Hidden (Hidden Trilogy #1)

Chapter One

A five and a half hour drive would make anyone’s butt numb. I sighed in the backseat of the truck as I shifted my weight and adjusted my sunglasses. Not that it was that sunny outside. The overcast sky was typical of Oregon State and sunglasses were more to cover my eyes than to keep the glare away. My foster parents, Steve and Nicole Henkens, were quietly discussing the scenery from the front. Steve was your typical late fifties, lean, tall man. He was always quick to smile and joke, no matter the situation. Nicole was similar in personality. She was a few inches shorter than Steve and athletic looking. Steve was a forest ranger and had just recently been transferred to the other side of the state. Which meant goodbye to one small town, hello to another.

I’ll admit, the scenery was beautiful as we drove down the highway. The hills and valleys covered with trees and an isolated stream or river flowing down a hillside was picturesque. I enjoyed the view. I just wasn’t looking forward to the destination.

Cave Junction was just another small town to torture new kids. A new town meant a new school, new classmates, and new teachers. Everyone probably knew each other from birth which would just make me an outcast all the more. Being a foster kid and running through homes in my early childhood did not endear me to people. Throw me into a new school my last year…yeah. It was going to be great.

When I landed with the Henkens at 14, I was a little bit of a handful. Thankfully, they had other kids before me and helped me work through my issues…well, most of them anyway. I was now able to have a conversation without throwing something at someone so I suppose that was progress.

I was seventeen and had nine months before I turned eighteen in May. Nine months before I could graduate the system and make my own choices. Was I counting every second? Absolutely. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Steve and Nicole. I was their last kid to foster and I’d overheard them discussing a few trips that they wanted to take. They deserved some time off after dealing with all their foster kids. They were better than any foster home I’d had before, but they still weren’t my parents. Not that I knew who they were. Steve and Nicole had offered a few times to adopt me. I was shocked at first, after everything I went through, but they said I was special to them and that’s why they offered, but I politely declined. I didn’t want them to be financially responsible for me or be a burden on them later in life. Who knew what life would bring in five or ten years.

As the car slowed, I looked up to notice we were finally entering the city limits of Cave Junction. I saw the sign welcoming us and noted that it had a population of a little over 1800. Plus three more. People on the streets stopped to stare at us as we passed in our truck and packed storage trailer that followed behind. Yep, welcome to small town, USA.

We passed through the town and drove by small shops and little boutiques, a few restaurants, grocery store, and a post office. I hoped there were a few more shops on a side street otherwise I was going to be making a few trips to Ashland just to buy some necessities. Steve turned off the main road, passed the high school, and traveled down a residential street before we reached the last house on the right.

“We’re here!” Nicole sing-songed as we pulled into the driveway. She glanced back at me excitedly and I pasted a smile on my face. See? I could be happy. I looked past her to view the house. It was a two story, four bedroom, and two and a half bath, with an open concept floor plan on the main floor. While I didn’t have any choice in moving there, Steve and Nicole did let me help pick out the house they would buy. I liked this one because I had my own bathroom since the master bedroom had its own, and the bedrooms were on opposite sides of the house. Privacy I liked. Steve parked the truck and I slowly stepped out as I fully stretched my aching limbs.

“So, what do you think?” Nicole asked as she turned to me. I shrugged. A new house was a new house. It really wasn’t all that different from my previous life experiences. “Ok, well, grab what you can and we’ll check it out.” Nicole replied as she bent back into the truck to grab her things from the front. I already had my backpack with me so I made my way to the front door. Steve was ahead of me and used his key to unlock the door. It swung open and I followed him in. I glanced around, taking in the new interior, happy to note that it was just like the pictures online.

I circled the downstairs before I slid around to the stairs and jogged up to the rooms above. If you went right, the master wing was down the hall, left were two bedrooms and a bathroom. There was a study/bedroom downstairs with a half bath. Glancing in both bedrooms, I took the one that was at the back of the house that faced the woods. I dropped my bag in the corner and went to the window seat. The view was amazing. The backyard was fairly large with a few deciduous trees but mostly pine. The yard then butted up to the forest which stretched for miles. A house on the edge of town was a perfect idea. For the first time that day, I allowed a real smile to cross my face. Maybe this year wouldn’t be so bad.

It took us a good five hours to move all our stuff inside. There were a few curious faces that slowed as they passed on the street but no one stopped by. When the last box was moved to a corner, I collapsed on the couch in the living room. Five and a half hours in a car to spend five hours moving junk and I was exhausted. I watched as both Steve and Nicole fell into the other sofa.

