Chapter 6 - Leslie

The next morning, we head back to Silver Meadows in Kyle’s truck. I already made arrangements with my parents to have my furniture cleaned out and moved to Kyle’s place. Most of my clothes and personal stuff should be there later today.

It was nice of my parents to do that much. It’s not like they’ve ever helped me out before.

It’s not like my parents were abusive—quite the opposite. They wanted me to become “something” and pushed me hard. My inability to excel the way they wanted me to left me constantly feeling like a failure. Working in Gladys’s diner was seen as the ultimate embarrassment.

They are more than happy to marry me off, especially if it will elevate their social status, even just a little.

I can’t shake off my bad mood, and I don’t see why I should even try. Kyle keeps his eyes on the road and doesn’t look over at me. After he tried to say good morning and all I did was growl in response, he hasn’t tried again.

The champagne went down easy but left me with a decent hangover. I finished the bottle while I was in the bath, helped myself to some food, and then curled up in bed with Kyle. The bed was so big, I felt like I was all alone in it.

I was.

We hit the Silver Meadows outskirts, the main mountains of the range dominating the sky. The place is always breathtaking, an awesome display of nature’s power. My headache lifts a little.

Then we turn into the outer streets, and I feel my stomach twist. I met Kyle at his place a lot. It’s conveniently outside the main part of town, so there wasn’t much risk that we’d get seen.

As we pull into the driveway, nostalgia hits me, and it’s so strong, I feel like I’ve slipped through time. This moment is almost identical to those I lived through over a year ago. My emotions try to rise in response.

I was always so excited to be here. I couldn’t wait to see him. I’d rush out of my car, and he’d meet me on the stoop—

“Are you alright, Leslie?” he asks.

I nod, not looking at him. Instead, my eye is drawn to the ring on my finger. This one tiny thing makes all the difference now. No matter how familiar these memories seem, everything has changed.

I jump down from the truck, carefully sweeping aside my skirts so I don’t trip. I didn’t have anything else to wear except my wedding dress. I walk towards the house and then pause at the bottom of the steps, staring at the door. I dreamed of this moment so many times.

He’d sweep me up into his arms and carry me across the threshold, both of us laughing and happy. I saw it over and over again.

Kyle moves around me, jumps up the steps, and unlocks the door. He gestures inside with one hand.

“Come in, Leslie. I got some keys cut for you already, and some boxes of your things have already been delivered. I just left them in the living room.”

I just nod, walking slowly up the steps and into the hall. It seems so ridiculous that he is formally inviting me into his home, when for a good few months, it was practically my home, too.

The nostalgia I felt outside increases tenfold the second I walk into the living room. It’s so strong that goosebumps prickle up and down my spine. His big, old stuffed couch covered in gray wool blankets, the velvet green armchair, the faded red checkered rug…

Everything is exactly the same. It’s like he hasn’t even been here for the last year.

“Do you want some coffee or something?” Kyle asks. He’s behind me, and I don’t bother to turn around. I just shake my head.

I hear his footsteps slowly move away. It’s an old house, made of rough wooden planks that creak with their own individual notes. It was built in a time when everyone made things to their own design, and everything had unique character.

I’ve always loved it so much.

Looking around at the paneled walls and high-steepled ceiling, I have to admit, I still love it. An impish smile creeps onto my face as I realize I can now indulge my dreams of decorating it.

What’s he going to do, stop me? I’m his wife.

Before the full implications of that thought can sink in, I hear a car pull up outside. There is an explosion of excited female voices, accompanied by giggles.

I don’t know if I want to see anyone right now.

I turn towards the door, a dozen excuses clustering in my brain, but when I see Kyle hovering in the kitchen doorway, I realize I don’t want to stay here, either.

“Hello!” Gina calls, rapping on the open door. “You guys home? Hi! There you are.”

Gina hurries over to Kyle and gives him a quick squeeze, kissing his cheek before coming over to me. Lena follows, giving Kyle a wave as she comes through the door.

“Hi,” I mutter shyly.

