On that note, “I’m going on a run after dinner.” I grab a plate from the stack on the marble island.
Cameron hands Elena her plate by the oven, glaring at me suspiciously. They still look at me like that whenever I say I’m going on a run. I go on a run most mornings now, and clearly, I always come back.
“You went on one this morning, and it’s dark outside,” Cameron mentions distrustfully.
“Yes, but Colten won’t talk to either of you and there’s only one way he’ll talk to me.” Their eyes burn through my skull as my gaze bounces between them. “Which is also why I need to ask a favor from you two.”
I wrigglemy hands into my sweatshirt pocket, soaking in the warmth. My eyes flutter shut, fully appreciating the scent of the river mingling seamlessly with the breeze. I inhale a deep breath, letting the cool air calm my anxiety and heated lungs. When I close my eyes, the water lapping against the cliffside below sounds like a calm ocean on a sunny day.
It’s peaceful and quiet. But when I open my eyes, panic courses through my veins like my blood is one with the rushing river below.
I’m fearful of heights, yet here I am—staring down at the dark moonlit waters shimmering with silver light that’s too mesmerizing to walk away from. I step closer to the edge, my eyes rolling with each wave smashing against the rocks thirty feet below—the water drifting across the little ledge at the bottom, barely rising above the water’s surface.
I’m not sure what persuaded me to step up to the brink. There’s just something stunningly haunting about the pitch-black water. It’s so petrifying that I would forever sink into a cold void of murky water if I jumped.
A flash of light glimmers off the blades of grass swaying in the breeze, making my heart beat a little harder—faster with the growing sound of tires crunching gravel.
I don’t have to turn around to know the car speeding down the driveway is Colten’s truck. The hum of the diesel engine is enough of a sign, the sound vibrating my bones the closer it gets.
Turning my chin over my shoulder, my eyes thin into slits at the oncoming headlights. He gets to the spot right before the significant bend in the road, slamming on his brakes.
I can’t decide what’s more unsettling—that he doesn’t exit immediately or that his face is hidden behind tinted windows. But I don’t have to witness his expression to know that he’s pissed at me. The fact that he’s here means Cameron and Brennan played their part. He won’t talk to me willingly, so here I am, attempting to get him to speak to me with the only way I know will work.
He throws open the door, hopping out. The second his shoes hit the ground, a spark of adrenaline smashes into my heart head-on.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Little Ghost?” he seethes, stalking toward me with shoulders so tense and strained that he rivals the Hulk. “What the hell are you thinking? I thought we were over this shit.”
“I think,” I drawl, “I’m trying to do whatever I can to get you to have an honest conversation with me. You’re sulking around and ignoring us after…” I release a heavy sigh.
His broad arms cross over his chest, the front of his muscular frame shadowed by the headlights behind him. His silhouette is flawless. “After I fucked you with my two younger brothers.”
I swallow. “Yeah—that.”
A grumble comes from the depths of his throat. Colten’s light, disdainful laughter tightens my sternum. “You’re one to talk. You have no right to tell me you want to have an honest discussion when you’re running. Is that why you’re leaving?”
“I wasn’t leaving, Colten.”
His intense eyes pierce mine. “Bull. Shit. I want the truth, Taryn.”
Pursing my lips, I shift my weight anxiously. “It’s the truth.” Taking a few steps toward him, I see his shoulders visibly stiffen. “Because when I run, I know you’ll come find me. I’ve never had anyone in my life who cared enough to chase after me when I leave, but I also don’t think you’ve ever had anyone go to such drastic lengths to show you they care either.” I tap my sternum with my finger. “I care, Colten. This was the only way to get you to talk to me.”
He pulls his fingers through his mussed hair. “I don’t want to talk about it, Taryn. Leave it alone. It’s over. Done. In the past.”
“Doesn’t sound like it’s in the past.”
“Well, it is! Because every time I think about it, I hate—” He clears his throat, and my features falter.
“You hate what? Me?”
Throwing his hands frustratedly around, he growls, “Fuck. No!”
“Then what? What do you hate?” I push.
“Those were my brothers, Taryn.” He gestures up the road toward the house. “The ones I’m supposed to be looking out for. Setting anexamplefor! And here I am, having a foursome with my twin brothers because, for some reason, I want you so badly. So badly that I’m going fucking insane! I’m barely able to control myself when I’m around you.”
The breath in my lungs hitches, my pulse jumping so violently that I wonder if it’s trying to magnetize to his. They’re probably in sync.
I blink, dropping my gaze to the grass below my shoes. “So, you hate that it happened.”