“Whew! I thought we’d never be done.” Nicole mumbled. I nodded in agreement. Steve had his eyes closed and rested his head against the back of the sofa. Without opening his eyes, he brought up the question about supper.

“Want to order a pizza?” He asked.

“Sounds good to me.” I commented. Nicole nodded enthusiastically.

“Ok.” Steve sighed as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and proceeded to order a pizza to be delivered. At least the town had a place that delivered.

“I’ll be upstairs. Just yell if you need something.” I commented and Nicole nodded that she heard me before she rested her head on Steve’s shoulder. I pulled myself to my feet and went up the stairs. My room wasn’t a total disaster but it was going to take time to sort everything out. The bed was the first thing on the list. Organizing shelves and clothes could happen the next day. I needed a bed to sleep in that night.

Thirty minutes later my bed was presentable and the pizza was there. I shuffled down the stairs and met Steve and Nicole in the kitchen. Plates and silverware hadn’t been unearthed yet so we used paper towels as plates. I was so hungry the grease didn’t even have time to soak into the paper towel before it was gone.

“Hey Kendra,” Steve said as he turned toward me. “Tomorrow we have to go into the ranger station and pick up one of the work trucks. You can come with us if you want.”

“No, that’s fine.” I assured him. “I’ll keep unpacking and maybe explore a little in town.”

“Okay. We can drop you off downtown before we go. If you need something or get lost, call us, we shouldn’t be gone more than a few hours.”

“Will do.”I answered.

“Are you excited about your new school?” Nicole asked. I shrugged. Once again, it was nothing “new” to me. “I’m sure there will be lots of people there to make new friends.” Nicole added.

“I’m sure there will be lots of other kids there.” I agreed, not commenting on the friend thing. Those you couldn’t just pick out at the local store.

“I bought all your school supplies already, they are around here somewhere,” Nicole murmured before glancing around the kitchen. “Ah ha!” She exclaimed as she looked in the closet next to the sliding glass door that led out to the backyard. “Here you go.” I took the bags from her and noticed there were notebooks, pencils, a new backpack, a planner, and what looked like sketching supplies. I closed my eyes for a second in appreciation, then looked up and gave her a genuine smile.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to buy me this.” I said sincerely. I loved to draw so the sketching supplies were an awesome gift.

“Oh, no big deal. They’ll come in handy.” She smiled in return before turning her attention to the kitchen.

“If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to go upstairs and probably go to sleep. I’m beat.” I said as I sidestepped to the hallway door.

“Not at all.” Steve replied with a wave of his hand. “Thanks for all your help today. We’ll wait until you’re up in the morning to leave and we should be back in the afternoon sometime.”

“Ok.Night.”I nodded in their direction.

“Goodnight.” They chorused. I grasped my bags of supplies a little tighter as I made my way up the stairs. When I entered my room, I walked over to my bed and upended the bags. I stood there for a moment, looking over the new supplies, and then stacked them neatly on the desk near my bed. A new place, one more new home. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

***

The next morning I woke to the sun streaming in my window. I squinted at the bright light, trying to remember where I was. I looked around the cluttered room and it hit me that this was my new room. New house. New town. I fell back to my pillow and closed my eyes. Closing your eyes isn’t going to organize your room for you Kendra, I scolded myself. I climbed out of bed and found some clothes to wear for any casual occasion, worn jeans and long sleeved t-shirt. My long brown hair was thrown up into a pony tail after I ran a brush through it. I made sure my silver necklace was tucked under my shirt. I never went anywhere without it. I glanced in the mirror to make sure nothing was out of place.

My honey green eyes stared back at me. I was probably average height at 5’6” with a medium build. Most people assumed with my athletic build that I liked to play sports. I scoffed. Team sports were not my thing. I kept to myself as much as possible. It was easier to stay under the radar that way. Since I moved around so much growing up, I couldn’t really make friends or join teams. I knew I would be moving on so what was the point? It wasn’t that I didn’t want friends, or someone to hang out with. It was just I knew I would be moving on. It was hard to make friends when you didn’t stick around. I’d only made one good friend in the past and that didn’t turn out so well. Maybe this year would be different. I shrugged as I grabbed my phone and went downstairs. My friend situation and organizing my room could wait until later.

