She swept past him and out of the room. Byron sank to the edge of his bed, his butt hitting hard, his face a bit pale. “What the hell is she talking about?”
“I might be able to answer that if I’d heard anything about her,” I said. “She’s so sweet and she’s gorgeous and it seems like you two have known each other for a long time. Why haven’t you ever mentioned her?”
He shrugged. “She’s just Lex. We’ve been in a lot of the same classes and have helped each other study since freshman year, there’s nothing to talk about.”
“Then why do you care who she goes out with?”
“I don’t…” He looked up and narrowed his eyes. “Stop trying to change the subject, Remington. What happened to you tonight?”
I took a seat next him on the bed. His bedspread was the same one he’d had when he’d lived at home. His walls and every available surface were covered with pictures of the forest and mountains around our home, and of our family. On the wall over his desk was a picture of the two of us, his arm around my shoulders, me laughing. It made me feel closer to home and homesick all at the same time. “You miss it, huh?”
He followed my gaze to the pictures of home and nodded. “It’s like the mountains are in my blood, you know? I miss it, but the pictures also remind where I’m from, and why I work so hard here.”
“Why do you work so hard?” Byron had always been the most laid-back of our family, the first to laugh and to play a prank. It had surprised the hell out of all of us except my uncle when Byron announced he was pre-law and started bringing in straight A’s.
“So that I can go back to the mountains on my own terms. I want to live there, but I don’t want to have to struggle and scrimp every damn day so I can be there.”
That was the first I’d heard of money problems. “Was it really so bad?”
He looked at me, wide-eyed. “I know you’ve always been the baby, and you’ve always been treated like it, but it’s time you grew up a little and opened your eyes. Dad’s a mechanic, without a whole hell of a lot of jobs, and he kept us all fed and in clothes. He sent five of us to college.”
I’d known all that, I’d just never really thought that much about it. “How much debt does he have?”
Byron shook his head and set his mouth in a firm line I knew all too well meant he was done talking about it. “Enough stalling. What happened to you at paintball tonight?”
I considered lying or telling him to butt out, but just as quickly discarded the idea. I’d never been good at lying to my family, and I wouldn’t betray Byron’s trust by doing it now. “You remember when I first came to live with y’all when I was little?”
Byron grinned wide. Even at twenty-one, he still looked like a little boy to me when he smiled. “You were so cute, all scrawny, nothing but hair and big eyes. You looked like you were five instead of eight. And I couldn’t stand you, because you were the baby and I was suddenly supposed to look out for you. I was much better at being the baby.”
“Lucky for you, I was charming as well as cute, and you had no choice but to adore me.”
His knocked his shoulder against mine. “You’re difficult not to adore. Even spoiled rotten as you are.” He sobered. “What does all of this have to do with what happened out in Herc’s woods?”
“That guy, Herndon, he was on top of me and it was fine. He was being an idiot, but it was fine. I was going to lure him in and flip him and pop him, you know?”
Byron nodded, never doubting my ability to physically defend myself.
“Before I could, I was suddenly back in one of those nightmares I used to have when I first moved in with y’all. Do you remember?”
His face paled a bit. “I don’t remember anything about nightmares.”
I had worked hard to put that time in my life behind me, and it hurt a bit trying to remember it. My mom had died when I was a baby, and my dad had died in a car accident when I was eight. My uncle had been granted custody of me. I didn’t remember much from my life before I went to live with my uncle and my cousins. My uncle had home-schooled me, because he’d said it was what my father, his brother, had always wanted for me. We’d had some knock-down, drag-out fights about that as I’d gotten older, but Uncle Leon had never wavered. He’d always insisted that I was kept home because my father had wanted me kept safe from the influences of the world. That and the fact we lived on the side of a mountain thirty miles from the nearest grocery store, forty miles from the nearest school, and one hundred miles from a movie theater. He’d kept my cousins home as much as he could, even home-schooled them for a while, but they’d eventually been allowed to go to public school. They’d always had more freedoms than I did.
