Chapter One

Garrett

"Well, right now we're sharpening rocks to make spears and when we're done with that, we're going to go out into the woods and hunt Bigfoot for a while. If that doesn't pan out, we'll go drag racing down Main Street."

"Jason--"

"Seriously, Dad. You could have a little bit more faith in me. What type of person do you think I am."

I'm kind of afraid to answer that.

"I'm just worried about you."

"We're eating pizza and playing video games. Both of Jeff's parents are sitting in the living room. All the doors are locked. I have my toothbrush and intend on brushing my teeth thoroughly after eating my allotted slices and the soda that will go along with them."

"Not too much soda," I said.

As if that was really going to have any impact on him.

"I have my limits, Dad. I have my limits."

I sighed, but there was a smile on my lips. It was good to hear my son sounding almost playful with me again. It had been months since he had been anything but sullen and occasionally blisteringly angry for what seemed like absolutely no reason most of the time. That was one of the main reasons that I was on the road right now, nearly at my destination, as I leaned forward slightly to stare through the windshield at the dark, narrow way ahead.

"Alright. I'll pretend that you cut yourself off at one can and we'll call it even."

"How many cans of soda do you drink with your pizza?" he asked with a hint of teasing in his voice.

Four.

"One."

"Sure. Are you still planning on being back the day after tomorrow?"

"That's the plan."

"I'll see you then."

"Night, Bud."

"Night."

I reached forward and ended the call on my phone where it was attached to the dashboard.

"Where in the living fuck am I?" I asked no one in particular, which was good considering I was alone in the car.

I thought that the way was going to seem familiar. It should have felt comfortable or at least looked like something I had seen before. The closer that my GPS told me I was getting, however, the less it felt like I knew where I was or where I was going. I tried not to think about it. The more I did, the more I had to remember the last time that I was in this town and everything that I had gone through. That had been so many years ago. I told myself that that was why nothing seemed as familiar as I expected that it would, not that I had been so traumatized when I left. I didn't want to think that those last few weeks had been so hard on me, that they would scar me or make it so that I wasn't able to remember the place where I grew up.

It was the earlier years, the years well before my life as I knew it exploded, that was the reason I accepted the job offer and made the decision to move Jason and me to the tiny town that I was currently trying very hard to find. The last few months had only been part of a distinctly downward spiral that Jason seemed to be following, one that had taken him from the energetic and fun child I had raised mostly alone to a difficult teenager who was teetering over the edge of rebellion a little more each day. I didn't want to see him follow the same difficult path that I had. I didn't want to see him suffering. But I also didn't want to see him fall victim to the self-destruction that I knew could come, the self-destruction that I had been rescued from by the military. And by him.

I didn't think of this as going home, though part of me thought that maybe I should. Instead, I thought of it as bringing my son to the place where I thought that he would have the best chances, where he could start over and get onto a better track. I felt a tightening of guilt in my stomach as I thought about this. I hadn't been entirely honest with Jason about the move. When I dropped him off with his best friend Jeff for a few days I told him that I was going to see about a new job. That wasn't a lie. There was a new job waiting for me in the tiny town of Silver Lake. I had leveraged my military and firefighting backgrounds to land the position of fire chief, finally bringing me up from the absolute bottom of the heap, where I had been with my family in the days before I left Silver Lake, behind me, for what I thought would be the last time.

What I hadn't told Jason was that the new job was several hours away from the town where he had grown up and that I was actually going to find us a new house so that we could move right after the first of the year. I knew that he was going to be pissed. I wasn't really looking forward to that confrontation when it finally came time to tell him. I knew that the transition that was coming wasn't going to be easy for either one of us, but I expected that it was going to be the most difficult for him. The thought was enough to make my temples tighten in another stress headache, much like the ones that had inspired the nearly empty bottle of pain reliever that was taking up one of the cup holders in the center console right alongside a massive cup with now-cold dredges of coffee.

