Everly was suddenly there, her hands gripping under my arms and pulling me. The terrified glance she was casting over my shoulder told me that the roaring wasn’t just in my mind. The fire must have been tearing through the hayloft, whatever was happening was bad, because Thunder was there next, tossing me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing and running toward an SUV.
I had gotten ahold of Everly’s hand and she kept pace with us, sliding into the backseat with me as Thunder and Dindak got into the front.
The last thing I remember was the sight of the roof caving in before everything went dark.
Chapter 9
Everly
Looking around my office in the clinic, I’m satisfied with the choice I made last week. In the weeks since the Kings rode through and cleaned up Kent, my dad and friends back home have all sounded more energized than they have in a long time.
Energized, but I’m sure there are several outsiders who think they’re all suffering from mass amnesia.
None of them seem to remember what happened to Sheriff May, just that it was a pity that he somehow was run over by his SUV just a couple of blocks from where the tree in the main square was being lit for the season.
Not a sole heard a thing, nor discovered his body until the next day.
That the majority of the deputies and Balo all disappeared around the same time is an equal mystery. The only real problem is that the Kings have no idea where Balo is, and honestly, I’m losing some sleep over that myself.
Bull’s father has sworn to hunt him down and with so much of Balo’s money tied up in the land he purchased around Kent, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he surfaces.
Now, I just need to find a place to land, but that’s a problem to face after the holidays.
I had leased the existing clinic with the idea that I would either buy it or move on. Recently I’ve been in a holding pattern with Jessup.
Understandably, his brother encouraged him to head back to Clear Creek after the showdown, to see a doctor that specializes in humans.
At first we video chatted several times a day, then once a day, and yesterday he missed our call altogether. I was going to surprise him with the news that I was wrapping things up out here and had a couple of leads close to him.
Now, now I think I’ll just take some time, maybe work with Dad for a bit before I make a decision.
I’ll keep telling myself that it was just a fling for him, no matter how real it felt to me.
Then my phone rings and my heart lights up all over again.
Rage
I had ridden through storms before, but this one was bordering on an omen. It’s been years since I remember there being so much snow before January, but today’s white-out conditions have me driving a steady thirty miles an hour. With my hazards on.
After talking to Everly last night, I spent the next couple of hours analyzing every word, then the tone of voice she used. It was hours later that I finally realized what it was that bothered me so much about our conversation.
I’m not strong on picking up subtext, but in the early hours of the day, it hit me that there were the words we were exchanging and, almost, a conversation she was having with herself—like she was trying to convince herself thatwedidn’t have a chance in hell.
Getting dressed, I threw a small bag together, then thought things through a little more. That’s when I went down to Thunder’s room looking for a larger bag.
A quick trip to Wyoming wasn’t going to convince her of what I already knew. That she was mine.
“About damn time,” Thunder grumbles after dragging his ass out of bed.
“You’ll let Bull know?”
“He already knows,” he replies, shaking his head. “Anyone with have a brain knows you don’t let a woman like that go.”
“And we’re good?” That’s as close as I’ve ever come to talking about feelings with my brother.
At this stage of my life, finding out that Damien was my father only affects me in regards to Thunder’s feelings on the subject. It’s a lot to unpack, not just for me but for Thunder and Bull also.
“You’re not any less my brother than you were last week,” he says, keeping his eyes trained on me. “Just a little jealous, because I thought Damien was cool as shit when we were kids.”
