Chapter 27
Sophia
The Juicy Peach
Iwas thankful we weren’t the first ones to arrive at Lyra’s house.
Since I’d told Grant I’d wished I’d stayed, he grew incredibly quiet.
I knew how much shit was goin’ on in my own mind, so with his shop, the constant attacks from the Dodds, and everything that was happening between us—I was sure Grant had quite a bit on his mind, too.
His sister was leaning against an older truck, her arms folded across her chest as a really tall, broad man talked to her. I had to assume he was Hayes, because Grant didn’t seem bothered by the closeness of the two of them.
I followed Grant out of his truck and up to the other truck, keeping close behind him until he reached back and took my hand. I wasn’t sure how much affection he was willing to show in front of his sister, but she didn’t seem bothered by it one bit as she smiled at both of us.
“Sophia, right?” she asked, sidestepping away from the man who fell silent as we got closer.
“I knew my brother would win you over. Heard he took you to the cabin, leaving Hayes here in charge of my protection.” Her eyes slid to Hayes.
“Which was fun.” Hayes’ brow arched, his finger curving over his lip that I believe was tilted in a smirk.
As his finger fell, so did his attention from Grant’s sister. “How’s the shop?”
“Tore the fuck up. Glad to see you’re safe, though.” Grant hugged his sister with one arm in greeting as she frowned at his reply. “Carver and Lyra should be back soon. They stayed behind to talk to Henry.”
“You didn’t come all the way from Blue Ridge this mornin’, did you?” Tallulah asked.
I looked down at the ground, unsure how Grant would answer. Would they think we were crazy if we told them what really happened? Would they tell him to send me packing?
“Got back home last night,” Grant replied, surprising me by leaving it at that.
I knew they were close, but didn’t know how much he shared with her.
Apparently, that line was drawn when it came to telling her about my uncle who was also my ex who’d decided to track me down, drug me, and try to haul me back home.
Seemed like a trend I was stuck on lately.
“Have you seen or heard from Derrick or Della at all?”
“Fuck no,” Hayes replied, his head snapping toward Tallulah. “They know to stay away.”
“Doubt you could get that girl to stay away from my brother. Fucking her was a mistake,” Tallulah said before covering her mouth, her eyes widening as she looked at me. “Shit,” she muttered, lowering her hand. “I didn’t mean that.”
Grant squeezed my hand and met my questioning gaze. “Della is…your ex?” I don’t know why it made me fiercely jealous—no, fuck that. I knew why. Grant was mine.
“No. Not an ex,” Grant answered, his eyes narrowing on his sister.
“A long-time-ago, one night mistake.” Those words, that imagery, hurt my chest. It hurt more thinkin’ that would be how Grant would feel if I went back to Texas.
Maybe that’s what the Dodds were trying to do all this time—get back at Grant for what he did to Della by getting rid of me.
Grant seemed to guess my next question as he added, “They’ve been quiet for awhile, but the Dodds have been after us since Tallulah and Derrick broke up. ”
“Before then,” Tallulah said. “But they’ve never gone this far.” Until I came into town. I wondered how much Grant had told his sister with that instance, too. If she knew they also tried to take me away.
Grant squeezed my hand and pulled me to him. “I don’t give a fuck what their why is. I should’ve dealt with them earlier. Wouldn’t be surprised if they were the ones who shot up the café, too.”
And Keeno.
Part of me felt relieved that all of those could have been over some small-town rivalry.
It would make sense they would want me to run out of town the second they saw Grant and I together.
Derrick could have easily told the rest of his siblings about us from that night we went to get food, and that could be that.
Gravel crunched behind us as Carver’s old Ford pulled into the driveway. Tallulah clapped her hands together, rocking back on her black, laced-up boots. “I know you came to see what they did here last night, so that means Sophia is free right now while y’all chitchat, right?”
“Actually, I was gonna join th—” I tried answering, but Tallulah cut in.
“Great. I’m starving. And you look like you need a drink.” She took my hand and started walking toward the house, dragging me behind her.
“No drinkin’, Tallie!”
She replied to Hayes by turning around and flicking him off.
“Why can’t you drink?” I asked, keeping my voice low as we passed Carver, who was heading toward Grant and Hayes.
“Hayes likes to remind me I’m too young. He even broke in and took all my liquor, then tried to tell me it wasn’t him. But I know it was. Wouldn’t be surprised if my brother gave him the green flag on that, too.”
