“Have you seen Serena?”
Harley shudders before shaking her head, and it’s then I note her face is slicked with tears.
“Everything okay?” I’ve never done well with women crying. My first instinct is to hand them a tissue. My second is to run.
Her expression turns on a dime from grieving to seething. “Everything is just dandy. Wouldn’t your kind just love to see me wallowing in misery, rolling around on the floor, wailing just to have him back? Well, it’s not happening!”
“Boy trouble.” I wince. “Please accept my apology on behalf of my gender everywhere. Any idea where Serena might be? I’m sure she’d be concerned and want to comfort you.” It’s true. Serena has shown this girl just as much affection as family. I know she’d want to take care of her friend, and I would encourage it no matter how hard my penis campaigned for her attention.
“Hell, if I know.” She swipes a napkin off the nearest table, undeterred by the fact there are a couple of wide-eyed patrons staring her down for the brazen move. “She said something about taking you to a lumberyard to fool around.” She blows her nose and heads for the exit.
“Lumberyard?” Holy shit. I catch up to Harley once again. “Hey, did Serena say she was headed to the lumberyard tonight?”
She tosses her arms in the air. “I don’t know. I couldn’t take her seriously. She’s been acting funny ever since she talked to that girl from the yoga class.”
“Belinda Johnson?” Fuck. “Is that why Serena was headed to the lumberyard?”
Harley takes a step back. “Look, I thought she was kidding. First of all, why would she go to the lumberyard without you?” She sucks in a lungful of air, and her eyes expand the size of platters. “That girl is nuts!”
“Call the police and tell them to head to the lumberyard.” I run the hell out of the Black Bear and jump into my car.
I call Marlin and shout for him to head on over himself.
I hope to God we’re not too late.
The lumberyard is eerily quiet save for the hum of a motor coming from the work shed. I’ve beaten the police and Marlin by a landslide, so I take advantage of the moment and park by the evergreens. I jog over to where I spot Serena’s car alongside another in a similar make and model, and my heart begins to jump out of my chest. I may as well surprise whoever the hell I’m coming up on. My guess is Shelby Trainee, but what the hell would Barry’s newly wealthy sister want with Serena at this time of night?
A trio of muffled voices stream from inside the aluminum barn, and I hear Serena’s high-pitched frantic voice going off a mile a minute, most likely pleading for her life.
Good girl. Keep it together. Keep yourself on this side of the dirt. There is no way in hell I’m letting anything happen to Serena. I couldn’t protect my sister that day she fell off that embankment—and losing another person I love is something I can never repeat. I almost didn’t survive the first time. I won’t be able to the second.
My heart drums right through my ears as I step lightly over to the opening.
I duck my head a moment and spot Serena standing in front of a wood stack with her hands up high. Next to her vibrates a bright yellow machine with a metallic chute that’s usually hungry for wood.
The chipper.
Holy hell. My entire body seizes. I glance to the left and spot two people standing nearby, neither of which is Shelby Trainee. It’s Craig Carter and Belinda Johnson. I recognize her from her picture on the gym’s website. After Serena mentioned what she knew about her, I did a little digging of my own. Not nearly enough.
Serena spots me, and her eyes grow wide before she looks back at her captors. “Since I’m going to die anyway, why don’t you fill me in on the real reason you killed Barry—Belinda.”
Belinda? Belinda killed Barry?
Serena clears her throat. “You said you were dating Barry at the same time your own sister was engaged to him—that you didn’t want her to find out. But Barry didn’t want to leave Hannah for you, did he? So when Hannah broke it off because she suspected something fishy going on, he broke it off with you—didn’t he? And I bet he was about to expose you—humiliate you. Why else would you pull the trigger?”
Belinda bubbles with laughter as if she were at happy hour with friends. “Barry and I were hardly dating. He was no boyfriend of mine. Craig here is the real deal. I couldn’t stand Hannah’s constant preening about her perfect life, her perfect fiancé. Everyone could tell he was a loser. I was just out to prove it by stealing him away. Ruining the golden child’s wedding day was just an added bonus.”
Serena groans. “You really do hate your sister. So, what’s in the safe?”