Steve and Nicole were ready to go when I walked down the stairs. I looked down at my phone to see that it was already ten o’clock. I smiled in their direction and hurried over to the refrigerator and glanced inside but Nicole hadn’t had time to grocery shop. The only thing in there was bottled water from our drive down the day before. I shut the door and scrounged through a few bags on the floor until I ran across a granola bar. That would tide me over until lunch. Which was going to have to be somewhere in town since there was no food here.

Our house was on the outskirts of town, not far from the high school but still a distance from main street. I could do a little exploring that morning, find somewhere to eat, and then see if Steve and Nicole were headed back to pick me up. I found my purse, grabbed some cash, and stuffed it in my pocket. Sunglasses on my head, phone in my hand, and we were out the door.

I took note of our street name, just in case I got turned around some time. Steve and Nicole dropped me off at one end of main street and I said I would call them when I was done. I walked at a leisurely pace and took in each little shop with the window displays. I was looking in a window that showcased paintings when I heard rambunctious laughter from behind me. Without turning around, I shifted my gaze to the reflection in the window to the scene behind me.

Three boys and one girl were across the street standing under a tree laughing. They looked about the same age as me, but it was hard to tell from my angle. All three boys were tall and lean. The girl beside them was slightly shorter than the boys and I watched as she elbowed one of them in the side. That just made them laugh harder. I turned sideways and glanced across the street to get a better view.

The boy in the middle was a hair taller than the other two. He had black cropped hair that gave away to sharp cheekbones and a strong jaw. He was wearing jeans that fit across the hips and then hung loose mid-thigh. His t-shirt was blue with something stamped across it but I couldn’t tell what it was.

Both boys beside him also wore jeans and a t-shirt. One had curly brown hair while the other was wavy blonde. The one with the blonde hair was slightly more bulky than the other two and even from this distance I knew he was one guy you wouldn’t want to mess with.

My eyes shifted to the girl who was saying something which made all the guys laugh again. She was pretty with her short, highlighted brown hair and fitted jeans and t-shirt. I wondered which one was her boyfriend. My eyes returned to the boy in the middle with the black cropped hair. Probably him.

“You shouldn’t stare.” I started at the voice beside me. I turned to find a petite girl about my age looking directly at me, shifting her weight side to side. If she didn’t have deep red hair and green eyes that would make her stand out, she could have easily faded into the background with her shy demeanor, calling me out aside. By the way she shuffled side to side, I had the feeling she didn’t confront people that much.

“Excuse me?” I asked just to make sure I heard her right.

“I said you shouldn’t stare.” She repeated defiantly with a lift of her chin. I raised my eyebrow at her. I easily outweighed her by a good twenty pounds and had more muscle mass in my one leg then she probably did in her whole body.

“I wasn’t staring at anything.” I countered, turning to face her fully. She must have interpreted my move as aggressive because she backed up a step. “I was just wandering around town.”

“You’re lying.” She pointed out but stuttered over the words, her confidence wavering. “I saw you watching them. Who are you?” She quietly demanded, apparently the petite girl did have some spunk after all.

“New in town. And you?” Confrontation on my first day? Yep, nothing new here.

“I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“Well good for you.” I muttered. Her eyes narrowed slightly at my comment. A shadow fell over me as a masculine voice came from my side.

“Is there a problem here?”

I turned my head away from the annoying girl to see that the black haired boy from across the street was now standing between us, looking from the girl to me. Movement behind him told me that the two other boys flanked him and the girl had circled around to stand beside the petite girl. Great, just what I needed this morning. The black haired boy assessed me for a moment before returning his attention to the petite girl.

“No, Cade, it’s fine.” The petite girl answered quietly without meeting his eyes. I couldn’t figure out if she was still intimidated or just shy by nature with new people. If she was shy, why did she single me out in the first place?

“Bree, you sure you’re all right?” The other girl asked, putting her arm around Bree’s shoulder.

“Yes. I’m fine Cassie, thanks for asking. I was just coming over to meet you guys.” She glanced at me. The petite girl, Bree, seemed to still be assessing me. It made me a little bit uncomfortable.

“No problem. You know we always look out for you.” Cassie smiled, squeezing Bree’s shoulder before moving her attention to me. “I haven’t seen you around before.” There wasn’t a question in there so I didn’t answer. Besides, the three hulking boys to my side had my full attention even though I wasn’t looking at them. Could I outrun them if needed? I wiggled my toes, cursing myself for wearing flip flops instead of sneakers.

