After all, it’s my fault we left the only support system we had in Wild Peak. Four years without her were already unbearable. Every place in town haunted me with memories.
I hide out in one of the empty stalls and lean back against the soft give of the worn wood. I scroll through my emails on my phone until I land back on Deke’s.
Ever After Mountain Match.
I scoff. I swore he was messing with me. My oldest friend. The best man at my wedding. The one person who knew how I broke when Gillian wouldn’t wake up. He asked me to trust him.
I tap the back of my head against the wooden stall three times. Less than forty-eight hours from now, I’ll be saying I do at a courthouse and moving in a stranger to our home.
Fuck my life.
Chapter Two
IRIS
“Raven Angelica Clarke, I swear to the high heavens, when I find you, I will hogtie you to the tree by the creek behind the house for a full night and allow you to think about what you did. I’ll leave Bernie there to protect you. Obviously. And make sure you get water every couple of hours. I’m not a monster. But you,” I emphasize, taking a much-needed breath. “I don’t care that you’re six years older than me, Ray. You left me with no choice here. I hope you have an exceptional excuse like…pirates kidnapped you and your clothes in the middle of the night or amnesia, or something.”
I tighten my grip on the worn leather steering wheel cover, but still feel the tremble in my bones.
“Please just tell me you’re okay. I love you.” My anger deflates.
I end the call and switch back to the GPS on my phone that’s mounted on the dash.
“Five minutes. Holy shit,” I whisper, bouncing my left leg. “Everything will be okay. I could pass for Raven. I mean, we kindof look alike. But I can’t lie and call myself Raven. Shit, shit, shit.”
The moment I say I do to this stranger, he deposits the ten thousand into our account. That’ll be enough to take a chunk off the debt and pay the backpay for the farmers. I’ll be able to repair some of the equipment. We’ll be back to running order. This is a great idea. No, brilliant! I can do this.
He has a daughter. They vetted him. He can’t be a psycho, right?
I love my sister. I swear I do, but right now, I’m thinking back to all the true crime podcasts I’ve heard and all the creative ways to hide her body. This whole thing was her idea!
“You promised, Ray. You promised,” I mumble, pulling up into a two-story, charming, wooden ranch house.
The area is beautiful. Only about twenty-five minutes from our farm outside of this town, but surprisingly, I’ve never been here before. Raven argued it was too close to home. Another small town. I think it’s perfect. I can swing by the farm on the weekends and make sure we’re catching up.
“Don’t think. Just jump,” I quietly repeat my mother’s advice that still echoes five years later.
The memory of being seventeen and losing our parents in a car crash hasn’t eased. I inhale sharply, pushing the grief away.
Please don’t turn me away.
I get out of my father’s old truck and quietly shut the door, hoping for a few minutes before I have to face what awaits inside that house. Before my entire life changes.
I wore my best summer dress—yellow with tiny daisies dotted throughout. I even combed my wild hair and curled the ends. Light makeup and a homemade baked pie in hand have to do the trick. Right?
Raven, I’ve decided. You’re losing your middle toes for this. I marry a stranger and mother another stranger, you get to lose your toes. Seems perfectly fair to me.
Deep inhale, and I step up the porch steps. Before my knuckles rap on the wooden door, it opens.
I gasp involuntarily, taking in the burly beast in front of me.
Holy shit. So tall. Rugged, thick, slightly unkempt beard. A mess of dark brown hair that’s sticking every which way. Straight, serious brows over dark green eyes. Skin kissed by hours, no, years in the sun. And a fresh from the summer rain scent that for some ungodly reason has me wanting to nudge my nose into his neck.
Okay. My sister’s new husband—wait, nope—MY new husband-to-be is very attractive. Wasn’t counting on that.
He’s also…not happy.
“Can I help you?” Deep, guttural baritone causes a wave of tingles to rush up my body.