“A key.” Belinda shrugs as if she knew it wasn’t the juiciest answer.
“A key?” Serena scoffs. “You killed a man for a measly key? You mean I’ve risked life and limb and I’m going to be fed to a wood chipper over a stupid piece of metal? What the hell?”
“What the hell is right,” Craig barks. “That key happens to lead to a safe-deposit box at the Bank of Jepson, and once I produced it, his sister promised to split whatever the hell was in it with us for offing him. As much as Barry meant to me alive, he meant a hell of a lot more dead.”
Why am I not surprised this has circled back to Shelby? And, oddly, I feel a touch vindicated by the revelation.
“His sister was selling him out for money?” Serena glances my way briefly. “It sounds as if Barry needed new friends and family.”
The wail of a siren knifes through the air, and both Belinda and Craig glance at one another and freeze.
“We need to go.” Craig picks up a bag by his feet, and if I had to guess, it looks like a cash deposit from the lumberyard’s safe.
Belinda waves her gun at Serena, and my adrenaline hits its zenith. “Get rid of her so we can leave.”
Craig shifts his weight, his face bleaching white. “Shoot her then. I’m not putting her in there alive. It’s not humane.”
“I’m not killing another person!” she riots back. “I damn near have nightmares every night because of that idiot I offed so we could have a nice life together.”
Serena topples a stack of wood to the left before dodging right, and Belinda leaps blindly, jumping on top of her.
I run in with a roar and kick the gun out of Belinda’s hand, sending it spinning underneath that yellow monster of a machine they wanted to feed Serena to.
I toss Belinda’s body like a rag doll just as Craig tackles me from behind, and my face lands hard into the dirt.
Craig and I wrestle it out before a loud scream comes from above, and a two-by-four of a log comes crashing over his head. I glance up to find Serena panting like mad. Thank God she didn’t miss. She could have impaled me, but she didn’t. I roll Craig’s moaning body off mine and jump up and wrap my arms around Serena just as the place floods with Hollow Brook’s finest.
“Shep!” Her body bucks as she pulls me in tight, her lips quickly finding a home over mine. Amongst the chaos, the screaming, the shouts from the police, Serena’s mouth offers up a calm to the storm.
“Holy shit,” a deep voice barks from behind, and I freeze, my eyes opening slowly to confirm what I already know. “Step the hell away from my sister, and we’ll pretend this never happened.”
I turn to face Marlin as Serena runs from my arms to his. “You can’t kill him,” she wails. “Shep saved me. And if you do”—she strides back my way and latches an arm around me—“you’ll have to kill me, too.” Serena looks to me, bashful, her lips swelling along with the tears in her eyes. “I’m in love with him, Marlin. I love Shepherd Collins.”
“You love me?” A hungry laugh lives and dies in my chest. “That’s great news because I love you, too. I love you, Serena. And I want something real with you. Not just crazy sex for the summer.”
“Aw, fuck,” Marlin howls as if he were struck with a bullet.
But I can’t take my eyes off of Serena, this beautiful girl, this woman who has openly
and perhaps precariously declared her love for me. It feels amazing to have this with her. It feels better than mere words can describe to know she feels the same way about me as I do her. In a strange way, it feels downright impossible.
“I want something real with you, too, Shep. And you know what? I think we already have it.” She gives a slight nod before collapsing her mouth over mine. Serena and I exchange a lusty kiss for the ages, a hard, dark, delicious kiss that says we have arrived and we do not give a single shit who is watching us. Serena and I have been through hell this summer. What’s an irate big brother with a gun going to do to me in a room full of cops?
A powerfully loud explosion goes off and rattles every bone in my body.
I think I have my answer.
After that fiasco of a night, both Belinda and Craig were taken into custody. Shelby Trainee has also been detained for questioning in the involvement of her brother’s murder.
That night at the lumberyard still rings clear in my mind. Somehow, by sheer “coincidence,” Marlin’s gun misfired just moments after I took Serena into my arms to comfort her. Okay, so I may have had my mouth plastered over hers—but still, he unloaded a bullet in my direction. He cited the fact Craig had tried to make a break for it, which he did. But I have a feeling that shot he fired just shy of where I was standing was meant as a dire warning for yours truly. And the warning was well-received.
