Page 6 of My Return to the Walter Boys
Even though I wanted to throttle Isaac, it had been a long day of travel, and I didn’t have the energy to put up with more of his typical nauseating innuendos, so I put in my earbuds. Maybe I would bribe one of his younger cousins to help me get revenge once I had a good night’s sleep.
“Aw, come on, Jackie,” he pouted. “Don’t be like that. We haven’t seen each other all summer.”
“Which clearly wasn’t long enough.”
Turning up my music, I pointedly focused my attention out the window and settled in for the drive. I only had to ignore Isaac for two minutes before he gave up trying to talk to me, and without the distraction, my thoughts wandered back to Cole. How could they not when the last time I took this road, albeit in the opposite direction, I’d been on cloud nine even though I was soaked to the skin? My heart stuttered as I recalled our goodbye kiss, but I quickly shoved my feelings down; they’d only make my reunion with Cole more difficult.
By the time we reached Copper Valley, the small mountain town near the Walters’ ranch, my mouth tasted faintly of blood from chewing on my lip. My nerves were quickly forgotten when we drove down Main Street.
“What’s going on?” I asked, looking out the window as workers unloaded barricades on the corners surrounding the town square.
“Oh, are you speaking to me now?”
“That’s subject to further review.” Like whether he continued to be an ass.
“They’re setting up for the block party tomorrow,” he explained. “There’s gonna be cotton candy and face painting and a water balloon toss. Exactly the kind of wholesome bullshit you’re into. I’m sure you’ll have a blast.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And you wonder why I don’t want to talk to you?”
Ten minutes later, Isaac pulled onto a familiar gravel drive. When we crested the hill and the ranch came into view, a slow smile spread across my face. Everything looked exactly the same. Backdropped by endless blue sky and green fields was the large farmhouse with welcoming yellow shutters, multiple additions, and a wraparound porch that still needed a paint job.
Katherine was out the front door before my feet hit the ground. “Jackie, you’re here!” she said, pulling me into a tight hug. “Oh honey, I missed you so much. When Isaac told me your flight was delayed again, I felt awful. You must be so exhausted.”
Delayedagain? I narrowed my eyes at Isaac over Katherine’s shoulder, and he smirked.
Ugh, what a lying little shit!
I pulled away from the hug but didn’t bother correcting Katherine.Snitching was a cardinal sin among the Walter siblings, a lesson I learned the hard way, so no matter how much his dishonesty irked me, I refused to make the same mistake twice.
“Thanks, Katherine,” I said as she guided me into the house. “It’s good to be back.”
***
My sister, Lucy, used to love making fun of my obsession with lists.
Blame my type A personality, but making them soothed my soul: daily to-do lists I completed with regimental proficiency, whimsical bucket lists I never looked at again, birthday and Christmas gift ideas lists organized by price, best-of lists used to rank my favorite books and movies. I even had one to rule them all—a master index list of all my important lists.
A few weeks into summer, when Danny mentioned how homesick he was, I made a list of everything I missed about Colorado so he wouldn’t feel so alone. At the very top of that list was Nathan’s music. I loved hearing him play, whether he was in the middle of composing a new song and the notes were clumsy or it was a piece he long ago perfected, because it helped me slow down; no matter what I was doing or how many thoughts were rushing through my head, I always stopped to listen.
So now, when I reached the upstairs landing and was met with a soft guitar melody coming from his room, the stress of the travel dayimmediately melted. Eager for our reunion, I left my suitcase by the stairs and stepped inside without bothering to knock.
It was a mindless mistake.
Nathan’s bed was empty, but movement on the opposite side of the room captured my attention.
Three whole seconds passed before I processed the scene in front of me, and when I finally did, I drew a sharp breath. Alex was settled against the headboard, his hands grasping a girl’s slender waist. It took me another second to recognize her long, sleek hair and realize said girl wasKim, Alex’s childhood bestie and one of the few friends I’d made after moving here. She was straddling his lap, her mouth attached to his neck, and both of them were shirtless.
“Oh my God!” I bumped into Nathan’s desk as I scrambled backward and accidentally knocked a guitar capo to the floor.
Kim’s head jerked up. She squeaked at the sight of me, then rolled off Alex to cover herself.
“Crap, I’m sorry,” I said, squeezing my eye shut to avoid seeing anything else. Without waiting for a response, I fled the room.
“Jackie?” The bed squeaked, and a pair of feet slapped against the hardwood. “Jackie, wait!”
Which was, quite honestly, the last thing I wanted to do. Hightailing it down the hallway, I abandoned my suitcase in an effort to escape. I’d almost reached the safety of Katherine’s old art studio when a hand circled my wrist.
“Hey,” Alex said, gently tugging me away from the door. “Whereare you off to in such a hurry?”
