CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SARAH
ABANDONED SCHOOL
(ONE YEAR AGO)
“Little danger.”
That’s what he called me.
His deep voice kept echoing in my head, even in my dreams. And not just any dreams—very sinful ones.
It had been five long, frustrating days since I last felt the heat of his body close enough to send shivers down my spine.
We hadn’t left the school since Nathan heard something near one of the entrances, and James had been avoiding me ever since.
After we found some old mattresses in the school gym, we pretty much took over a whole hallway of classrooms, each of us grabbing our own room for the next few nights. Nathan’s family took seven. Michael claimed the one right next to mine, and James picked the very last one at the end of the hall.
That meant every time I went to grab food from the lockers past his room, I had to walk right by his door. And every single time, I tried to peek in, just a little, hoping maybe he’d be there. But his door was always closed.
I could still feel his hand on mine. Still remembered how it felt to be that close. God, I wanted him to kiss me. And this time, I wanted his hands under my clothes. Not just teasing. Not just hovering.
But those past five days felt just like being back at the ranch, him keeping his distance and not saying a single word to me.
Still, he watched me like I was the only person in the room. And every time I so much as talked to Nathan or one of his brothers, I’d hear the crack of his knuckles from across the room, like he was reminding me he was still watching. Which I ignored every single time, purely for the fun of it.
The days at the school dragged on, each one slower than the last. I’d already explored every hallway, every classroom, every corner, and every time I caught a glimpse of the town beyond, I couldn’t stop thinking about what else was out there waiting for me.
Michael was in one of the classrooms with Nathan’s sisters, both of them practically glued to him, giggling like he was the funniest man alive. Or maybe just the last man alive, judging by the way they looked at him. And of course, he was soaking it up.
I didn’t stick around once they started kissing. Ugh. No thanks.
In another room, Nathan was talking about something serious with James—Utah, I thought—but the conversation was too far along for me to follow. Meanwhile, Nathan’s brothers were playing cards in the next room over. Not exactly my thing.
My mind was too antsy to just sit there, too wired to fall asleep that early.
Why stay inside when we had the whole town to ourselves?
That was what I told myself when I slipped out of the school right after dinner.
The streets were empty, as always, but I could almost picture what life here used to be like—shops open, people walking, cars driving by. A life that didn’t exist anymore.
The sky was painted orange, warm and beautiful, fading into sunset, my favorite time of day. And it meant I still had at least an hour of light left to explore before dark.
Wandering through town was the best way to clear my thoughts, to think about anything other than James. And if I happened to find some chocolate along the way, well, maybe that day wouldn’t turn out so bad after all.
I walked down the street, past the store where I’d grabbed beers with Nathan’s brothers just a few days ago, then kept going to the next block. The school was out of sight by then, but still close. Still safe. I knew it.
I stopped in front of this big, crumbling store. The door wasn’t barricaded. Hell, it wasn’t even shut. Curious as always, I stepped up to the open doorway and smiled to myself.
The moment I walked inside, my jaw dropped.
The ceiling was made of glass, and the walls were covered in flowers.
I blinked, taking in the rows and rows of wild blooms and overgrown plants that had somehow kept growing all these years.
Maybe the shattered side windows had let in enough rain to feed the roots, to keep the place alive.
The orange glow of the sunset filtered through the glass ceiling as I walked further inside. I bent down and breathed in the faint, honey-sweet scent of daisies on the table nearby. Two yellow butterflies fluttered out from the petals and circled around me. I couldn’t help but smile wider.
In my mind, “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri began to play. The melody was buried in my memory, and I moved with it.
I took a few tendus across the floor, my hand brushing a flower on the shelf beside me.
Then came the pirouettes, just like I used to practice out by the barn, spinning through dust and hay like it was a stage.
But to me, it was always real. Sometimes I even danced in the field when the sun was low, the horses watching me like I’d completely lost my mind.
I looked up, and the sunset stole my breath. Bold, fiery streaks lit up the sky as I spun and spun, daisies brushing against my legs.
The world was still broken, but for a minute, it was beautiful. And I wished people could see it, really see it, past the ruins and smoke and blood. There was more than destruction here. There was still color. Still light. Still life.
