Page 20 of Five Mountain Daddies

“Of course. We’re just happy you’rehome.”

I smile and thank her again before she heads off with a wave. I gather my things and go home, smiling the whole way, and suddenly things are looking up for me. I have an envelope full of cash and a bunch of guys are suddenly trying to hit on me. What else could a girl askfor?

Maybe I’m naïve to imagine that everything’s going perfectly for me. In my experience, the world rarely gives you something before it takes something elseaway.

I pull up at my parents’ house and park in the driveway. As I slowly get out of my car, I notice this black Mustang sitting in the street out front with the engine running. I frown a little bit, not sure what it is. I decide to just ignore it, since it could be a neighbor or something like that, but before I can go inside, the door opens and Henry climbsout.

He smirks at me, wearing a black denim jacket and faded blue jeans. He walks over to me, looking so confident and handsome. That little smirk on his face makes me pause in my tracks and watch him as he walksover.

“Henry?” Iask.

He nods. “Glad you rememberme.”

“Hard not to. You’re one of James’sfriends.”

His smirk gets bigger. “That’s right. Though word is, you haven’t seen much ofhim.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What’s thatmean?”

He shrugs. “Just what it sounds like.” He glances back over my shoulder at my parents’ house. “Mind taking a walk withme?”

I hesitate. “I don’t know,” I say. “I just got back from work. I’m prettytired.”

“This won’t take long. I just want totalk.”

“Okay,” I say, curious despite myself. I don’t know what he could have to say to me, but I have a feeling that it’s about James, the twins, and Ryansomehow.

He nods and I follow him. We walk out onto the sidewalk and stroll down the quaint little street of my oldneighborhood.

It’s strange how this stays familiar and yet is totally different at the same time. I used to play on these sidewalks, in these streets, and I feel like I have every single nook and cranny memorized. Over there is where I had my first kiss; just down the street is where we used to play tag in an empty lot. Things are all different now, though still the same, like my memory is overlaid on top of this place like a finefilm.

Henry walks slowly next to me. I glance over at him, wondering what this is about. He meets my gaze and smiles. “Relax,” he says. “I don’tbite.”

“I don’t believeyou.”

He laughs softly. “I wouldn’t blame you. Well, what have youheard?”

I raise an eyebrow again. This guy is practically speaking in riddles. “What do youmean?”

“About us,” he says. “I’m sure you’ve heard someshit.”

“Ah,” I say softly. “Not much,really.”

That makes him laugh. “Leadwood’s a small place. I know peopletalk.”

I look away. “I was warned that you guys are all badnews.”

“We are,” he confirms. “We definitelyare.”

“I don’t seethat.”

“What else did youhear?”

I sigh. “I heard the twins like to share, that one of you is a drug addict, another one went to jail. That sort ofstuff.”

He nods to himself. “Guess it’s not totallyinaccurate.”

I hesitate. “She said one of you killedsomeone.”

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