“Me too,” Six chimes in.
“I’ll grab something sweet for us to take with us,” Ambros winks before getting to his feet and heading to the counter. I watch his ass as he leaves, forgetting about my audience. When I see them both watching me with grins on their faces, I feel my face burn with embarrassment.
King leans forward. “Word of advice, Citi. Own it. That man’s crazy about you. He’d feel fucking proud knowing you’re checking out his ass.”
“Oh god, stop.” I bury my face in my hands and laugh along with Six.
“You shouldn’t tease her, Dad,” Six says. King swallows and winks at her. Hearing her call him Dad clearly moves him. I have the strangest urge to hug the man. Thankfully, I resist. I’m sure they already think I’m a little odd—no need to make it worse.
“We were just talking about Citi finding a hobby. We’re trying to come up with ideas,” Six throws out.
King looks at me. “What did you come up with?”
“Absolutely nothing. I don’t know what I like. What about you? What do you like doing?”
“Shooting people.”
“Oh god,” Six groans, banging her head on the table. “Can’t you at least pretend to be civilized?”
“Now, why would I do that?”
“It’s fine.” I chuckle. “I’m not really sure what civilized even looks like. And just saying, I think shooting people sounds kind of fun.”
“I’ll take you to the range. You’ll like it,” King tells me.
I don’t tell him I’ve been a few times now. I have a feeling it will be a whole new experience going with King.
“Like what?” Ambros asks, walking over with a brown bag in his hands.
“Shooting people,” Six tells him.
Ambros looks between the three of us before shaking his head. “You know what, I’m probably better off in the dark. Come on. Let’s head out before it gets too late.”
I stand up and take Ambros’s free hand when he offers it and wait as Six and King head for the door. He holds it open for us to pass through before heading over to his bike.
“I thought we were walking?” Six says, confused.
“I know a spot. It’s too far to walk there, though,” King tells her as he climbs on, offering Six her helmet. Ambros and I follow suit. I climb on behind him and hang on tight.
Riding like this is one of my favorite parts of the day. Nothing else matters but us, and for one tiny moment, I feel untouchable.
Unfortunately, the ride is over before we know it. But when the bike stops and I see the view, I don’t care so much anymore. I tug off my helmet and look around at the lush scenery of sweet gum trees, flowering dogwood, and box elders. It’s like a little piece of heaven on my doorstep, and I had no idea it was even here.
“Wow, it’s beautiful.”
Ambros takes my helmet from me and helps me off the bike before climbing off himself. “I’ll admit I’ve ridden past here a million times on the way to the hospital, but I never stopped.”
“Life has a funny way of getting in the way of living.” King sighs as he and Six come to stand beside us.
“What is this place?” Six asks.
“Locals call it Haven’s Peril, but it doesn’t have an official title, not one I could find anyway.” And if King couldn’t find it, it likely doesn’t exist.
“Isn’t that an oxymoron? Haven’s peril?”
King looks at me and winks. “That’s the point. This place is where people come to propose and start a new life together. It’s also the place where they end it. It has both a Lover’s Lookout and a Hangman’s Cove. This place has seen more proposals than any other spot in Raven’s Fall. It’s also seen more suicides.”
“Beautifully tragic.”
