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It didn’t sit well with me knowing someone hit a young woman who was only trying to take care of her brother. Though that begged the question of where their parents were? Even when Skylar took me to their small cabin, there was no sign of adults and at the time, and I didn’t think to ask. All I wanted was to get the fuck out of dodge.
“Jesus,” Priest muttered lowly as we passed a man on a horse.
“That’s nothing,” I added, pointing at the growing line of folks who needed to make a phone call. “The General Store has the only working landline phone in town. I stood in that line for close to two hours before I got a turn. Even then, it was only a five-minute call because it wasn’t considered an emergency.”
While driving past, every fucking one of the natives glared and eyed the vehicle. Not that they could see inside, thanks to the tinted windows.
“How much longer to the kid?” Priest asked, looking around the small town.
“Well, it was an hour by buggy, so I’m thinking ten, maybe fifteen minutes, maybe more.”
“How ya doing back there, Frank?” Priest asked, turning around.
The big brother huffed, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Something keeps jabbing me in the butt.”
Looking in my rearview mirror, I watched as Frank bent over to look under the seat, when he sat up, quickly twisted around, then punched something.
A loud grunt filled the cab of the vehicle. “You fucker!”
Slamming on the brakes, Priest and I turned just as Scribe’s head popped up from the back of the SUV. “That hurt!”
“Then stop poking me in the butt!”
“What the fuck are you doing here, Scribe?” Priest asked.
“Getting my ass beat by Frank, that’s what!” Scribe moaned, rubbing his nose.
“Really?” I sighed. “You chose a Club SUV to hide out in?”
“It worked,” Scribe replied, climbing over the seat as if him tagging along was no big thing. “Until the big man started poking around. So, Juniper Hollow, huh? King and I have a Marine buddy from this place. Maybe I’ll look him up.”
“This isn’t a fucking vacation,” I growled. “We’re finding out what happened. Fix what we can, then we are getting the fuck out of this place. Got it?”
“Geez, Pyro,” Scribe sighed, leaning forward between the seats that separated me and Priest. “Are you out of bubble gum? I have some Hubba Bubba in my bag. What flavor do you want? I got watermelon, cherry, grape?”
“I don’t want any damn gum, you ass!”
Before Scribe could reply, I watched as Frank grabbed Scribe by the back of his poncho he was wearing and flung him back into his seat. “Safety first, asshole.”
“Easy,Frank,” Scribe yelped. “My mom made me this poncho!”
Ignoring my idiot brother in the back, I concentrated on where I needed to go. The area wasn’t anything like Rosewood. Not one bit. Small shacks lined the surrounding hills. Folks milled around, doing nothing as they just lived their lives carefree. Other than the small town and a few stores, I was knee deep inDeliverancecountry.
There were no modern conveniences. Nothing to say the town, or the folks, knew of the world outside the small hollow they lived in. I still couldn’t believe I was back in this town. When I left, I promised myself I would never return. That and I promised myself never to get so damn drunk that I forgot time and space.
I still hadn’t recalled my missing time. Not that it mattered. As long as there wasn’t a warrant out for my arrest, I figured whatever I did couldn’t have been that bad. It still rattled me. I missed my time with Ellie. The one time of year, when I got to be with her,and I got so damn drunk I missed it.
What did that say about me?
I knew my brothers were worried about me. I knew they wanted me to move on and start living again. A small part of me did as well, but I couldn’t let go of her. I wasn’t ready to. She was the love of my life. For one brief moment in time, she was mine. Like a dream, she disappeared. While two of my brothers were starting their lives, mine was over. I would never have the laughter, the love, the coy looks or the woman of my dreams in my arms again.
Ellie was the love of my life.
There would never be another.
I knew that. Accepted that.
All I cared about was my business and the club. That was enough for me. I didn’t want or need any complications in my life. I liked it just the way it was. Drama free. If I wanted drama, I’d hang out with my club brothers.
