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“Because you have the hots for Br—”
“He kissed me,” Parry rebuts.
“Is that the story now?” I arch my brows.
“Truce, truce,” Zoey interjects. “Let’s call a fucking truce. Okay? We’re not in competition. We’re all cool. We all love each other.”
“No, we love you,” Parry rephrases.
“Agreed,” I say.
“We’re agreeing. See that,” Zoey smiles. “All of us. On the same page.” She lets out a breath. “Feels great, right?”
She’s cute.
Parry eases too. “You can do what you want, Zo. But my door is open. You can stay with me.”
She should.
I almost say the words. She should choose Parry. Not my dingy shed. But that’d mean seeing her less.
“Thanks, Pear,” she says. “But I still don’t want to get between you and Brian…maybe even more now. You guys need to…figure stuff out without me causing problems. So I’m going to kindly reject the offer.”
He nods tensely, respecting her decision.
Zoey steps between me and Parry to cool the tension further, and to us, she says, “I can look out for myself.” Her eyes soften on me. She knows that’s only partly true. In this town, you can have all the strength in the world, but without allies, you’re nothing.
It’s why the Durand name is as good as dirt. Her dad never had enough people to support him and defend him against my family. The rumors. The gossip. It all but drove him out of town. Or at least as far as he could go without completely leaving.
Parry resurfaces his glare on me. “You know what your family has done to Colt. I don’t see how you can help.”
Pain lances my chest. “I’m not my family, Parry.”
He looks me up and down. “Sure as hell look like a Brambilla to me.”
Air is brittle in my lungs.
Colt Durand is a lighthouse keeper. An antiquated job these days, but Mistpoint Harbor is one of the last places that still employs a civilian to keep the wick trimmed, light lit, weather recorded, and to watch the coast for signs of distress. When tourists come, Colt’s also responsible for giving tours of the lighthouse.
It’s a thankless job. Long hard hours. Little sleep. No one wants it. But it’s Mistpoint Harbor tradition to have a local take the position. So every two decades, a lottery is held. One name drawn from a list of qualified citizens. The qualifications are simple: Be in good health and at least eighteen years or older.
Eight years ago, Colt’s name was drawn.
But it’s no secret the lottery was rigged. Out of the seven people on the town council, five are Brambillas. Two of my aunts, two uncles, and one cousin have a large sway in this town, and their desires have always been clear to me.
Make sure Mistpoint Harbor is always seen as cursed.
Who better to man the lighthouse than the son of the famed Mother Murderer? The Durands are unequivocally the most cursed family here, and the moment Colt took the lighthouse position, my cousin Bernard posted about it online. It spread through the internet, reaching Reddit even. Tourists came in droves to be able to talk to Colt during a group tour.
I want to tell Parry that Colt could have turned down the position. No one forced him to become the lighthouse keeper.
But it wouldn’t be completely true. No one pointed a gun at Colt’s head, but if he refused, he’d have been shunned out of town. And while the hours and work are horrid, Colt is paid well. According to what Aunt Effie has told me, he earns more than Dr. Rhodes, the family physician, down the street.
In front of the lighthouse now, I realize Parry’s not going to trust me. Maybe not ever. But I can at least put the truth out there.
“Parry,” I say, “I can’t deny the destruction my family has caused the Durands. But if I can help Colt, maybe I can make this one thing right. Let me do that.”
His seafoam green eyes barely soften a fraction before looking to Zoey. “Your call, Zo.”
Zoey looks to me, and for a second, I worry she might cast me out. Maybe she’s remembering just how influential and cruel my family was…still is. And like Parry said, I’m still a Brambilla.
I can’t change my blood.
I can only use what I am for good.
A silent beat passes between us before she turns to Parry. “Kenobi is with me. She goes where I go.”
Her words are like liquid fire, trying to thaw my frozen heart.
Parry expels a tense breath. “Fantastic.” He shoots me a warning look. I shoot him one back. The dog versus the wolf.
We’re cautious of each other. Him of me, more so. He locks his convertible with the key fob. “Let’s get this over with then.”
CHAPTER 10
Zoey Durand
Darker clouds roll in just as we reach the base of the lighthouse. A small one-bedroom keeper’s quarters is attached to the exterior. It’s been my brother’s home for eight years now.
