Page 13 of Known By You
I scoffed. “Then you haven’t been living.”
I fished one out and held it up for her. The little cylinder filled with pizza sauce flavoring didn’t look particularly appetizing, but they were for nostalgia’s sake.
Her gaze shot to me and she shook her head. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll stick with my coffee for now.”
I shrugged, then popped a Combo in my mouth. They were insanely salty, and the flavor was more than a little artificial. Really, they were pretty bad. But they were also classic road trip food, and therefore, I persisted.
“I think it’s your turn now,” she said, drawing my attention to her lovely profile.
“My turn for what?”
“Time to tell me about your family.”
Ah. Well.There’s the downside.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Elizabeth
Kenny twisted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable even in my peripheral vision.
“Saint’s my family now,” he scraped out, then flipped open the top of his water bottle and took a long drink.
Obviously, he meant the people at Saint Security and not just the Saint family. He clearly knew Wilder’s family, but not intimately.
“And before Saint?”
He stared at the road in front of us as I followed the winding canyon down, down, down. We’d emerge soon and eventually jump on the interstate.
Clearing his throat, he wiggled around before slumping back into his chair. He was so physical about everything, it almost made me laugh. I didn’t, though, sensing he might take it personally while he was clearly feeling tender.
“Before, I was born to Mandee and Glen Carmichael ofbackwoods, Nevada. Grew up in a trailer big enough for three, but there were four of us.” He swiped his hands down his quads. “My brother is two years older than me.”
I waited for more. One minute, two. Nothing came.
“Guess you’re not in touch anymore?”
He laughed, but it sounded all wrong. I hadn’t been around him all that much, but it was enough to know he had a big, free laugh and a charming smaller one, and this was neither. It was closed, hollow.
“Not so much.”
“Well, I’m glad you’ve found your place in Silver Ridge. It’s kind of dreamy.”
His head snapped in my direction. “Dreamy?”
“Yeah. Dreamy. It’s got the small-town charm without everyone knowing everyone else’s business. And it’s cozy while still having great restaurants and shops. It’s a nice mix and, of course, the mountains are just… soul-expanding.”
I’d always felt that way about mountains. Maybe it came from growing up with Mount Rainier in my backyard or escaping to the Alps whenever I could over my years in Europe, but being near them grounded me. I’d not thought of myself as someone who needed grounding, but right now, I clearly did.
Every morning when I exited my building, I’d gaze up at the snow-covered peaks of Silver Ridge and its sisters and I felt… calm. Less frenetic and anxious about what came next.
The grounding helped me feel normal, even though whatever this was still wasn’t normal. It didn’t make sense, but I understood his point.
“I like that. Soul-expanding is exactly the way I feel about the mountains and the people there.”
I must’ve made a sound of disbelief, though I thought I’d kept it in my head.
“You don’t think people can be like that?” he asked, adjusting in his seat so he was almost sitting sideways.
