Page 18 of Forged in Deception

“Did you go to college there?”

Apparently, Axel’s curiosity was not going to be easily satisfied.

“Yes. It was cheaper to live at home.”

“That makes sense. Only one of my brothers, Cameron, went to college, but he stayed local and lived at home, too.”

“How many brothers do you have?” she asked.

“Technically I’m one of five, but our cousin Reilly is basically considered an honorary brother. He grew up with us.”

Axel leaned forward over the table to scoop up the last of his eggs, and Karlin caught a glimpse of a small wooden cross around his neck.

He was probably a Christian, just like the rest of his big, happy, perfect family.

“I just have one brother, John. But we’ve always been close. I miss him a lot.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she found herself regretting them. She didn’t need to be Axel’s best friend in order to help him investigate Senera. The fact that she had a brother was hardly a secret, but their shared past wasn’t exactly something she felt like discussing.

“Oh, nice. Where is he?” Axel asked.

“Just a couple hours away, in Lubbock.”

“Close enough to visit, at least,” Axel said, giving an approving nod. “My one brother, Jacob, is a missionary. Well,kinda. Anyway, he has been living all over the place and hasn’t been home in years. I miss him so much.”

Karlin was about to ask how someone could be ‘kind of’ a missionary, but Axel interrupted her train of thought.

“But never mind me. I’m curious about you. Why’d you leave Michigan? You stayed for college, but now you live on the other side of the continent. Bit of a change of heart?”

Her stomach clenched as she tried to formulate an answer he’d accept without actually lying to his face. Her story wasn’t the sort one could casually tell in five minutes over a cup of herbal tea.

She decided to settle on something simple. Less words, less of a chance of putting her foot in her mouth and humiliating herself.

“Something like that,” she said, forcing her eyes to meet his.

Fortunately, despite his class-clownish demeanor, Axel seemed pretty good at reading people. He simply smiled and changed the subject.

“I’m still pretty scandalized that I’ve come all the way to Amarillo, and you can’t even give me a personal review of a single tourist trap.”

“Not fair! I told you I’ve been to museums. The RV one and the American Quarter Horse one are both way cooler than they sound.”

Axel snorted. “I hope so, because they sound super lame. I’ve never been a museum guy.”

“Why? Too educational?”

Karlin was surprised at the teasing tone her voice had taken. It sounded almost flirtatious, and that absolutely was not going to become a thing.

“Actually, yes,” Axel said. “My oldest brother, Gabe, had this weird phase as a kid where he became obsessed with the Alamo, and he forced us all to participate in his geekery. I havespent a scary amount of time there. I swear I have every sign in the visitor’s center memorized, and the staff there knows my entire family by name to this day. Once, he made me, all of my brothers, and Reilly dress up and go to this historical reenactment event–”

“To be fair, that sounds like so much fun,” she said, interrupting his tirade.

“He made me be a girl! Only me! I even had to wear a wig!”

Karlin couldn’t help but to laugh out loud at that.

“Growing up in a big family sounds amazing,” she said, still grinning. “I’m kind of jealous.”

“Well, I can’t fix your dark and mysterious childhood, but I can totally embarrass you at the tourist activity of your choice when this retreat is over. I’ll even accept going to a boring museum if you insist.”

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