“Who are you?” Cade demanded, this time directing his question at me. I turned to face him and knew that was a mistake. Up close the boy was hardly a boy. His features were in sharp relief and I found I couldn’t look away from his deep brown eyes. There was something about those eyes that made me catch my breath. What a hottie! The other two boys shuffled on either side of him which finally woke me up enough so I could stumble out a reply.

“Kendra. I just moved here.”

“From where?” He asked, a little less forcefully this time. His eyes held mine steadily and threw me off balance. Who looked that intensely at someone they just met?

“Other side of the state.” I replied shortly. I looked around at the group and noticed all of them were studying me, closely, like they were trying to figure out some hidden fact about me. Well, I wasn’t one to stick around unnecessarily. I cleared my throat and nodded at no one in particular then turned to leave.

“Wait!” Cassie said from behind me. I turned back to her and noticed that she had taken a few steps toward me.

“Sorry if we seemed a little…protective. We look after our own.” She said, nodding at the group around her. I figured she meant their close group of friends so I nodded. I’d seen that enough over the years, even if I was never in one of those groups. “Will you be going to school next week?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

“What year are you?”

“Senior.” I replied and she smiled in response.

“So are we. Maybe we will have some classes together.” She sounded almost hopeful. I, however, was skeptical.

“Maybe.” I replied noncommittally and shrugged.

“Where do you live?” Cade asked, his gaze intent on me. I made it a point not to squirm.

“Edge of town.” I hedged.

“Are your parents in the store?” He asked, nodding toward the window I was looking in earlier.

“No.” I replied, confused. What did my “parents” have to do with anything?

“Are they close by?”

“Why are you asking?” I countered and squared up to him. Cade seemed like one of those boys who always got his way. Not something I was interested in doing. Not in the least.

“You shouldn’t be walking around alone.” He took a few steps toward me, which made me back up. I inwardly cursed my retreat. He noticed and stopped his advance as he gave me a quizzical look.

“Why?” I asked to cover my retreat.

“This may be a small town but bad things can still happen.” He stated. He glanced around at the group before adding, “We will walk you home.”

“Uh, thanks but no thanks.” I replied shaking my head. “It’s too far to walk and I have a ride picking me up.”

“You’re refusing my offer?” He asked incredulously, like it was something that had never happened to him before. Anyways, from my viewpoint it wasn’t an offer, more like a demand.

“Yeah, I’m refusing it.” I replied sarcastically. “I don’t need your help. I can take care of myself.” His eyes narrow at my response.

“Cade, let her go.” Cassie said quietly as she pulled gently on his arm. I don’t know why, but a surge of jealously spiked through me as Cassie touched Cade’s arm. Weird, why would I care? I shook off the feeling and returned my attention to Cade. He looked back at Cassie before his gaze shifted to me. He still seemed undecided so I made it easy on him. I turned around and walked away. I wanted it to be a statement, like a “thank you but no thank you, I don’t need you” kind of act. But my curiosity got the better of me and as soon as I heard them start discussing something amongst themselves, I glanced over my shoulder. Right into the eyes of Cade who was following my progress down the street, eyes focused on me. I quickly turned back around and went into the nearest shop. Whew! Talk about intense!

I glanced around the store and realized I’d ducked into a flower shop. Well, there were worst places to be hiding. I glanced around for a little bit and finally decided I could buy a bouquet of wildflowers for the kitchen. They would brighten up the room and smell nice, at least. I made my purchase and slowly walked to the door. Before I opened it, I tried to look down the street but I couldn’t tell if they were still out there or not. I took a fortifying breath and stepped out. I purposely did not glance back the way I had come but I didn’t hear any voices. I turned and continued down the street as I perused the stores.

I spent the next thirty minutes wandering up and down main street, looking in windows, and checking over my shoulder. Cade and Cassie were definitely different than other kids I knew. They seemed close to each other and Cade was way too protective. I mean, I’d just met the guy and he was insisting that they walk me home? Maybe some would view that as chivalrous, but he didn’t ask. He demanded. Orders never sat well with me. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. No sense in rehashing that encounter. I didn’t buy anything else from the stores, but when my stomach started growling, I decided it was time to eat. On the corner there was a diner and I thought that was as good a place as any.