Finally, I saw a sign rising up in front of me and knew that I was almost at my destination. There was only one hotel in the town of Silver Lake, which meant that my options for where to stay during my visit were limited to whether I wanted a room on the bottom floor or the top. I had opted for the top, but as I drove along the main stretch of the town, I wondered if I was going to be able to get into my room that night at all.

Where is everybody? It's not even ten.

The entire town around me seemed to be asleep. There were no cars with me on the road and no people walking along the sidewalk. Most of the buildings were completely dark or had only one or two lights burning inside. It was the week of Thanksgiving and I knew that within a few days Christmas lights were going to burst to life throughout the town, but for now, the entire space seemed desolate and empty.

It's downright fucking creepy.

I drove around to the back of the hotel and gathered my bags before walking to the door, expecting it to be locked so I would have to spend the night either sleeping in my car or driving around trying to find another hotel. Fortunately, I saw someone standing behind the counter as I approached the door and was able to walk in and check in.

Twenty minutes later I was back in my car. The quiet was too much for me and for the tense thoughts running through my mind. I needed something to relieve my stress and to get my mind off everything. Having a night without responsibilities wasn't something that I got very often, and I wanted to blow off some steam and have fun. That, however, was something that wasn't going to happen in Silver Lake. Even if every member of the town hadn't apparently pulled on their sleeping caps and buried themselves in bed for the night, I didn't want to threaten my reputation in the town even before I had a chance to build it. The town was full of prying eyes and well-established families with very strong opinions, which meant that anything that I did was going to spread faster than the flu. Even if I was going to eventually drink the hot milk and settle into small town living, I was going to make the most of the time that I had left.

Hoping I wasn't going to be caught by the one sheriff who I imagined would be wandering around on these roads, I kept one eye on the road in front of me and one on my phone where it was propped in its stand as I searched for a hotel with a vacancy. By the time that I made it to the larger town two over from Silver Lake, I had a reservation and even more of a desire to let loose for the night. I tossed my bag into the room, changed clothes, and headed out. Unlike in Silver Lake, this town actually seemed alive. It didn't take long for me to find a bar with lights and music pouring from the door and a parking lot full enough to make it look like there were more people inside the bar than there were in the entire town I was preparing to live in.

I parked and walked inside, scanning the room as I did. I had taken only a few steps out of the slight chill outside into the stark contrast of the heavy warmth inside when my eyes fell on her.

Holy shit. That is exactly what I need tonight.

She was sitting at the end of the bar, leaned forward on her elbows as she twirled a swizzle stick around in a drink. Her eyes were down, looking at the nearly full glass in front of her as she seemed lost in her own thoughts. I took a step toward her, but before I could get close to her, I saw a short man with the first three buttons of his shirt unbuttoned and enough grease in his thinning blond hair to fry chicken step up beside her. He leaned to the side against the bar and ran his tongue over his teeth. He looked her up and down, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was visibly pulling away from him. I continued toward them, pushing my way through the crowd without taking my eyes off the gorgeous woman and her unwelcome visitor. He reached up and ran his fingertips along the curve of her shoulder just as I stepped up behind her.

The woman stumbled back from her stool to get away from his touch and ran into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her waist first to catch her as she stumbled, then to hold her close as a thought popped into my mind.

"Hey, Baby," I said in my best romantic hero voice.

I spun the woman around in my arms as the slimy guy looked on. She looked startled as she faced me, but I didn't hesitate. I dipped her back and crushed my mouth down on hers, moving one of my hands up to cup the back of her head so I could lift her mouth further against mine. I felt her lips part under mine and dipped my tongue into her mouth, sweeping across the sweetness of her tongue. The kiss was instantly explosive, filled with heat and longing that made my belly tighten and my mind cloud. She tasted like everything that I craved, everything that I needed that night. I finally tore my mouth away from hers and set her upright on her feet again.

"I'm sorry I'm late," I said. "I just couldn't get away."

She nodded and looked at the man, then back at me.

"It's alright," she said. "I haven't been waiting too long."

I looked at the man. He was still standing there, but now staring at us, open-mouthed.

