“Same thing in my family.”
He kisses me again, harder this time, like he’s trying to erase the doubt from my mind. “You okay?”
I nod.
He grabs a shirt and pulls it over his head, then grabs his machete from where it leans against the wall. At the door, he pauses, looking back at me. “Stay as long as you want. I’ll find you later.”
Then he’s gone, the door closing behind him with a soft click.
I sit on the bed, sheet still clutched to my chest, feeling the ghost of his hands on my skin. My lips tingle from his kisses. My body aches with unfulfilled need. And beneath it all, guilt churns in my stomach.
I need to face Amelia. Need to explain.
But what exactly am I going to say? That I’ve fallen for the man she has feelings for?
Outside, the morning air is crisp, and I head toward my family’s cabin, crossing my arms against the cold. At the gate, voices rise in urgent discussion. I catch glimpses of movement—Cameron’s tall frame, Ramirez’s distinctive profile, Julien’s broad shoulders as he gestures outside the fence.
I’ll join them after.
The door to my family’s cabin creaks when I open it. Voices filter through the closed door of my parents’ bedroom. Mymother’s sharp tones, my father’s lower rumble, too muffled to make out words. I hover, uncertain whether to announce my presence or slip past unnoticed.
I choose the latter, easing toward the room I share with Amelia. She’s sitting in bed, a book open on her lap, though her eyes aren’t moving across the page.
“Hey,” I say.
She doesn’t look up. Doesn’t acknowledge me at all.
“Amelia?” I step into the room. “You okay?”
She turns a page, still not meeting my gaze. “When did it start?”
“What?”
“You and Julien.” She finally looks up, eyes red-rimmed but dry. “I saw how he held you last night.”
The accusation I expect doesn’t come. Instead, she just looks… disappointed.
I sink onto the edge of my bed, facing her across the narrow gap between us. “After the church. When we got separated.”
“Before we found you at Pine Lake? Or after?”
“Does it matter?”
“It matters to me.”
I look down at my hands, twisting in my lap. “Before. But it wasn’t—we weren’t—it wasn’t planned.”
“I told you about him.” She closes her book carefully, marking her place. “I told you I had feelings for him.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“I’ve spent my entire life watching you sacrifice everything for me. Your dreams. Your life. I never asked for that, Dakota. Never wanted it.”
“I was trying to help.”
“And now the one thing, the one person I wanted…”
“It just happened.”