As soon as I walked in the door, I felt out of place, again. Every head in the joint turned to look at me, scrutinized me, and then dismissed me. Internally I bit back my angry retorts and made my way to the bar stool. Ever since I could remember, people judged me before they knew me. I was always labeled. New kid. Foster kid. Mouthy. Well, that last one was probably true. As I sat down, I set my bag of flowers near my feet and a menu and glass of water was placed in front of me.

“What can I get you?” The waitress was in her mid-forties, smiled, and didn’t seem to judge me like everyone else had. Maybe she just wanted a good tip.

“A burger, fries, and chocolate milk shake please.” I replied without looking at the menu. This place looked like it had all of that.

“Sure. Anything on the burger?”

“Whatever comes with it is fine.”

“Okay, I’ll have that right out.” She smiled before tearing my order off and placing it on the carousel for the cook. I met the cook’s eyes and eyed him just as he was assessing me. Whatever he saw, or didn’t see, made him scowl before he returned to the fryer in front of him. Jesus, this town was crazy. I hadn’t even been in town for 24 hours and people were already making assumptions about me.

“If you smiled more people wouldn’t jump to conclusions.” A familiar feminine voice right beside me made me jump about a foot in my seat.

“Holy Hell!” I yelled before turning to glare at Cassie. Her eyes widened slightly at my outburst before she dissolved into a fit of giggles. I huffed and shook my head before turning away to ignore her.

“Sorry! Sorry,” she took a deep breath before sliding into the seat beside me. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” I rolled my eyes and continued to ignore her. “We didn’t get off to a great start. I’m Cassie McCoy.” She held out her hand. I honestly debated not taking her hand, but so far, she had been nice so… I reached out my hand and shook hers.

“Kendra Jennings.”

“It’s great to meet you.” She smiled warmly and I had to fight my smile in return. I was always on high alert when I was in a new place. You never knew if someone was being genuine or not until you had a chance to observe them for a while. She seemed nice but I didn’t know what her end game was. “So, you just moved here?”

“Yesterday.”I replied.

“Oh wow. You must have so much stuff to sort through. Your family bought the place on the north edge of town, right?”

“News travels fast.”

“Oh, you know. Not many secrets in a town this size.” She laughed at her own joke. “Do you have any brothers and sisters?”

“No.”

“Oh, so just you and your parents then.” I didn’t respond. When most people found out I was a foster kid, they either assumed I was on the wrong side of the law or needed their pity. Neither applied to me. While I was unruly at times, I never did anything that would jeopardize my future. My future was all that I had to look forward to and I was adamant that nothing would stand in my way of becoming an artist. Loud masculine laughter caught my attention and I looked over her shoulder and met the brown eyes of Cade, again. Both of his buddies sat with him and Bree and joked over something. Cade didn’t seem to be paying attention though. His eyes were fixed on me. I looked away first and unconsciously grabbed my necklace to play with it. Cassie looked over her shoulder and frowned before she looked back at me.

“Oh, don’t mind him. He’s just moody sometimes.”

“Your boyfriend?” I asked and cringed internally that my filter deserted me. Why did I have to show an interest?

“My what?” She laughed. “No, not at all. He’s my brother. Twin if I have to claim him at all.”

“Oh.” Now that I knew, I could see some resemblance between them. “Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s all right. You’re not the first to make that assumption. It happens a lot when we travel out of town.”

“I suppose everyone around here knows you are brother and sister.”

“For sure. We’ve lived here our whole lives. Everyone knows everyone.” Except me, I thought. She must have read my thoughts as she added, “Don’t worry. People just take a little time to get used to change. Not many people move here. Give it a few months and things will seem normal.”

“One order of fries, burger with everything, and a chocolate milk shake.” The waitress plopped my food down in front of me before adding, “Can I get you anything else?”

“No this is good, thanks.” She nodded before going to her next customer.

“You can eat with us.” Cassie offered. I looked over at her, my gaze slid beyond her to the brown ones that still watched us.

“No thanks. I’m not staying long. I have to head home after this.”

She sighed before she asked over her shoulder, “Cade, bring my food over, would you please?” Out of my periphery vision, I saw Cade stand up, grab a plate and drink, and head in our direction. He set the plate and glass down in front of Cassie. I couldn’t help my eyes as they traveled up to meet his.

“Why don’t you sit with us at our table?” He asked me. Cassie answered before I could.

“Because you scared her off that’s why.” Cassie huffed before taking a bite of her sandwich. Cade frowned at her answer and looked at me. My response was automatic.

“I’m not scared.” I could see Cade’s lip twitch in response.

