Page 112 of Tell No Lies

I was on my best behavior at the bonfire. There had been enough drama over last night, so I stuck close to the girls tonight, but after a few s’mores, I started feeling sick.

“You were in the sun a lot today. You’re probably just dehydrated.” Mckayla’s logic sounded right, but I wanted to lie down. She put her hand on my forehead and sighed. “You’re on fire, hon. Do you want me to walk you back to the dock?”

I shook my head. I didn’t want anyone to miss out because of me.

I stood and told the girls goodbye. I hoped to avoid Mike, since I knew he would protest me making the five-minute walk alone. I slid into the darkness outside the reach of the campfire easily.

I continued along the path when I heard a snap from somewhere close behind me. I froze and listened for more movement. I only heard silence and convinced myself it was just an animal when the sound came again, closer this time.

I stopped and was considering turning back when my vision went black. My heart jumped to my throat when I realized someone was holding me against them. I threw an elbow back and made contact with a hard mass.

A male voice grunted. “What the heck, Aubrey! Why did you attack me?”

I spun and was face to face with Donny. My breathing slowed to a normal rate, but I was suddenly furious. “Don’t ever sneak up on a girl like that! I thought you were a murderer or something! Geez, Donny!”

He chuckled deeply and hugged me. “I’m sorry, little one. I thought it would be funny. Evidently it wasn’t.”

I punched his arm once before hugging him back. “Jerk. Why were you following me?”

“Talia said you were walking back alone, and I couldn’t allow that, so I came to make sure you made it safely.”

I turned and continued on the path. “Good job at that. You scared me to death.”

He threw his arm around my shoulder. “I know. I’m sorry! I’ll announce myself next time.”

We reached the dock a few moments later, and instead of making sure I got on the boat and left, he climbed in behind me.

“Why aren’t you going back?” I didn’t want him to miss out because of me.

“I heard you were going to lie down, and it sounded like a good idea. Mind if I join you?” He said it like he was suggesting something else and broke into laughter before I could respond. “I’m kidding. I was planning on putting on a movie in the main cabin and putting together something to eat, but now that you’re sick, I’ll take care of you.”

He was such a teddy bear sometimes. A large, muscular, intimidating teddy bear.

“Sounds good. Thanks for coming with me.”

Nine

A few days later, I was slaving over the stove when I heard the front door open. I stopped stirring and leaned back to see who was walking in. Carter stood there, wearing worn jeans and a soft-looking T-shirt that clung to his shoulders. He was holding a bouquet of white cabbage roses, my favorite.

“You brought me flowers?” I sounded like a lovesick teenager.

He grimaced. “Oh, this is awkward. These are actually for Brandon.”

I swatted him with a dishtowel and took the flowers from him. “Well, he won’t appreciate them, so I’ll just take care of them.”

He moved around the kitchen as I cut the stems and arranged them in a vase I’d found hidden under the sink. I had to remember to ask Brandon about that later. When I turned back to the stove, Carter was looking down at the pans with his nose scrunched up.

“What is this?”

I moved next to him and bumped his hip. After taking the lid back, I covered the pan. “Chicken Marsala. What’s with the face?”

“There are mushrooms.”

He still looked disgusted.

“Are you three? You can eat around them. I promise you’ll love it. Everything’s ready, so we just have to wait for Brandon.”

Carter began pulling plates and cups out of the cupboards. “I forgot to mention … he’s going to be late.”