I remembered Grant talking about her being younger, but I wasn’t sure by how much. “How old are you?”
“Twenty. But my birthday is in November, so twenty and a half, if we’re countin’ that.”
“Is Hayes always that protective of you?”
“Yes, but not because he wants to be. He does it because my brother has always been a good friend to him.”
“I see.” I glanced back over my shoulder, noticing Hayes’ eyes still tracking Tallie as we walked on.
I turned back just in time to see Lyra and Tallie hugging and smiling as they greeted one another.
It made me happy, seeing Lyra like that.
It was rare to ever see a smile like that when we lived together in Georgia.
Lyra’s hands fell on my shoulders, her brown eyes unblinking as she stared at me and said, “I wanna hear ’bout all the ‘a lot’ you’ve been up to.”
Tallulah put her hands up beside her head. “If it has to do with Grant, it’ll be in one ear, out the other. Except sex. Please don’t talk about that in front of me, or I’ll puke.” She made a fake gagging sound and pressed a hand to her stomach. “No, really. I actually might.”
“Are you feelin’ okay?” Lyra asked, pressing the back of her hand to Tallie’s forehead.
Tallie laughed and pushed her hand away. “Yes. Just got a terrible image in my head when I mentioned…what I just mentioned.” Tallie tilted her head toward the house. “Think we can order some food? I haven’t eaten yet.”
“There’s still some bacon and eggs left out from this morning,” Lyra answered. “Go help yourself.” Tallulah rushed inside without being told twice.
“Bacon and eggs? You cook now?”
Lyra scoffed. “No. Not much, anyway. Car made it.”
I looked back at the men, all deep in conversation with serious looks about them. A shiver ran down my spine as I thought of the man Grant handled who’d taken me from the diner, then pictured Derrick or one of his siblings being next to receive the same treatment.
I faced Lyra again. “I’m real happy for you, you know.”
Lyra seemed to take me in then, really take me in.
And she didn’t look as happy as I was trying to project that I was.
She’d always seen through my bullshit, but rarely did we talk about our pasts.
The only person who knew the most about the darkness of my nightmares was standing thirty feet behind me, and I was willing to bet the same was true about Lyra and Carver.
“C’mon. I still have a lot of that liquor you left from last time you crashed my house. Time for you to spill.”
Spill I did.
I spilled liquor on the counter while pouring our third shots, which made me spill tears of laughter as Tallie told us she was like the mother of the group and we were being toddlers, and when she went to the bathroom after eating, I told Lyra all about Grant and his pierced, thick cock and how I tied him to the bed.
By the time Tallie came back out, Lyra knew most of what had happened between Grant and I since I’d been back. What she didn’t know…was everything else. I’d need a lot more liquor to revisit it, and maybe even Grant at my side.
The whole time I was drinking and talking, I kept looking through the windows, checking to see if Grant was done yet.
It’d only been almost twenty-four hours since Riyan had found me and tried to take me with him, and as much as I trusted Grant to keep me safe, I knew Riyan wouldn’t give up that easily.
It wasn’t really me he wanted, anyhow. Otherwise the arrangement would have gone a whole lot differently. Maybe it could go differently, if only I’d talked to my father. Or maybe that was the alcohol givin’ me an ungodly amount of courage.
But I was tired of waiting. Waiting wasn’t going to end my engagement, waiting wasn’t going to keep me safe from Riyan, and waiting wasn’t going to fix all the wrong-doings to Grant.
He deserved more than all of this.
Swirling my empty shot around on the counter, I stared through the window, watching the sunlight fall over Grant like some divine sign. Tallie sat on the barstool across from me, which I hadn’t realized until she waved her hand in front of my face.
“You really got it bad for him, don’t you?”
I stilled the glass in my hand. “What?”
“My brother. The one you keep starin’ at.” She smirked. “Lil hearts are basically pourin’ out of your eyes.”
“It’s true,” Lyra added, taking a sip of water. “I think they’re about to come in and tell us they’re goin’ hunting.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t know why they can’t just say what they’re really going to do.”
So, they didn’t hunt last time?
That actually made way more sense.
I shrugged. “Keeps you innocent. That way, if you get questioned, you can always say you weren’t told about it and had no indication anythin’ was happening.” I blurted, making Tallie and Lyra stare back at me like I’d grown two heads. “What?”