The following week, Serena is busy planning a surprise baby shower for Sunday, so there hasn’t been a chance for us to connect the way we’d like, but tonight at the Black Bear, all of that is going to change. We came to a mutual agreement that we would formally apprise our families of our relationship status at dinner. It’s our first taste of being a couple out in the open, and we’re hoping there will be no threats of a restraining order and nary a bullet will fly.
The Black Bear is thick with bodies. Perfume and cologne of every brand mingle with the scent of fries and the faint scent of hard liquor layered underneath.
Serena is still on her way. She’s been comforting Harley ever since she heard that her friend endured an ugly breakup. Apparently, the night I found her in tears, she had just seen the guy she was dating doing some chick on a frat house pool table. It sounds to me she’s better off without him. Some guys just aren’t cut out for a long-term commitment—but lucky for me, I’m all in.
My biggest fear is scaring Serena. I don’t ever want her to feel smothered by me. The fact is, she is young and she might change her mind. But I’m hoping she won’t. I’m hoping with everything in me that we last. It feels right. It feels as if we’ve been together a lot longer than just the summer. And I want nothing more than to be with her for a hell of a lot longer than just the summer.
Baya, the owner’s wife, was nice enough to save an elongated table for the eight of us in the back. Mom and Dad arrive and get settled with Teagan. Marlin shows up and heads straight over and takes a seat, doesn’t even nod a simple hello my way. I get it. He’s pissed. I wouldn’t be too thrilled with whomever Teagan was locking lips with either.
I head to the bar, putting in an order for a drink, when a hand falls over my shoulder and I turn to find Axel lifting his brows my way.
“You ready for tonight?”
“I’m ready.” I glance back to find Lex waving and heading over to the table herself. “I guess we’re just waiting on Serena.”
He winces. “So, you guys are happening, huh? You do realize what you’re getting into. You know Lex will strangle you with her bare hands if you break Serena’s heart.”
“I know. And, believe me, I’d be cheering Lex on if I were stupid enough to hurt Serena. It’s not happening. I’m ready for this. It feels as if I’ve been waiting for Serena all my life. And all my life she was right in front of me.”
Axel nods. “I get it. Those Maxfield sisters are something else.”
“And so is that brother of theirs.” I take a moment to glare at Marlin.
Axel belts out a short-lived laugh. “His bark is worse than his bite. You’ll be fine. Maybe.”
I stare wild-eyed at my brother. “He fired his gun at me.”
“In that case, I’ll get you a Kevlar vest for your birthday.” Axel flashes that infamous grin we both seem to don when we know we’re beat.
“Good thinking.”
Sunday and Seth come in, as do Nolan and Misty, followed by Rush and Trixie. Serena’s family has been soldered together from the tragedies they’ve shared. Her cousins are just as good as her siblings.
And finally, Serena herself enters the doors, and I’d swear on all that is holy that the crowd of coeds and frat boys parts like the Red Sea.
Axel gives my arm a quick squeeze. “I’ll see you at the table.”
Serena is a vision in that tight red dress that dangerously hugs her every curve, and her hair is fanned out around her like a crimson halo. She’s got enough angel in her to qualify, but just enough devil to assure you she’s one naughty girl. She floats into my arms, and I land a kiss over her lips right here at the Black Bear.
“Whoa,” a deep voice strums from behind, and we find Eli Gates grimacing as if he just caught his parents knocking boots. “Dude”—he pinches his eyes shut a moment—“you realize the school is going to give you your walking papers for this.”
“I’m better suited for law anyhow.” I look to Serena. “You look stunning tonight.” I was going to say delicious, but I’d hate to make Eli lose his lunch.
“Right back at you.” Serena runs her hand down my tie, lower still before biting down a smile. “So, Eli, are we good to go?”
“All set. Hollow Brook Hot Honeys is ready for its trial run.”
“Perfect.” Serena’s entire person glows at the thought. “I’ll get the word out asap, and by the time fall semester begins in a week, we should be on fire. How much do I owe you?”