“Then why don’t you sit with us?”

“I’m not staying long.” I replied, and then before I could help it, I added, “I don’t go where I’m not wanted.” His eyes narrowed in response.

“I never said you weren’t wanted.”

“Body language says a lot.” I commented around a mouthful of food.

“Just leave her be, Cade.” Cassie said. He almost turned away before asking another question.

“You still planning to walk around the streets alone before your ride comes?”

“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” I could tell he wasn’t used to people outright telling him no, besides his sister of course. The guy needed a chill pill. He was about to make some comment before Cassie interrupted.

“Let’s compromise.” Cassie said, sitting up straighter in her chair. She looked to me and said, “You let me walk with you. We can get to know each other a little better.” She turned to Cade before I could respond, “And you can pick me up from her house. Deal?”

“Fine.” He growled before stalking off and sitting back down with his friends.

“See? Simple.” Cassie said before digging back into her meal.

“I don’t see how I won out in that at all and you just finagled a ride to my house.”

“One way or another Cade was going to see you home. Did you want to ride with him?” She asked.

“I don’t need anyone giving me a ride home.” I hedged.

“Just as I thought.” She nodded. I knew arguing any more with her would just end with me even more frustrated so I let it drop. Nicole would be ecstatic that I “made a friend” already and would be more than happy to let her ride home with us. We ate the rest of our meal while Cassie tried to pry information from me. She asked about where we used to live, why we moved here, if I liked it here, things like that. She was annoyingly sweet. I found myself almost laughing a couple of times as she told me stories about how the town had legends of werewolves back some two hundred years.

“What? You mean like people turn into werewolves and run through the forest?” I laughed at the absurdity of it. She watched me carefully before laughing along with me.

“Yeah you’re right. Those are for the story books.” She shrugged. “People just like their town legends or something.”

“Or something.” I agreed and shook my head. I looked over, again dang it, to see Cade smiling slightly as he watched us. His eyes met mine and my laughter abruptly cut off. I was ready to leave. I slid out of my seat and paid my bill as I gathered up my flowers.

“Oh, those are pretty,” Cassie said absently, leaning in to sniff lightly.

“Thanks, I figured our kitchen needed a little color and the scent will make it homey.”

“Definitely.” She paused before adding, “You know, there is this really cool place called White River Falls a little ways up the mountain that has a whole bunch of pretty flowers around it. I could take you up there sometime. Make it a day trip.”

“Up the mountain? Aren’t there bears or something?” I asked as we both turned to leave the diner.

“That’s why you take one of us with you,” Cade stated firmly from behind us. I glanced over my shoulder to see him trailing after us, with Bree and the two other boys following as we made our way out the front door.

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember you being invited.” I replied with a glare.

“Cassie knows the rules.” He stated like it was obvious. I turned to Cassie to see her biting her lip.

“He’s right. We can’t go up without one of the guys.”

“Ok, so if we went, we’d take one of…” I looked around a pissed off Cade, because he probably guessed my intention, and motioned to the two boys behind him. “Hey, what are your guys’ names?”

“Oh!” Cassie exclaimed. “Sorry, I should have introduced you. The brown haired one is Brody, the blonde is Hunter.” Brody smiled good-naturedly and nodded to me. Hunter, on the other hand, was exactly what his name implied. He was the bulky one from earlier and gave off the vibe of never wanting to be on his bad side.

“So what do you say?” I asked, looking between both of them while I ignored the angry vibes that emanated from Cade. Who knew pissing off one guy could be so much fun? “Would you consider going with Cassie and me up the mountain sometime?” I could see Brody trying to hide a grin as Hunter’s face remained impassive. Brody spoke up first.

“We love the mountain. Any time you ladies need a guide, let us know.”

“Not without letting me know.” Cade bit out. I glanced back to him to see him glare at Brody who smiled broadly back at him.

“What crawled up your ass?” I muttered. Cassie choked and Brody laughed. Bree covered her smile and even Hunter’s lip twitched in amusement. Cade, on the other hand, was not amused.

“I don’t like…people…putting themselves in danger unnecessarily. I take care of my own.” He replied heatedly as he looked down at me. I was confused, that was the second time they had used the phase, “take care of our own”.

“Well, I’ll be sure to remind Cassie to let one of you know if she ever wants to go with me sometime.”

“That doesn’t just apply to her.” Cade folded his arms across his chest. A small part, very small, may have admired the show of muscle but then his words caught up to my brain. His folded arms were probably an act of intimidation but I was beyond being intimidated by him now. He was just annoying.