Gina throws her arms around me and squeezes me so tightly that I can’t breathe for several seconds. “Hi, yourself,” she says, laughing. “We’re here to take you out to a girls day, to welcome you to town and to our pack.”

“That’s very nice of you,” I whisper, trying to summon at least a shadow of normalcy. I’m really not used to being close to anyone emotionally, and I’m getting the feeling this is a very close family.

When I glance over at Kyle, he looks pretty tense. I’m guessing he isn’t used to a lot of attention, either, but I don’t know for sure. He never talked about what his family situation was like while he was growing up.

“So, do you want to get changed or go out in your dress?” Gina asks me. “I’m fine either way.”

“Well, I’m not!” Lena snaps. “If she’s going out to get ice cream in a gown, I’m damn well wearing one, too!”

“It’s okay, I’ll change,” I say quickly. Then my brain catches up with the joke. I start giggling, which the other girls immediately join in on.

“I’ll just get some jeans or something,” I add a bit bashfully as I start to paw through a couple of cardboard boxes sitting against the wall. I quickly find my favorite loose jeans and dark gray sweater and run to the bathroom to change.

As I come back into the living room, I see Kyle and Gina talking quietly, both of them looking a little tense. Lena stands nearby with her arms folded, listening.

“Oh, there you are!” Gina says, waving me over. “Let’s go!”

Both girls link arms with me, and we head out to the car. I feel like it’s none of my business, but I also can’t keep my mouth shut.

Fuck it, I’m family now. It’s my business if I want it to be.

“What were you guys talking about?” I ask as I slip into the back seat.

“Nothing much,” Gina says, slowly backing out of the driveway. “Mom wants him to come over for dinner, and he’s been avoiding her a bit.”

“Oh,” I mutter, questions building up inside me. Before I can figure out which one to start with, Lena turns around to chat with me.

“That dress was so beautiful,” she says. “Where did you get it?”

“I, ah, made it, actually.”

“You did not!” she gasps.

“No freaking way!” Gina exclaims, and I start blushing.

“Yeah. I’ve been working on it for a couple of years, actually.”

I planned to marry Kyle in it, so I finished it out of spite. What a joke.

“Could you make me a nice dress?” Lena asks. “Seriously, I’ve never seen work like that. Who taught you, your mom?”

“God, no,” I chuckle. “I used to knit and embroider as a kid. A home ec teacher gave me a sewing machine, and it all just sort of developed from there.”

“The aunts are going to love her,” Gina mutters, and both girls laugh.

“The… aunts?” I ask hesitantly.

“Don’t stress,” Lena says, turning around again. “I know it’s a bit daunting, coming into such a big family, but trust me, it’s pretty awesome.”

I look at her glowing eyes and wide, happy smile. She looks so confident and relaxed. There is no way I can doubt her words, knowing what she went through. I don’t have all the details, but everyone in both packs knows what went down with her father.

“Okay, we’re here!” Gina announces. “This place has the best milkshakes and ice cream, and I want to do some serious damage to my waistline and my purse.”

“Oh, Gina, no,” Lena giggles. “I’m never going to get rid of my baby weight.”

“Pfft. Why would you want to? Fat-bottomed girls make the rockin’ world go round.”

I get out of the car slowly, trying to join in with the laughter of the other two girls.

I wish I could be confident like them, but I’ll never be that beautiful.

Gina is stunning, with her long black hair and big blue eyes. Her long wool dress is the same deep blue, a wraparound design that hugs her waist and accentuates her bust and hips. Lena’s strawberry-blond hair is pulled up in a ponytail, making her look young and girlish. Her fuzzy pink sweater and soft black jeans fit her loosely, tracing out her lean, muscular body.

I can’t see a hint of baby weight on her.

Beside them, I feel like a huge, soft, ripe tomato. No shape, no curves. Only squishy edges.

“Come on.” Gina links her arm through mine and drags me into the café. We take a booth by the window, and Gina orders three ice cream sundaes with extra everything.

When the mountains of ice cream arrive, slathered with two types of hot fudge and covered in tumbling avalanches of nuts and waffle crisps, I want to say it’s too much for me to finish.