Eli glances my way a moment, and I get the feeling he wishes I weren’t privy to this conversation. “I was thinking since I put so much effort into it, and it’s going to need constant upkeep, that maybe we can split the profits.”
“I would think twice,” I’m quick to interject. “And I’m strictly speaking as her attorney.” I tick my head toward him. “And yours.”
Serena’s jaw is on the floor. “I just thought twice. Yes. You’re right, Eli. You’ve done basically everything, and it’s going to need a heck of a lot more help than I can give it. Partners?” She holds out a hand, and Eli shakes it.
“Partners.” He slaps me over the back. “I’ll be in the poolroom if either of you needs me.”
“Great”—Serena steps in close to him—“Harley will be here in a bit with Colby, so if you see her, try to go out of your way to be nice. She has a sudden aversion to your kind, and it’s not boding well for any of the males that get in her way.”
Eli looks as if she just asked him to eat the head of a live fish. “Harley has a natural aversion to me. I’m probably the one person who should voluntarily stay away.” He shoots us with his finger. “Have a great night,” he says as he disintegrates into the crowd.
Serena wraps her arms around me, still staring off in his direction. “Why do I get the feeling Eli has an aversion to Harley?”
“Eli? I doubt he feels that way about anybody. He’s one of the nicest people I know. Unless, of course, he’s got a thing for her.”
“Eli has a thing for Harley?” Serena’s cherry red lips round out, and about a dozen dirty thoughts crop up at once.
“Stranger things have happened.” I give her waist a quick squeeze and nod to our families who seem to be having a great time all on their own. “You ready to do this thing?” I lean in and take in the scent of her warm skin, sugar and cinnamon.
“I’m in, Collins. Stay strong. And remember, if you find yourself staring down the barrel of a gun, don’t be afraid to tip a table or two on your way out the door.” She tucks a quick kiss under my ear. “Don’t worry, I’ll hunt you down at your place and make you mine.”
/> “That’s what I’m hoping.”
We head to the table, and a small round of applause breaks out.
“What’s this?” Serena nearly falls against me, floored by the spontaneous ovation.
Sunday clears her throat. “We just wanted to show our gratitude to the two of you for going above and beyond the call of duty and taking a murderer off the streets.”
Lex winks up at us. “I feel safer already.”
Marlin growls, “But next time, leave the dirty work to the police.”
“There won’t be a next time.” I’m still so relieved Serena is safe, I drop a kiss over the top of her head without thinking, and just like that, everyone at the table freezes.
Serena shrugs. “The rumors are true. Shep and I are together.”
“As in a couple.” I look to my parents who look mildly amused. My mother gives a playful tip of the head, but my father somewhat glares at me as if to say don’t fuck it up. It’s exactly what he tells his team as we’re about to head to court. And I won’t.
A strange groan comes from Marlin, and it inspires Seth to scoot his chest a few inches over as if he was expecting him to barf and he might.
“Serena”—Marlin says her name stern as he stares us down—“if this guy even thinks about making you cry, just drop me a line.” He glowers at me a moment. “Same goes for you. My sister can be a real pistol.”
“Marlin!” Serena shouts as the table breaks out into laughter.
Dinner goes off without gunfire or the need to tip over a single table. Instead, Axel stands and lifts his glass, inspiring us to do the same. “I realize we’re at the end of our feast, but I wanted to say a few quick words. First, congratulations to Misty and Nolan on your pink bundle on the way. We’re all ecstatic for you. Christmas can’t get here soon enough. And congratulations once again to Sunday and Seth who in a few short weeks will welcome their little one.” He turns to me. “And I do believe congratulations are in order for Shep, my little brother, for finding someone brave enough to tolerate him. Serena, my parents and I have nothing but the utmost respect for the courage and fortitude you seem to have in abundance.” A quick round of chuckles skirts the table on my behalf. “And if you don’t mind me stealing a part of your night”—he tips his head my way—“Lex and I have some news of our own we’d like to share.” He gently prods her to her feet, and Lex bears a tight smile for less than three seconds. She’s still a hell of a lot more personable than she started off. I’ll give her that.