her my story. “I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to pry," I whispered. “I—”
“It was hard, you know?” Raina went on. “Everywhere I went, I ran into his parents, and I felt shame. My parents moved me to get away from them and the memories. I'm glad we moved. I wouldn't have to face them every day. To be reminded, you know?”
“I’m sorry,” I told her again. No one spoke after that. With that one confession, our game was over. The storm raged on outside, but it was the one in the tent that was roaring louder but with silence. I kept quiet. I didn't answer. I rolled over towards Kayden and feigned sleep. Tyler brushed my hair away from my face, and I kept my breathing as even as I could.
They had moved away to get away from my family, the memories, and Brady had unknowingly brought me to them. If they ever found out who I really was, things would be different between all of us.
I was going to have to distance myself from them. Protect Raina so that she wouldn’t have to feel like that again.
As I drifted off to sleep, I felt the slightest touch of a kiss being placed on my head, and my nose burned as I held my tears at bay. What was I going to do?
***
We all woke up to dense fog and light rain. I was unusually quiet, but no one noticed. The guys put on their semi-wet clothes, and we all got to work packing up.
On the ride back, I rode with Tyler. He held my hand the whole way and even kissed the back of it from time to time. We were the first ones to pull up to the houses. He helped me out the jeep and pressed my back against it with his body. His cold lips met mine as both of his hands held my head steady. When he pulled back, he looked worried. “Are you ok, Daniels?”
My lips twitched even though my heart ached. Every one of the McGuire boys had asked me that question one time or another during our association, and each time I had told them I was fine. Because I was. I might have shed a tear, I might have gotten angry or worried, but I wasn’t crushed beyond belief.
But when Tyler asked me if I was ok, this time, I wasn't.
I gave him a tight smile and looked towards his lips, lying. “Yes. I'm fine.”
I dragged myself to what I called my home in search of Brady or Sarah. HotShot found me first as I dropped my bags by the front door. I leaned down to pet him, before heading towards the kitchen, although I couldn’t find them in there. I crept up the stairs and toward the left, the opposite way of my bedroom, hearing their voices. HotShot grabbed ahold of my shirt, trying to drag me away, but I was frozen by what I could hear.
“She's going to find out sooner or later, Brady. We should just tell her now.”
“No,” Brady stated, “Maybe we can do som—”
“She can't stay, Brady! That case worker is coming tomorrow—” I didn't listen to the rest. I stepped away and went back down the stairs, quietly collecting my bag before I slipped out. It would seem as though I had never arrived.
Outside I saw Wendy and Peter getting into that silver truck and jogged my way over, plastering a fake smile on my face. I asked if I could have a ride into town.
Wendy glanced at Peter and smiled.
“Sure. We could do that.”
I had them drop me off at the diner and from there, I made my way to the Greyhound station.
I did the one thing I promised myself I would never do again.
I ran.
Chapter 18
Brady
Sarah had called me in a frenzy about a message she had gotten on her phone, and I quickly checked my own, returning the Denton County Court’s phone call. They wanted to talk about her parent’s death. It seemed a few witnesses had come forward, saying that there had been someone else there that night, at Faith's house.
I didn’t want to tell her a caseworker was coming. It was too soon.
But I did want her to be home when they arrived. To try and help us figure it out. To see if anything would trip her memories. Sarah was opposed to the idea. She thought that we should tell Faith that they were coming but have her hang out with the McGuires because it was too much too soon. That we shouldn't ask her to do something like that.
HotShot hurried out of our room when he heard a noise, but I dismissed it. I looked over at Sarah and saw that stubborn glint in her eye that I loved, knowing that I was going to lose, but it wasn’t going to be without trying first.
“She's going to find out sooner or later, Brady. We should just tell her now.”
“No,” I stated, “Maybe we can do som—”
“She can't stay, Brady! That case worker is coming tomorrow—”
“I know. I know.” I thought about it and sighed. Sarah just wanted to protect Faith like a mother would protect her daughter. I couldn't deny her that. “Fine.”
HotShot burst into the room, biting into my pant leg and tugging me towards the door. He only did that when someone was in trouble. I raced downstairs and outside, but only saw that the kids were back. A silver truck was heading down the street.
Confused, I came back in and shut the door, wondering why HotShot was fussing over nothing.
Daniels would be here soon, and she’d most likely had a crazy time camping because of the storm.
I stepped towards the kitchen, and my foot splashed in a small puddle.
I stepped back and looked down before it dawned on me.
The noise. HotShot.
I raced over to the McGuire's only to have my suspicions confirmed. She must have heard Sarah and I talking.
Faith had not come to me like she had promised.
Instead, she’d run.
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Brokenly Found is the next book in The Faith Series!
Author Bio
I love to write! I have been writing since I was young
(Maybe not long in this subject), but I enjoy it.
Raised in an adoptive family of ten, there were seldom secrets between us siblings.
I thrived on finding out their secrets they did keep and embellishing on a few.
That's where my writing came in and my imagination went wild.
-Nikki Bolvair
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Love Is Not Lost Page 10