But who am I fucking kidding?

It looks like paradise in a crystal bowl. There’s no way I’m missing out on it just because I’m feeling a bit down.

Isn’t that exactly it, though?

Whenever Mom and Dad had a go at me, whenever a boy I liked turned me down, I’d comfort-eat. I’d try to solve my problems by making the problem worse.

Gina moans in a manner that is probably not acceptable in public. Lena takes a big bite and echoes her. Skeptical, I grab my spoon and dig in.

“Oh my fucking God,” I mutter, rolling the ice cream across my tongue.

“Right?” Gina says, waving her spoon. “It’s obscene. Do you have any idea the willpower it takes for me to stay out of this place?”

“No,” Lena says solemnly. “I can’t imagine. Because you are in here every day.”

Gina giggles and makes emphatic gestures with one hand because her mouth is too full to respond.

We all get halfway through our sundaes before anyone is ready to talk again. I decide to hit the family topic again.

“So, you said Kyle didn’t want to go to your mom’s?” I ask. “Why’s that?”

“She’s missed him so much,” Gina says. “He was away for a bit, but it’s not like he visited regularly before that.”

“What do you mean?”

Gina regards me with her dark blue eyes, and I can tell she isn’t ready to spill every gory detail she knows. Not yet.

Besides, Kyle should be the one to tell me.

“Kyle is just wary of parental figures—especially authority,” Gina says. “I honestly don’t know a whole lot about his childhood because I was a kid then, too. I do know my mom has tried to take care of him as much as she possibly can, and it hurts her that he won’t open up, even though I can tell he’s been lonely.”

I want to ask how she knows that, and the details of the family connections, but I feel a bit stupid asking. I just married the guy. I don’t want to advertise that I know absolutely nothing about his family connections.

Besides, it doesn’t look like Gina wants to spill it all right now, anyway.

After we finish our ice cream, Lena suggests going out for cocktails. The sun is starting to go down, and even though I hit a decent amount of champagne the night before, a cocktail sounds like a great idea.

The girls take me to Shelley’s, where they introduce me to Shelley herself as well as a few key pack members. I can tell by the way everyone reacts to Gina that she is loved by everyone who knows her.

We take up a side table, and our talk turns to fashion again.

“Do you think you could make baby clothes?” Gina asks. “I would love to have some really nice things for Natalia now that she’s walking.”

“I’d love to,” I answer, finishing off my Toblerone cocktail. “I’ve never made baby clothes before, but I’m more than happy to give it a try.”

“Hmm.” Lena slurps the edge of her glass. “Another one down. I’d better hit the bar again.”

“No, please, let me.” I stand up, waving my hands a bit. “You guys have been so generous. I should get a round.”

“I want to protest, but it looks like you might fight me for it,” Gina says, laughing. “So I’ll let you step up, just this once.”

I’m blushing when I head off to the bar. Shelley sees me coming and starts mixing the cocktails. As I stand and wait for the drinks, I have a warm and fuzzy feeling that has nothing to do with the alcohol.

I’m going to fit in here. It’s all going to work out.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, yes?” I look around and see a guy standing right next to me. Either he was as quiet as a panther or I was completely out of it.

“I was wondering if I could buy you a drink?” the guy asks. He has a nice smile and lovely brown eyes.

I smile back. “That’s okay, but thank you. I’m just here with my friends.”

“I understand,” he says, taking a step back. “I just thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask. You’re new in town?”

“Yes.” I nod, not wanting to say much because I’m not sure if he’s from the pack or just a random person from town.

He sits down at a bar stool, gesturing for me to join him. “Tell me how you ended up in this little place. Are you visiting? We get a lot of tourists.”

His intense gaze and sweet smile are having an effect on me. Even though it seems impossible, I’m pretty sure this guy is flirting with me. Even though I’m not interested, I am very flattered.

“No, I’m not a tourist. I’m, ah—”

“Married,” a stern voice cuts in from behind me. I know that tone, and the intoxicating scent that comes with it.

Kyle.