Chapter 21 Summer
Summer
Rebel didn’t join me. I don’t need to open my eyes to be aware that I’m alone when I wake, but I open them anyway. The stretch of covers on his side of the bed are completely flat and undisturbed. He didn’t come in.
He couldn’t even bare to hold me.
I can feel wetness gathering behind my eyelids. A tear slips down my cheek. Okay. That might be going too far. I’m emotional. Hormonal. He’s touched me today. Hugged me. Kissed me.
Always in front of people. Not when we’re alone. And then he suggested we napped together, but he’s not here.
Why didn’t he join me? Why is he avoiding anything too intimate with me? Why does it feel like every display of affection makes him uncomfortable.
Sitting up, I run my fingers through my curls, fluffing them back into place before reaching for my dress and tugging it on. I wipe the wetness from my face. They’re not real tears. Just a moment of weakness. A sniffle as I climb off the bed, and I have myself under control.
I wander out into the kitchen in bare feet. I left my shoes by the front door. Old habits from a different life.
“Hey, Summer.” Her arms full of blue orchards, the florist steps into the house. The stems spray from the top of a tall, cylindrical vase.
“More flowers for the bride and groom?” I perk up at the interruption. That’s enough of feeling sorry for myself.
“Yes.” She glances around for a spot to put them. “Shall I leave these in here? Or is there somewhere else you want them?”
“Here is fine. Thank you, Violet.” The pretty, velvet petals are Ivy’s favorite shade of blue next to Rogue’s eyes.
She places them on the kitchen counter near a basket of strawberries fresh from the garden that one of the boys must have picked while I was napping.
“Your brothers couldn’t stop talking about your return home.”
“Is that so?”
She works a little too hard positioning the vase. “They said you don’t come to Devil’s Bend often. And they miss you.”
“I miss them too.” But it’s easier to stay in L.A. It’s interesting that they’re opening up to the florist, though. “They tell you a lot of things?”
“No.” She takes a step back from the flowers and fidgets with her hair. A wince as she accidentally brushes her cheek tells me that bruise she’s tried to conceal hurts. “Working a secret celebrity wedding is a lot different than I thought it would be.”
“Let’s hope it stays under wraps. The last thing we need is the media catching wind of it.” Or Alec showing up, but she doesn’t need to know about Ivy’s deranged stepbrother.
“My lips are sealed.” She mimics zipping her lip and tossing the key.
I take a deep breath. I believe her. The problem is I’m concerned about what else she’s keeping her mouth shut about. I don’t want to push her, but I have to ask, “Violet, are you okay?”
“Yes. Run off my feet.” She hurries toward the door. “I’m going to take the rest of the flowers up to the barn.”
“Okay.” That went about as well as expected.
When I met her, she said she’s only been in Devil’s Bend for a little over a year.
And I’ve been in L.A. that entire time. We’re strangers despite whatever my brothers have told her.
There’s no reason she would want me involved in whatever’s going on in her life.
I pull the wicker container full of fresh picked strawberries across the island so I can rinse them before I put glasses on a tray and divide some of the fruit between them. There’s an envelope attached to the bottom of the basket.
Huh? That’s strange.
There have been a few cards delivered by guests who can’t make it, but those are addressed to Uma Cookie and Prince Von Munchalot. Code names we supplied to keep Ivy and Rogue’s names out of the post.
This one is upside down and taped on. I’d thought the berries were from the garden but perhaps Adira or Ivy ordered them in.
I roll my gaze to the ceiling. Am I seriously getting creeped out by a simple white envelope? It’s probably just the order invoice.
I detach the envelope from the basket. Discarding it on the counter, I place the rest of the berries in the fridge. I pause with the door open and nibble my lip. What if it’s not an invoice? What if it’s something we should pay attention to?
It’s hard to shake how dangerous and stealthy Alec was. How easily he and Jackson inserted themselves into our homes. I’ve become suspicious of the most innocent things. But it doesn’t matter that I’m probably overreacting. I have to know, or I won’t be able to relax.
My belly tightens and my pulse speeds up as I shut the fridge and snatch up the envelope. The flap isn’t sealed. It untucks easily.
Inside is a card, not an invoice. I slip the card free and open it.
It’s a recordable card, and when I open it, a woman’s voice lets out a blood curdling scream. I drop the card, jumping back and letting out a cry of my own.
Clutching at my chest, I stare at the upside-down card lying on the floor while my heartrate slowly returns to normal. I pick it up once I’ve come back into my skin.
