by Bijou Hunter
“Where am I supposed to live?” the latter demands.
Without missing a beat, I reply, “Here at the hotel.”
“I can’t have my impressionable child in a whorehouse.”
“It’s a hotel,” Avery growls.
“The beds are heart-shaped.”
“One looks dildo-shaped,” Avery sneers. “That can be yours until you get the fuck out of Pema.”
Savannah smiles at her twin and then focuses on me. “Why wasn’t I offered a home at your fire station?”
“There’s only enough space for two units.”
Savannah exhales softly. “Why her and not me?”
“Avery wanted to move, and you didn’t.”
“I wasn’t aware of her move. Did you know she hid this from me?”
“I told you weeks ago,” her twin mutters and shrugs.
“That you were moving to Shasta. I can’t live in an armpit, Avery. But Pema is suitable.”
“Well, good luck finding anywhere except an apartment, bitch,” Avery grumbles.
“You’re tart,” Savannah tells her twin. “Sour in your soul.”
“Exactly. Go live somewhere far away from me.”
“But you are my other half.”
“I thought he was,” Avery says, gesturing toward Bjorn.
“He’s my soulmate. It’s different.”
“Well, that’s very interesting. Now, eat a bag of dog shit and get back on the road to Ellsberg.”
“I’m moving here.”
“No.”
“Pollux misses Io.”
“You knew I was moving.”
“Yes, and I would have eventually forced myself to live in that toilet, but this town is much more suitable for my family.”
“No.”
Savannah leans closer and narrows her green eyes. “Don’t ‘no’ me, missy.”
“I’m going to drop-kick your ovaries into the next state.”
“All bluster. You’re just a big old blustery bully, Avery Majors.”
“Cunt,” Avery hisses, and I wonder why I’m here at all.
“I want you to build me a house,” Savannah demands.
“I don’t have anywhere to put it.”
“There are houses in Idyllwild,” Bjorn helpfully points out. “I found them on the internet. One of them could be a sweet starter home.”
“They won’t allow you to live there, whore,” Avery tells Savannah.
“I’m a lovely person with all the proper qualities. They’ll adore me. Now, who is the ‘they’ we’re speaking of?”
With my gaze on Violet, I explain, “The church folk in Idyllwild.”
“COC,” Avery says and snickers. “They named themselves cock.”
Giving in to my desires, I walk past my sisters and toward Violet, who still sits with her eyes closed.
Behind me, Savannah asks, “Who is the cock I need to impress for this sweet starter home Bjorn has his eye on?”
“The Community Outreach Committee,” Avery says. “You know, COC. They have to approve new residents.”
“Feels fairly fascist. But we know what kind of people they want to keep out.”
“Why would you want to live there?” Avery asks, and I look back at them now inches apart, nearly nose to nose.
“Because I need to live near you, darling dickhead.”
“I demand my space.”
A smiling Savannah flicks Avery’s nose. “Nope. Now, Bjorn and I will impress these COC people and get our house. Then, we’ll slowly undermine their authority until we control the head of the COC.”
My sisters stop bickering long enough to enjoy the dick joke. Bjorn smiles warmly at me, always Mister Friendly. I kneel in front of Violet, who opens her eyes.
She whispers, “Io is happier when Pollux can play with her.”
“Didn’t I warn you?” I whisper back.
Violet grins at how last night I said Savannah would soon blow into town and expect to be part of what we’ve been finessing for over a month. My sister just showed up slightly faster than I expected.
While I doubt Savannah can weasel her way into Idyllwild, she’s conned people before. What I’m less certain of is if she’ll be safe in the tight-knit community after we kill Amon Cosgrove.
Helping Violet to her feet, I leave my sisters to hash out the situation. Upstairs, I need to hold my woman for a minute or two before lunch. People are the bane of my existence—the whining and the bitching and the moaning. They flip-flop, they remain blind to themselves, and they never see the world clearly.
Violet startles me by freeing herself from my hug and kneeling down. Her fingers pop the button on my work jeans.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re tense. I can help.”