I couldn’t remember much about those early days when I’d woken every night screaming with nightmares, but I remembered my uncle comforting me and rocking me back to sleep. He promised he’d take care of me, that no one would ever hurt me while he was around. “Maybe you didn’t know,” I said. “I’m pretty sure I screamed loud enough to wake the whole mountain-top, but you always were a heavy sleeper.”
“What were the nightmares about?”
I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them tight. “To be honest, I don’t remember all of them. Uncle Leon told me to forget them, and I did my best not to think of them. Tonight…” I swallowed hard. “It was like I got sucked into one of my nightmares. There was a man on top of me, just like Herndon was. I was little, so little, and he had a gun to my chin. He said he was going to kill me, and I knew he would do it. I was looking for a knife, trying to feel around on the floor for it, when I heard him click off the safety of his gun. Then Frankie slapped me, and I snapped out of it.”
I didn’t realize tears were streaming down my face until Byron leaned over and wiped them away with his thumb. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed me to his side. “And that’s the nightmare you had when you were eight?”
“One of them.”
“Where would a little girl get a nightmare like that?” Byron asked. He was a solver, had always loved puzzles of every kind, and I didn’t want to become one of his puzzles. “Would you have seen that in a movie? What do you remember of your life before?”
I suddenly found it hard to breathe. I leapt to my feet and pushed Byron away. “It was just a stupid nightmare, Byron. Don’t go all detective on me and try to make it something bigger than it is.”
He nodded, but the look in his eyes was pity. I didn’t need pity. I was the spoiled, baby girl in a family of boys. Nothing in my life deserved his pity. “Let me know if anything else happens, or if you have another nightmare.”
I nodded, not able to lie to him with my words. No one needed to be privy to my nightmares, and I was fine. I’d be fine. “I should get back to the dorm.”
“I’ll walk you.”
We walked back to the dorms in a companionable silence. The campus of Maple Ridge University in Southwest Virginia was well-lit, but numerous trees blocked out a lot of the light, making our walk over paved sidewalks feel a bit like a walk through the woods. The campus was dwarfed by the dark masses of the mountains rising up around it. Those mountains made me feel small and protected and at home. Byron hugged me at my suite door. “We’re having a party tomorrow night. You should come. I can introduce you around.”
“To more over-protective Neanderthals?” I asked. “I can take care of myself, you know.”
Something in Byron’s face softened. “I know that. I’ve got the scars to prove it. But you’re my little sister, and there are a lot of assholes out there. You’re tough as hell, but you’ve never had a chance to be around other people, to get your heart broken, to be taken advantage of by losers. I don’t want to see you hurt that way.”
My first instinct was to get defensive, to argue, but the genuine concern on Byron’s face stopped me. I put my hand on his cheek, and leaned in to kiss it. “I’m tough on the inside, too, and I’ve already made a few friends I trust. I’ll be careful, I promise.”
<
br /> I studied until Frankie got back to our room, about an hour after I did. She’d been pretty before, but with a wide smile and cheeks reddened from an evening outside, she was gorgeous. A vivid, wild, warrior princess. I felt tired, pale, and empty in comparison. “Remy!” Frankie shrieked in her quiet way. “I did it. I won. I beat them all.”
I put down my book, happy to have such a cheerful distraction from nightmares of death and gore. “How did you do it?”
“I took your advice. I was all sweet and shy, and then I pummeled them. They were so pissed.”
I lifted my hand for a high-five, which she gave me. “That’s so awesome! I bet Harrison was thrilled you brought his team to victory.”
She dropped my gaze. “I, um, I took Harrison out, too.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, after we won, he started acting really weird. A little bit pouty and standoffish. He said that I wouldn’t have won without the rest of the team to back me up, so I ran into the forest and started taking out our team when they came after me to apologize for Harrison. Eventually, Harrison came to talk me down, and I took him out, too. I don’t know what came over me, he just made me so mad.”
