Chapter 8

Valery

W e get back to Fortune Falls a few hours later. I rambled for most of the drive about my childhood, finding comfort in holding Karter’s hand. Driving into the waning daylight, I can’t help but think how beautiful it is here as the sun leans down to kiss the horizon once again.

Karter parks between the garage and the house, his chin tilted up and head cocked to the side as if he’s listening for something.

“Shit,” he mutters.

“What’s wrong?”

“My brothers are home.”

I glance around, but all the trucks that were here this morning are still parked in the same spots. “Is that bad?”

He sighs and grabs the crate of car parts out of the back of his International. “They can be obnoxious. I’m sure they’ll flirt with you, if for no other reason than to fuck with me.”

“Would watching someone flirt with me bother you?” This should be a major red flag, and yet I kind of like having him possessive over me. I’ve been on my own for so long, nobody ever knows where I am or what I’m doing. Nor do they care. Just once it would be nice to have somebody want me all to themselves.

“I wouldn’t like it,” he says in a deep, near growly tone.

Biting my lip, I take a step forward, pressing against the crate between us. “I don’t think I’d like watching some woman flirt with you either.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Why not? You’re rugged, handsome, built like a lumberjack, and super sweet. Even in a small town like this, there has to be a dozen women vying for your attention.”

He leans forward ever so slightly and moves the crate to rest on his hip. “There’s only one woman’s attention I want.”

I place my hand on his chest and lean in, leaving less than an inch of space between our lips. “Just one?”

His eyes turn molten, the green flecks sparking to life in a luminescent hue.

“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting all day to talk to you,” a female voice calls from the house.

Karter sighs and places a chaste kiss against my lips. “To be continued.”

“Are you ignoring—” A tall and beautiful brunette walks around the back of the truck and stumbles to a stop. Her eyes dart between us as I take a step back and Karter shifts the crate in front of him. “Hi?”

Karter rolls his eyes. “Valery, this is my sister, Kylian.”

I offer her my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

She stares at it and licks her lips, confusion written all over her face.

“Kylian!” Karter snaps, the first hint of gruffness I’ve seen from him sharpening his tone. “Shake Valery’s hand.”

She blanches, unconsciously taking my hand and shaking hard, her eyes big and focused on her brother. “It can’t be.”

“It’s okay,” he says with a much gentler tone and wraps his big hand over both of ours, stopping her from shaking my whole body with her death grip. “Where’s Dad?”

“House.” She finally looks at me. “Valery?”

“Yeah.” I force a smile. She’s nothing like he described. He said she was really sweet, but she’s looking at me like I’m some kind of a monster, and I can’t fathom why. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I wish I could say the same.” She turns on her heels and runs back to the house without another word.

I look at Karter who shakes his head. “I’ll talk to her.”

“What did I do? I thought you said she would love me?”

“She will. This isn’t about you. It’s about me.”

“I don’t understand.”

He shakes his head. “It’s hard to explain.”

“I’m a great list?—”

Shouts shift our attention away from each other as three large men barrel out of the house toward us.

“Holy shit, you were right!” One man wearing jeans and a black and red T-shirt that says “Camp Crystal Lake Guidance Counselor” exclaims as another with tattooed stars along his neck and collarbone stops with a satisfied smirk on his lips. “I told you.”

The third comes up behind them, his hands shoved in his pockets, a timid smile on his lips. “Hey.”

Karter steps in front of me, slightly shielding me from their gaze. Silence descends between them, their eyes bouncing from me to their brother to each other and back to me.

Finally, one of them skirts the wall of tense muscle and shoots his hand out in greeting. “Hi. I’m Kit.”

I take it, absolutely baffled by the last few minutes. One second I was millimeters away from kissing Karter, and the next I’m getting a hot and cold reception by his family. “Valery.”

Karter curses under his breath and steps to the side, his jaw tight and eyes narrowed on his brothers.

“I’m Kason—” the one with the tattoos says before jutting his thumb over his shoulder “—and the shy one behind me is Koran.”

“I can introduce myself, jackass,” Koran mutters and gives me a chin tilt.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“You’re back,” Kevin calls as he walks out of the house, his strides sure as he makes his way across the yard. He flashes me another almost apologetic smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes like it did this morning before he found his naked son pinning me against the wall. “We should get these parts into the garage and swap out that belt.”

Karter shoves the crate into Kason’s chest. “You two help Dad. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Roger that, Big Daddy.” Kit waggles his brows and ducks out of reach before Karter can smack him.

Kason throws me a chin tilt like Koran and says, “See you around, V,” before walking with his dad to the garage.

Koran nods at Karter even though no words are exchanged and walks back to the house without a second glance in my direction.

What the fuck is up with this family?

“Am I supposed to be here?”

Karter slides his hand down his face and blows out a breath of pure frustration. “What do you mean?”

I motion to the empty space where every single member of his family has stood in the last several minutes. “Everyone seems surprised by my presence. Even at the diner…” My words trail off as I work through my thoughts.

There is something weird going on, but I have no idea what it is. It’s not that people have been rude, per se, although Kylian’s reception wasn’t friendly, but I feel like a surprise guest on a TV show and no one knows what to do with me.

“It’s not you, Valery. We don’t get a lot of strangers through here. You probably noticed the town is not marked, and the entrance off of the highway is not exactly visible.”

“I did notice that last night.”

“We’re getting ready to renovate and make it more accessible, but for a long time we didn’t make our services available to travelers.”

He steps forward and slides his finger along my jaw, apple cinnamon swirling around us.

Is someone baking a pie?

“You’re getting a small town’s most awkward reception. People who leave here rarely come back. The rest of us are socially clueless.”

“So, this isn’t a Twilight Zone episode where I’ll be sacrificed by the villagers to a demonic presence in the woods under the full moon?” I quirk my brow and grin. Yes, something is off, but Karter is sweet, and I can feel his tension through his gentle touch. There’s something he needs to tell me, but if I truly felt like I was in danger, I’d stick with Kevin in the garage until my van is done.

But I feel safe with Karter, despite my instincts telling me something is wrong.

He furrows his brow. “You have quite the imagination. Do you believe in the supernatural?”

“I watch a lot of horror movies and murder TV. As far as the supernatural, I believe there are things in this world that we don’t understand.”

“Are you okay with that?”

I raise my eyebrow. “Not understanding? I mean, who am I to question others? It’s not really any of my business.”

“Hmmm. But what about mythical creatures, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster?” Karter’s face relaxes as he teases.

“I don’t know. Don’t you think if they existed somebody would’ve caught them on camera by now?”

“Supposedly they have. As a matter of fact, like Spiderman, I wouldn’t be surprised if the dumbasses weren’t setting up cameras and selling the videos and pictures themselves.”