Her right hand strokes me through my jeans as I keep her left one from freeing my cock.
“I don’t need this.”
“I know how to make you feel better.”
Violet’s Happy Wife persona is on full display. Normally, she just smiles a lot and cleans. Now, she plans to service me like a good little slut.
I want to tell her no. Stress is forcing Violet back into her old programming. I should make clear how that shit isn’t normal. She isn’t my toy, and her job isn’t to relax me.
But if I say no, she’ll feel rejected. Worst still, will she believe I’m thinking of O’Meara when I look at her? Because I am. I see her on her knees, staring up at me with her big blank eyes, and I see him looking down at her. Violet isn’t really here with me.
Unsure how to handle it honestly, I choose to lie. “I don’t want to relax,” I say, buttoning my pants. “I need my edge right now. Cosgrove started shit earlier, my sisters are fighting, Colton wants a meeting, and rain is on the way to Pema.” I take her hands and lift her to her feet. “I can’t afford to relax or let down my guard.”
Blinking rapidly, Violet mentally rehashes my words and searches for signs of her failure. Before she can assume the worst, I wrap her back in my arms like I did earlier. This time, I kiss her forcefully. Violet needs to understand how I’ll always want her. No one else exists for me in the way she does.
“Do you still not know who you are in Pema?” I ask once my lips leave hers, and she stares breathless at me.
“I’m your woman.”
Allowing a smile, I kiss her again. Less forceful now that she’s coming out of her Happy Wife mindset. When our lips part this time, she looks more like the real Violet. If I asked earlier where she wanted to eat, she’d say whatever I chose was perfect. Now, she’ll tell me the truth.
The day is only half over, yet I feel as if I’ve jumped through a dozen hoops. But I never lost my footing, and Violet’s relaxed smile reminds me of why I’m willing to uproot my life and start fresh in Pema.
THE GHOST
I woke up today feeling as if Shelby was too far away to exist. Is Shasta even real? Am I? I know Maverick is real after my fingers find his warm flesh hidden under our new blanket. We donated the hotel’s old bedding, along with its gaudiest furniture. Avery isn’t sure of the boutique hotel’s future design. Though I know why she’s creatively blocked, I don’t dare speak up.
Instead, I cling to Maverick. He wakes up looking perfect. He opens his eyes and immediately seems alert as if he was always awake. No doubt he’s wired differently than other people, and that’s why he can love me.
But he needs to work, and I can’t go with him. Pema feels unwelcoming today. Io’s in a bad mood. She cried a lot last night, asking for Pollux and Gramma. Avery is on edge and ready to yell at everyone. Yet, she pretends she’s actually super chillaxed—no worries, all is good, namaste.
That fake happiness falls apart as soon as Savannah shows up at the hotel. Avery refuses to let her sister inside and then won’t answer the phone when her twin calls.
“She’ll ruin everything,” Avery tells me while Io cries at the door as Pollux presses his face on the other side. “She makes everything worse.”
“But she’s a Majors,” I point out, and Avery glares at me.
“What does that mean?”
“Even if you keep her locked out, she’ll find a way inside. It’s the hippie ninja thing your family does.”
Avery’s raging expression falls instantly. “Yeah, she’s like a cockroach. Nothing is keeping her out.”
I open the door for Savannah, Bjorn, and Pollux. The blond toddler looks quite handsome in his little beige sweater and khakis. Io doesn’t care what her cousin is wearing. She lunges at him, taking them both to the ground. There, they remain as she strokes his cheeks, and he smiles at her.
“You should never lock out your family, darling Violet,” Savannah says as if I’m the problem. “We’re where your heart is safest. Remember that the next time you get the urge to close us out.”
I realize she’s talking to Avery rather than me, but her gaze focuses on my face.
“I’ll remember that,” I say while Bjorn carries their bags inside and sets them at the front desk as if this is a functioning hotel.