"You see?" the woman said. "I told you that I couldn't possibly accept a drink from you. I was waiting for my boyfriend. I'm sorry."

I kept my arm wrapped tightly around her waist as I extended a hand to him.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on her, Pal. I appreciate it."

The man didn't take my hand but grumbled under his breath as he turned and stalked away through the crowd further into the bar. I couldn't hear everything that he said, but I managed to catch a few words that weren't going to win him any love and affection. I watched as he sank back into a darker section of the bar and sulked near a pool table, his eyes still slicing through the dim lighting at the woman I was still holding. I waved at him and she giggled, turning her back and putting her hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter.

"Is he still looking?" she asked a few seconds later.

I nodded.

"Yep. Maybe I should sit down with you for a bit."

She glanced up at me and I saw her full lips curved in a smile.

"Well," she said, a hint of mischief in her voice, "if you have to."

We slid into place on the barstools in front of us and I looked at the drink that she had left sitting on the bar when she tried to get away from the unwelcome attention. She was eyeing it as well, seemingly unsure about whether she should continue sipping it. I reached for the glass and put it aside.

"Maybe I should buy you a drink," I said. "You know...to keep up appearances."

"Of course. Appearances."

I made eye contact with the bartender and gestured to the woman. She ordered her drink and I asked for a beer. It wasn't the most sophisticated choice, but I had never been one to go for mixed drinks, and I had turned my back on liquor soon after Jason was born. With beer I could keep myself under control. I waited until the bartender placed a napkin on the bar in front of me and had served my beer to turn to her.

"What's your name?" I asked.

She looked at me as if she was unsure of how to answer.

"Well, if this is all for appearances, then maybe I shouldn't tell you my real name."

I took a sip of my beer as I nodded. This couldn't be any more perfect. I had had no intention of telling her my real name or why I was in town anyway, and it was reassuring knowing that this woman wasn't going to turn into one who I was going to find trying to have breakfast with me or sneak to call herself from my phone so that she could have my number. I could happily have my fun with her and not have to worry that she was going to show up at my house or start wedding registries online.

Both fucking true stories.

"Appearances are very important," I agreed. "In keeping with that, my name is Ethan and I am a concert violinist on my backwoods tour."

She laughed and nodded.

"That's so interesting because my name is Debbie and I'm a costume designer for the backwoods circus."

"That is interesting," I agreed. "Maybe we'll do a cross promotion. I'll play for the acrobats and tightrope walkers."

"Oh, there aren't any acrobats or tightrope walkers. It's a flea circus."

"You're a costume designer for a flea circus?"

"It's very detailed work."

I laughed and finished the beer.

"So, Debbie, are you from around here?"

"No. Just visiting. You?"

"No." I looked at her and felt the burning in my chest increase. I could still taste her kiss on my tongue and I wanted more. "I'm staying at a hotel not far from here."

Her tongue slipped out and ran along her bottom lip, but her eyes didn't move from mine. I could see her breath quickening, causing her full breasts to rise and fall from the tight, extremely low-cut top that barely contained them.

"Do you like it?" she asked, sounding as though she were trying to keep up our flirting, but her mind was traveling elsewhere.

"It serves its purposes."

"Do you have a nice view?"

Not as nice as the one I have right now.

"I'd be happy to show it to you."

"I'd like that."

I stood and helped her down from her stool, guiding her in front of me as we made our way back through the bar and out to the parking lot. She pointed toward her car, but I grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her against me. I caught her mouth again and plunged my tongue between her lips. I could taste the remnants of her drink clinging to her tongue, mixed with the heat of her. I held her close to me, letting her feel the hardness of my body against hers, wanting her to know exactly what I was thinking without having to say a word. When I broke the kiss, she let me lead her to my car and open the passenger side door for her. She slipped in and I caught a glimpse of her thigh when her skirt rose up as she sat down. She was wearing thigh highs clasped with a garter belt and I felt my belly tighten even further. I wanted to drop to my knees in the parking lot and tuck my head under her skirt right there. I rushed around to the driver's side and took off toward the hotel without even being sure the door was closed all the way.