I couldn’t help my jaw dropping to my chest. “Wow, you really are a warrior princess.”
Her grin widened. “I guess I forgot to mention that my dad used to take me hunting with him and taught me how to shoot. I don’t think Harrison would have even given me a ride home, but Worthy showed up and he brought me home. He’s really sweet.”
“Sweet isn’t the description he brings to mind,” I said.
“Oh.” She laughed. “Still mad at him about the fireman carry?”
I picked up my pillow and threw it in her face. “Is that funny?”
To my surprise, she didn’t back down. “Yeah, it was funny. He was a perfect gentleman with me.”
“Great,” I said. “I guess I bring out the Neanderthal in him.”
She shook her head. “I just can’t get over how much fun that was. We should get all the girls together and have an all-girl team next time.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You think we’ll be invited back?”
She nodded, her smile going shy again. “Worthy said he’d make sure of it.”
CHAPTER THREE
I only had two classes Monday, and they were done before two, so I pulled on hiking boots and a small pack and headed out to try one of the many hiking trails within walking distance of the campus. I was about a block from forest land when I heard someone calling my name.
I turned to see Worthy trotting up to me. “You going for a hike?” he asked.
“Yep.” I turned away and headed into the forest.
He walked with me. “I’ll come with you. Just give me ten minutes to change and I’ll meet you back here.”
I turned and glared at him, ignoring how cute he looked in his dark-washed jeans and a grey t-shirt that clung to him in all the right places, showing off a honed and fit body. “I don’t remember inviting you,” I said. “And you promised you’d stay far, far away from me.”
He grimaced. “I shouldn’t have said that. I was…upset. Look, you can’t hike alone. It’s not safe.” He eyed me up, estimating my level of stubborn, I suspected. “If you don’t let me tag along, I’ll tell Byron where you are.”
“I really don’t like you at all,” I said, rage bubbling over. I was finally free of constant supervision, and my cousin had his friends following me around. “Tell me, do you suck my cousin’s dick whenever he asks, or are there limits?”
Worthy’s face twisted, but he swallowed hard and got it under control. “And I’m the Neanderthal,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Look, I promise you, Byron has nothing to do with this. I was planning to head out for a hike this afternoon, myself, and it’s just a coincidence I ran into you. You can wait or you can listen to me whine about my blisters because I tried to hike in flip-flops, but I’m not going to let my friend’s favorite cousin hike alone.”
I took a deep breath, realizing getting angry would get me nowhere. “I’m an experienced hiker. I grew up in the mountains. I’ve got my cell phone, so there’s no reason to worry.”
“Maybe I’m not worried,” he said. “Maybe I want to go for a hike and I don’t like to go alone.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “The truth is, a good friend of mine was killed in a rock-climbing accident two years ago. If someone had been with him he might still be alive. I never hike alone, and I never let my friends hike alone.”
That just about slayed me. I knew the forest could be dangerous. I’d had more than a few run-ins with snakes, bears, and even a couple of rabid raccoons. When I’d lived at home, my uncle had never let me go too far alone, and neither had he let any of my cousins. I wouldn’t have been alone if Byron or any of my friends had been available to go with me, but I’d been too desperate to get outside to wait for any of them. I didn’t handle being stuck inside very well, which was a big part of the reason I was going to major in biology and become a park ranger. “Okay, fine. But if you aren’t back in exactly ten minutes, I’m leaving without you.”
He smiled and my heart skipped a beat. He had the best smile. “I’ll be back in eight.”
He was back in seven. I started walking as soon as I saw him and he let me, hanging back to give me my space and not trying to make conversation. I really appreciated that in a hiking buddy. The trail started out easy, but quickly got more difficult as the elevation increased. I was breathing heavy by the third switchback, and I slowed my pace.
Worthy caught up to me then. “I know of a waterfall that’s just a couple hundred yards off trail. I can show it to you, if you want.”
I wanted to tell him to go stuff himself and his waterfall, but I liked the idea of learning the secrets of the forest and mountains around me. “Sure,” I said, trying not to sound excited.