“Hello, Violet,” he says in his heavy Finnish accent. Even as tall as Maverick and with a similar build, Bjorn doesn’t seem the least bit intimidating. The former surfer is blond, tanned, and smiles easily. He reminds me of a friendly yellow Labrador. Bjorn comes from money, started a software design business after marrying Savannah, and effortlessly succeeded. The only people who hate Bjorn are those with insecurities like Avery. There’s absolutely nothing to criticize about him. Well, maybe his habit of always dressing as if on his way to a yacht.
With that said, in my eyes, he’ll never be perfect as Maverick. To me, Bjorn is a harmless dog, while my man is a coiled snake. In a cold, often brutal world, I’d rather share a bed with a weapon than something that’ll get my slippers.
Savannah is far scarier than her husband. She smiles easily and talks quickly. All the Majors women speak as if a timer’s just about to go off to shut them up. The Majors men talk as if their timers were misplaced, so they’ve got all the time in the world.
“There’s a lounge where the kids can play,” I tell Savannah and Bjorn. “It’s next to the kitchen if you need anything.”
Offering a leisurely smile, Savannah reminds me too much of her mother. Neither of them likes me very much. Sylvie doesn’t, either, but she never pretends otherwise. Raven just avoids me if possible, while Savannah is overly friendly.
Or possibly, she’s that way with everyone she doesn’t know well, and I’m reading too much into her behavior. I used to think Avery didn’t like me until she said one day, “I like you, Violet Navarro.” If she hadn't spelled it out, I’d still be worrying.
We move to the lounge, where Io shows Pollux her blocks. The cousins immediately begin playing. I sit with them, feeling as if the drama between Avery and Savannah will drag me down deeper into my already bad mood.
Avery turns on music that I sense Savannah doesn’t like. Next to me, Io keeps reaching over to touch Pollux. I don’t think she understood how she would see him again here in this new home. Her little mind struggled to see past her homesickness. I feel the same way.
So, I close my eyes, rest my head against the wall, and let the music erase how helpless I feel when reality isn’t clear. In the darkness of my mind, I see Maverick. Just like when I felt O’Meara coming for me at Shelby’s house, and I would run into the woods. Blinded by the lack of light, I thought I was dead. No, I’d died long ago. Nothing was ever real.
Then, Maverick would appear in the darkness with his flashlight and guide me away from my fears. I always expected him to be angry. Instead, he never seemed upset at all. I might as well have been waiting for him at a bus stop rather than in the dark woods. Maverick’s steady voice led me back to the light.
And when I open my eyes after listening to the sisters argue, I find him kneeling before me. Like how Io lunged for Pollux, I want to crawl into Maverick’s arms and never let go.
I need him to know he’s the most important person in the world to me. Nothing matters except Maverick’s happiness. I can offer him everything. I need nothing. I can be what he wants.
Maverick’s expression never turns cruel when he says no to my offer to service him. His voice remains as steely calm as always. Yet, I notice how rigid his fingers are around my hand, trying to undo his pants. Maverick won’t let this happen, and he often bends to my will. Not today, not over this.
He explains how he needs to remain on edge. Tension is good in his line of work. When we go hunting for assholes at bars, I’m supposed to stay hyper-alert. However, I miss signals even when I try to see everything. Of course, I can safely fail with those men. Maverick will always save me if they get the upper hand.
No one is around to rescue Maverick in Pema. Well, maybe Colton or Gunnar. Possibly the twins, too. Still, he seems alone in this new club.
As he holds me against him, I think back to Maverick in Shasta. He was always in a bubble of his own making. That’s how he prefers to live. But there are downsides to such choices. In Pema, he’s walking through new territory. If he falls, he’ll do it alone.
And Maverick can’t concentrate when he thinks I’m going bananas. I need to be strong, so he can focus. Shelby says she backs up Dean one hundred percent.
“Even if his club thinks he fucked up, I’ll insist he did his best,” she told me one day. “Even if I’m lying, it’s what a woman needs to do for her man. The world ain’t offering him anything for free, so I will.”