The flower shop was huge, with wooden shelves stacked from floor to ceiling, tangled with vines and blooming with wildflowers. I was about to sit down and maybe grab a few to take with me when I spotted something different.
A shelf stacked with brown boxes. They looked out of place, maybe left behind during some past scavenger raid. And yep, I was going to open every single one of them.
My fingers trailed along the dusty wood as I counted the boxes, deciding where to start, the way a kid picks the best present under the tree. I stopped at the third shelf, eyeing the second box. It was big, definitely too heavy to haul back.
Please be chocolate.
I pulled out my pocketknife, sliced the tape open, and stood on my tiptoes to peek inside.
Cucumbers.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
Okay. Fine. One more. I grabbed the first box on the second shelf and sliced it open.
Cucumbers again.
What the hell is wrong with this place?
A loud noise by the front door startled me. I spun around, scanning between the flowers, but saw nothing. Then another noise, this time from inside. My pulse jumped, and I nearly did too.
A third sound echoed, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I didn’t wait for a fourth.
I bolted for the door, only to slam straight into a hard wall of muscle.
A strong hand clamped around my arm, steadying me. Slowly, I looked up. James was standing there, staring down at me. And yeah, he didn’t look happy.
I took a step back. He took a step forward.
“This doesn’t look good,” I said.
His eyes darkened, and my pulse spiked. “No, it doesn’t.”
Heat rushed through me as I backed away. For every step I took back, he took one forward.
“Michael put you on babysitting duty again?” I huffed. “I’m not a kid. I’m eighteen, and my birthday’s in a few weeks.”
I kept backing up, and he matched me step for step until my back hit a shelf. It wobbled, boxes thudding softly before the place went quiet again.
My nerves were shot. Somehow, when James was this close, I forgot what the hell I was supposed to be doing.
James exhaled sharply through his nose. “Michael made it clear. He doesn’t want you walking around this town alone.”
“I told Michael where I was going this time. He knows I’m here. You can go back to the school,” I lied through my teeth.
Ha. Still got it. I can lie to this man after all. Point for Team Sarah.
James stopped right in front of me, his body caging me against the shelf. One hand moved to the shelf beside my head, trapping me in place.
“I don’t believe you,” he said.
I blinked up at him, keeping my face blank. “Why not?”
“Because everyone is looking for you.”
Shit! Point for Team James.
I cleared my throat. “Well, the school was boring. I’ve already explored every room.”
James smirked. “Yeah, I remember that.”
I knew exactly what he was thinking about. The morning I barged into a classroom and found him doing push-ups, sweaty and wearing nothing but black underwear. My face had practically caught fire.
James tilted his head, eyeing me curiously. “Now I get why your dad had the biggest ranch I’ve ever seen. You really do like to explore.”
I bit my lower lip, not looking away. Neither did he. His eyes flicked to my mouth like he was about to do something reckless, and I let go of my lip real fast.
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“You’ll have to hide better than that.”
“Who says I was hiding?”
He scratched his jaw, a sly smile tugging at his lips. I could tell my challenge amused him. Then his thumb brushed across his mouth, wiping the grin away.
“Besides, you shouldn’t be spying on me.”
The look in his eyes darkened. He caught my chin, making sure I couldn’t look away. His expression hardened around the edges.
“I told you, I’d be watching you, little danger. And it only took you five days to start causing trouble again.”
“Five days and you didn’t talk to me once,” I grumbled, turning my head to the side, slipping free of his grip. His hand stayed frozen in midair where it had just touched me.
James crossed his arms. “Seriously? That’s your excuse? I told everyone to stay inside because that noise could’ve been someone scouting the town. And you ignored that just because I didn’t talk to you?”
“You said we can’t leave at night. You didn’t say anything about daylight.” I pointed up at the glass roof of the flower shop, glowing pink and orange and gold in the light of a perfect sunset. “The sun hasn’t even set yet.”
His jaw tensed, a muscle jumping. “You can’t leave the school during the day either.”
“You don’t get to decide that. You don’t own me, James.”
His jaw flexed again. Then, slowly, his mouth curved into a daring smirk. He took a step back. “Then by all means. Give it your best shot.”