“You seem really comfortable in the woods,” I said, as he led me off trail.
“Not as comfortable as you must be,” he said. “I’ve seen Byron’s pictures of your home.”
“Uh-huh. I see what you did there. Why don’t we try it again? How’d you get so comfortable in the woods? You grow up in the mountains?”
“No,” he said. “But I’ve always liked being outside. I love the woods, hiking, and rock-climbing.”
“So that’s how you’re going to play this?” I said. “Man of few words about yourself. Man of mystery.” Internally, I was already creating a story for him, based on my extensive life experience, by which I mean the books I’d read. Mostly biographies and non-fiction books about nature, the natural world, and outdoor sports. Probably not the most stable base on which to build my judgment of Worthy. So, I studied him, letting myself fall a step behind, as he moved sure-footedly through the forest.
He remained silent for a while. “There’s no mystery,” he said, so long after my own comment that it took me a minute to realize what he was talking about. “I’m not that interesting.”
“I’m sure you’re more interesting than me, I…” We stepped into a clearing and I forgot what I was going to say. Before us was a delicate, fairy-like waterfall that dropped from the height of about a three-story house. It could hardly be called more than a trickle, but the way the light hit it, creating rainbows, and the way it was framed by lush greenery, it was nothing short of magical. I just stared at it for several long moments, admiring its beauty, before I moved on to the flora around it to see how much of it I could name.
When I finally turned back to Worthy, feeling nothing but grateful to him, I caught him watching me. He quickly averted his eyes and took a step back, but I’d caught him. He was as curious about me as I was about him. He was probably trying to figure out how Byron and I could be even distantly related given his lack of charm and my innate grace and beauty, or he just wanted to see how a girl who grew up in the forest reacted to a waterfall. I didn’t really care what he thought. I threw my arms around him and hugged him hard. “Thank you,” I said.
“It’s wonderful.”
He patted my back a couple of times, before gripping my hips and placing me away from him. He smiled at me and butterflies swarmed to life in my stomach. I thought that only happened in books or when looking at pictures of Chris Hemsworth, but Worthy’s smile was weak-knee making. “You’re welcome,” he said.
“Don’t tell my cousin, but I miss it, you know? I miss the mountains at home, I miss the woods, and I miss my uncle. This secret waterfall makes me feel a little less homesick.”
He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with my gushing. “Well, I’m glad I could help.”
I turned away so he wouldn’t see me roll my eyes at such a guy response. He spoke like he’d just helped me find cream of tartar at the grocery store.
“I come here sometimes,” he said. “To study and watch the waterfall. It grounds me somehow.”
I turned back to face him, put a hand over my heart, and gasped. I appreciated the sharing moment, but he’d left himself too wide open for me to ignore. “You mean you come out here alone? That’s incredibly dangerous.”
He met my gaze, his expression somber and sort of, well, heated in a way that was completely unexpected and made my heart beat a bit faster. “Next time, I’ll call you,” he said. “I have a feeling you’ll be able to appreciate the solitude without trying to fill the empty spaces with annoying chatter.”
“Aw, and there he is, Mr. charm. I’m shocked you don’t have hundreds of girls clamoring to spend time in the woods with you.”
He tried to scowl, but I saw the smile behind it. “On second thought,” he said. “Maybe I’ll just take the risk of being eaten by a bobcat.”
I ignored him and sat on a boulder at the edge of the small ravine and watched the waterfall. I don’t know how much time passed before I felt his hand on my shoulder. “We should get back,” he said. “It’s going to be dark soon.”
I followed him back down the trail to campus in a comfortable silence. I was still enjoying the quiet joy I’d felt at seeing the waterfall and being in the woods, and I wasn’t ready for anything to break the spell. As we stepped out of the woods, the sun was setting in an orangey, golden glow over the campus buildings and the hills behind. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling so alive and calm in the face of all that natural beauty.
Remington's Tower Page 5
