The way he says it makes something twist inside me.We’ll see about that.
“What did she say about me?”
Calder hesitates, studying me with that mix of curiosity and caution he’s had since we were kids. “That she’s not exactly popular with the eldest brother.”
I almost smile. “She’s not wrong.”
Calder laughs, but there’s an edge to it. “You don’t have to make her an enemy. Let her run her little business. We’ll keep ours.”
I turn back to the window. Sun slices across the Voss roof—sharp, impossible to ignore. For a second, I see her reflection in the glass of the porch, the way she squared her shoulders afterthe door slammed. I shouldn't be replaying it. I shouldn’t be impressed by her tenacity.
“That’s not how this works,” I say.
“Because Dad said so?” he snaps, irritation breaking through the easy charm. “You keep quoting rules from a man who’s not even here anymore.”
I face him, my voice quiet but final. “Because this valley stays balanced when we keep control. And she’s tipping it.”
Calder stands, shaking his head. “You ever think maybe it’s already unbalanced? You can’t bully everyone who disagrees with you.”
“I’m not bullying her.”
He gives a humorless laugh. “Then what do you call what you did the other night?”
The silence stretches between us. The low throb of the distillery hums around us—machinery, mash, the smell of charred oak—mundane things that should steady me.
Instead, my fingers still remember the weight of my old high-school hockey mask—the one I wore on the ridge as theater. I can still feel the rough scrape of plastic and the strip of duct tape where I’d reinforced the metal strap, the idea forming before I’d even realized what I was doing.
Finally, I say, “Handling a problem.”
Calder studies me for a long moment, then sighs. “She’s not scared, Tristan. She’s angry. And anger lasts longer.”
I stare at him, not saying a word.
She may not be scared yet… but I can change that.
He shakes his head before leaving, the door clicking softly shut behind him.
I stand there until his footsteps fade, then glance back out at the ridge. Sunlight flashes off the Voss roof again, that same sharp reflection I saw in the rain. The image of her—barefoot, flashlight trembling—slides behind my ribs and won’t leave.
It shouldn’t send a thrill through me, but it does. Heat crawls along the back of my neck just thinking about her defiance, about her bright, impossible stubbornness.
The more I try to ignore her, the louder the silence in this place gets.
I can’t decide if I want to drive her out of this valley—or keep her close enough that no one else ever will.
CHAPTER 5
Raine
By the timeI make it into town, the sun has already burned the mist off the mountains. Shadow Falls looks prettier than I remember—postcard perfect, with flower boxes hanging from the shop windows and the smell of coffee drifting from the café on Main Street.
It shouldn’t feel hostile. But it does.
The moment I step inside the Perch & Pour coffee shop, conversation dips a notch. Not enough to be rude—just long enough for me to notice. The woman behind the counter recovers quickly, smiling too widely.
“Morning, sweetheart. You new around here?”
“Not exactly.” I slide a list from my pocket. “Just need a few things for the vineyard—cleaning supplies, fresh coffee, maybe a generator battery.”