Maverick didn’t grow up unloved like Dean. My man has a fiercely protective family and a large support system. However, Maverick needs me to be where his heart lives.
So I pull myself out of my funk and focus on the life we’re building in Pema. I’ll be a tough chick, even if I have to lie to make it happen.
That’s why after lunch when he drops me off at the hotel, I take Avery aside and say what a Majors woman would say. No fear or biting my tongue.
“I know it must be difficult to have another person in the world with your face. To have people think you’re just another version of her,” I say, and Avery frowns as she chops onions in the empty kitchen. “I know you’re embarrassed Savannah’s man stayed, and yours ran away. You feel like Io got screwed. You have a right to be bitter, but you’re weaker without Savannah around.”
“No,” she says, chopping too fast now as if threatening me.
“It’s why you can’t decide on a design. You’re trying to live separate from your other half.”
“No.”
“Why did you go to Florida with Savannah? Why did you have a kid when she did? Why did you want Bran when he sounds weak? Why did you name your daughter after the moon Io after Savannah named her son after the sun Pollux? You two belong together in a way you never belonged with Bran. That’s why he left, and she followed you here.”
“But not to Shasta,” she mutters, still finding reasons to strike out at her sister.
“Eventually, she would have lived in an armpit to be closer to you.”
Avery drops the knife and fights an Io-level pout. “It was embarrassing how he dumped me.”
“I know, but he wasn’t Bjorn. You weren’t getting a good deal if he stayed. Bran would have driven you crazy, and you’d hate him. Then, you’d want to force it to work just so you’d match Savannah. Why waste time with a shitty version of Bjorn when you can find someone who’s wholly original?”
Wiping a single tear, Avery crosses her arms tightly and comforts herself. “I’ve always been competitive with Savannah. Not because she pisses me off, but because it was fun. People were always comparing us. She’d be a little better at something, and I’d be a little better at another thing. It was always fair. But then, she clearly won with Bjorn.”
“True, but it’s weird for you two to be married to men who look the same. I’m sorry, but it just is.”
“Bran wanted a son,” Avery mutters, glancing around as if Io might wake from her nap, overhear, and somehow understand. “He seemed
disappointed after we found out we were having a girl.”
“He sounds like an asshole.”
“He is. And his family says things like Pollux is so easygoing. Like always complimenting what a happy baby he is.”
“Were you an easygoing baby?”
“No, Savannah and I bitched a lot. It’s why no one paid attention to Maverick. We hogged all the attention.”
“Well, I was an easygoing baby, and I turned out high-strung.”
Avery gives me a sad smile. “That’s because you had shitty parents and, well, you know.”
“Or maybe I would have always turned out high-strung. People change. Io might be a chill kid by ten, and Pollux will become neurotic,” I say and then shrug. “Or she might just feel more than he does. Pollux doesn’t pay attention to stuff like she does. Io is always aware of who is in a room. She is an empath, after all.”
Avery smiles brightly. “My baby feels so much.”
“And when she likes someone, like she does me,” I say, grinning, “it feels like such a reward.”
Picking up the knife, Avery returns to dinner prep. “Months ago, Io saw my dad chasing Sylvie. You know how fucking loud my sister can get. She was squawking like he was murdering her. Io got so scared. Now, when she looks at him, she’s afraid. I know it hurts my dad’s feelings, but Io has a softer heart than I did when I was little. I knew he was full of shit the first time he tried getting tough with me. Mom’s the mean one. She grounded me all the time. What a bitch.”
As we laugh at her words, she taps my ankle with her foot. “You’re a good friend.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t forget how much I like you, okay? When Savannah and I get into our super twin mode, we can be insanely obnoxious. It’ll feel as if no one else exists. I don’t want you thinking I don’t see you when that happens.”
Right then, I feel fully awake. No more questions about what’s real. I see my life clearly. I can picture Maverick back at the firehouse, organizing people and doing demo. Upstairs, Savannah and Bjorn settle into the “Pride and Prejudice” room. Io and Pollux nap next door to them, sharing a bed.