The card isn’t for Rogue and Ivy. It’s meant for me. It’s not signed, but it doesn’t need to be when the message inside is: Leave, Slut. Or I’ll make you.
Duke and I passed many notes back and forth in high school. Love notes I read over and over. I knew every curve and slant of his handwriting. It’s still familiar after all these years. Only this time, it’s a clammy, prickly sensation that fills me.
He knows I’m here. It must be unsettling to have the truth right under his nose.
I toss the card into the trash.
He has nothing to worry about. No one ever believed me anyway. As soon as the wedding is over, Rebel and I will be on the first flight home. Away from this hell hole and everyone who lives in Devil’s Bend.
The corner of the card sticks out from the trash, taunting me while I discard the bucket of strawberries into the chicken scraps.
I can’t let my brothers, or anyone else for that matter, find this. All that would do is send them into a frenzy.
I fish it out and slip it into the zipped pocket in my handbag. I’m not sticking around long enough to cause trouble for my brothers. They’re already putting all their energy into giving Rebel a hard time. This would make them impossible to deal with. It’s best they don’t know.
Speaking of, where is Rebel?
I situate the pitcher of Jett’s homemade lemonade on the tray next to the glasses and glance at the clock on the wall.
Owen made the clock out of an old barrel top for Mother’s Day one year.
He burned the ranch brand into the wood.
She’d absolutely loved it and it’s been the centerpiece of the kitchen since.
After all these years, it still keeps perfect time. That bittersweet blend of love and longing hits hard. I miss my mom, but it’s more than that. I feel like I miss Rebel just as much and he’s still here with me.
I uncork a bottle of champagne and add it to the tray. How do I get the closeness we had back if he’s avoiding me?
Adira enters the kitchen. He’s changed out of the gorgeous outfit he wore to breakfast and into glittering snakeskin cigarette pants and a cropped gold cami. He swoops his mega lashes down over his perfectly contoured cheeks. “Can I help, lovely?”
“Have you seen Rebel?” I pull a tray loaded with cheese, crackers, and antipasto out of the fridge and hand it to him.
His eyes widen and shoot to the clock. “He’s not back yet?”
“Back from where?” I scoop up the tray of drinks, then put it back down when I notice the way Adira’s gaze darts side to side. “What’s going on?”
“He said not to worry you with it.” He stares at the clock like it doesn’t make sense. “That can’t be the time.”
“It is.” I don’t like the expression on his face. “You know where he is.”
“He said he would tell you when he gets back.”
“Back from where?” It clicks before he says another word. I march through the house toward the front door.
Dizzy and Ivy have made themselves at home on the porch swing.
Kelsey is relaxing in one of the rocking chairs, eyes closed against the sunlight.
Kia is pacing the railing while talking to someone from the vendor list on the clipboard she’s carrying.
Rogue is helping Henry shoo a couple of goats out of the barn.
My brothers have returned from mudding. Since Henry is showered, I can only assume they all have. Which they wouldn’t have done until the washed off the quad bikes. But not one of them woke me up stomping through the house …
Because they’re avoiding me.
The question is why.
I suck in a big breath and lean over the railing to shout. All six of my brothers are about to get a piece of my mind. Starting with the youngest. “Henry!”
He stiffens, so he must have heard me despite the fact that he doesn’t acknowledge me. Definitely avoiding me.
My jaw slackens as Burke’s mud splattered truck charges into view and stops a few yards from the house.
Both doors open and two men hop out. One is my brother. The other is entirely covered in mud. The mud man stalks toward the house. Those steel blue eyes I love are the only thing I can see clearly through the dirt.
My gaze clashes with Henry’s.
He ducks his head so the brim of his hat blocks my view, but not quick enough that I don’t catch the oh shit in his eyes before he tucks tail and scurries off, more than likely in search of Owen.
They planned this. Which means they had no intention of keeping their promise. I should have known I couldn’t trust them with Rebel, but this is too far. “I’m going to kill them.”
Rebel stomps up the stairs and onto the veranda as I rush to meet him. His shirt and boots are missing, and his hair is cemented into dusty grooves. His jeans are ruined. And that jawline signals the violence simmering under his skin.
Burke is a couple steps behind him. His green eyes can barely meet mine. He takes his hat off, twisting the brim between his fingers.
I gingerly touch Rebel’s arm. He’s caked in the filth. “Are you okay?”