Carson, Her Reason to Stay

1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Luna

“I’m sorry, Robin, I’m not feeling very well. I’m going to have to call it a day,” I say, hurrying around the counter to hang the keys to the delivery car on the rack.

“Oh, sweetie,” she says, following behind me. “Is there anything I can do …”

I cut her off. “I’ll be fine. I’m just feeling a little nauseous all of a sudden.”

“I’ll have one of the guys give you a ride home.”

I press against the bar on the back door and step out into the bright sunlight. The rumble of the two motorcycles following me cuts out, and I know they’ve parked in the front lot.

“That’s okay. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say, counting on the fact she is old school, and won’t give the men trailing me any information about my whereabouts.

I hop on my bicycle and pedal quickly toward the campground where I’ve been staying.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I needed that job to fix the water pump and everything else that’s broken on my van. Obviously, I won’t be able to go back to delivering pizzas now that my brother’s wife knows I’m here.

I’ve been in Cheyenne for six months. I came out here to make sure my baby sister was okay. My stepbrother adopted her a year ago, saving her life. It was something I needed to see with my own two eyes, but then my van broke down.

You’re probably wondering why it’s taken me so long to make the money to fix it, huh?

My mind wanders to the way Robin cried when I gave her the money I’d saved so she could get her daughter’s teeth fixed. And how Tim made me a heart-shaped pizza when I paid to repair the flat tire on his truck.

Anyway, I don’t blame any of that for my current predicament. You have to do those things, you know? You have to take care of the people around you. I don’t like to see people suffering.

I park my bike in front of my van, and then hurry inside, pulling all of the curtains closed.

I’m not sure how my brother’s wife recognized me.

I’ve never sent him any pictures, and he hasn’t seen me since I was a kid.

I knew better than to accept the delivery order to their address, but I couldn’t resist an opportunity to be that close to them.

To my brother and sister. Chance is my stepbrother, and Mila is my half-sister. We have the same …

I stop the thought before it fully forms. “He doesn’t exist anymore,” I whisper, folding myself into a little ball and scooting back into the closet.

After several minutes pass, I breathe a sigh of relief. They didn’t follow me. My head falls against the wall.

Everything is okay.

I enjoy my place of solitude like a warm security blanket as I run over my options. The nice man over at the Cantina offered me a waitressing job. My brother’s club eats there frequently but maybe I could convince him to let me stay in the back and wash dishes or food prep.

Everything begins to quiet as the darkness swallows me. Before I know it, I’m drifting off, but the unmistakable sound of a Harley pulls me back to reality.

Oh, Robin, you told them.

It’s not that I’m afraid of my brother, or his club, it’s just … I don’t … I like to keep to myself.

Chance will be all up in my business if he gets his way. He’s been trying to see me since we reconnected via social media several years ago. His hounding has significantly increased since he gained custody of our little sister.

My focus returns to the insistent knocking on the side of my van door. I have no idea what I’m going to do now.

If Chance is with them, he’s going to know right where to find me.

There’s some banging around outside of my vehicle before the door opens.

My breathing slows as I wait for my brother to find me.

“This is cool as fuck. Mom would love it,” a man says.

“Yeah, she would. What do you think this is? A seventy-four?”

It sounds like they’re rummaging through my glovebox. “Spot on, brother. Should we wait for her?”

“Naw, let’s just get started.”

My heart stops. Started?

They exit my van, but not before popping the hood.

What is happening?

My curiosity is killing me, but I’ve learned to never reveal a hiding place.

Never.