“Your rules don’t apply to me.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You’re an honorary member of our…group.”

“What?” I asked, shocked and confused. How did I go from having no friends, to having five?

“Cassie befriended you. She’s not letting you go, so that makes you a part of our group. Rules apply to you now.”

“How is that even logical?” I questioned, looking around the group. I noticed that none of them were laughing now and everyone had a serious look on their face, like something significant just happened. I didn’t have a clue what was going on. Cassie broke up the somber mood.

“Regardless,” Cassie interjected, “it’s smart to hike in groups. You’re my friend, and now one of us.” She shrugged like it was a given fact. Weirdest day of my life.

“Ok, well, I’m going now.” I turned and started down the sidewalk again. Cassie caught up and I noticed that she was alone. At least something is going the way it is supposed to. We made small talk about school and the town as we looked over the last of the stores. I called Steve and found that they were already in town and soon Cassie and I slid into Nicole’s truck.

“I see you’ve been making friends already, Kendra.” Nicole smiled at Cassie. “I’m Nicole.”

“Cassie. Thanks for the ride. My brother is going to pick me up from your house. It’s on the way to ours.”

“Sounds good. Did you girls have fun today?”

“Yeah. Checked out all the shops.” I replied. Nicole drove the few miles back to our house and I saw that Steve was waiting in the driveway. We jumped out of the truck as Nicole parked and my attention was pulled to the sound of a large engine approaching from down the street. We all turned and my jaw dropped at the monstrosity of a truck that parked by our driveway in the street. It was a Toyota Tundra, black, sleek, but way over the top. I liked nice cars and trucks, but why make them flashy? Seemed like you were just begging for attention. I went for the more classy approach. Power and speed, but subtle. Who would drive something like that? I scoffed as soon as Cade came around the corner of the tailgate. Of course.

“I know he can be a little much at times,” Cassie said, glancing at her brother, who slowly assessed the house, Steve, and Nicole, before looking back at me. “But he is a born protector and looks out for those around him. He won’t stop, so sometimes it’s just easier to accept it.” I raised my eyebrow but didn’t respond.

“Hello! I’m Nicole.” She smiled warmly at Cade and shook his hand before she turned and smiled approvingly at me. Cue face flaming in embarrassment. She looked over to Steve before introducing him. “This is my husband, Steve Henkens.” Both Cassie and Cade shook his hand before Cade spoke up.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Cade McCoy and this is my sister, Cassie. We met Kendra in town and just wanted to make sure she made it back home safely.” The last was said while looking at me. I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, well that was nice of you.” Nicole paused before adding, “I’d invite you in to stay a while but the place is a mess since we just moved in.”

“That’s okay. We have to be going anyways.” Cade said as he moved down the sidewalk. “It was nice to meet you all. Welcome to the town.”

“Thank you and it was great to meet you too. Don’t be a stranger!” Nicole called after him. She looked to Cassie before adding, “You are welcome any time too, dear.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Henkens.” Cassie smiled.

“Please, call me Nicole.”

“Nicole.” Cassie nodded. She turned to me before asking, “I’ll see you next week at school if not before, yeah?”

“Sure, sounds good.” I replied and couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Her fun, go happy nature was a tad catching. It might be fun to actually have a friend going into the first day of school. She beamed in return as she skipped down to Cade’s truck. Both of them climbed inside and were soon out of sight on their way out of town.

“The McCoys, huh?” Steve said, scratching his chin while looking off to where Cade and Cassie had disappeared. He turned to me before adding, “They own quite a bit of land around here. As well as half the town shops if I remember right.”

“Cassie said they’ve lived here her whole life.” I supplied.

“Decades I’d imagine.” Nicole commented. She grinned ruefully before adding, “The McCoy boy is quite a looker, isn’t he?” She teased.

“I suppose some girls would find him attractive.” I hedged.

“Not enough to tempt you, huh?” Nicole asked.

“Boys are the last thing on my mind.” Even if his deep brown eyes seem to peer right into my soul.

“Good.” Steve replied, then added with humor in his eyes, “I don’t know if I could handle that one if he came knocking on our door.”

“Steve!” Nicole admonished before laughing to herself. I rolled my eyes, again. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

“No worries. I’m just going to focus on school this year so I can get into college.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Steve nodded approvingly. We all filed into the house and started the arduous task of unpacking.