Read Counting on Cayne (Hallow River Book 1) for Free Online Page A

through lowered
brows.
    “Yeah, sure. Alright.”
The spell was broken. Jasper jabbed Cami good-naturedly in her shoulder. “You
ready to go, champ?”
    Cami’s posture perked
up. She nodded, her corkscrew curls bouncing. We stood, and she jogged around
the table to wrap me in a tight hug.
    “Good night, Brinley! 
I’ll see you at work tomorrow!”
    Cayne lightly touched my
elbow and held onto it as we walked toward the exit.
    “Work?” he asked once we
were outside.
    The humidity that had felt
soupy and thick under the midday sun now felt chill and refreshing, the
moisture prickling along my bare arms. The moon hung chalky bright. The country
heavens were sprinkled with full constellations of stars that I had not seen in
a decade. Cayne placed a hand on my lower back and guided me toward a black
pickup truck.
    “I start waitressing at
the diner tomorrow,” I explained.
    Cayne laughed and opened
the passenger door. I climbed into the seat. The tequila was wearing off, along
with the queasiness and carnival of internal spinning.
    “That’s great news.” He settled
into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “So that means you’re staying
for a while?” I thought I detected a twinge of hope in the question.
    “I think so. I mean,
yes. I am staying for a while.” I heard myself stammering. Cayne shot me
another sideways grin.
    “Good,” he said simply.
He tapped my knee. “Listen, I kept meaning to tell you. I checked out the car
this afternoon. I won’t bore you with the details, but the end result is that I
need a new part in order to fix it properly. Top-flight sports cars don’t show
up too often around here. I’ve put out inquiries to other shops and dealers to
see if anyone has the part that I need. It’s safe to drive in the meantime.
Just don’t go too far.” He winked.
    “Thank you. That’s no
problem at all. I have nowhere else to go.” This sounded both pathetic and
dismissive. I regretted saying it. We drove in silence for a couple of minutes.
    Cayne stopped at an
intersection. There were no other cars around. He turned in his seat and faced
me. “Brinley, why did you come back? Why now? What’s going on?”
    “This is my home.” I
swallowed hard. “Why shouldn’t I come back home?” I felt guilty about being so
evasive, but it had become a reflex. And I was not ready to tell Cayne the
truth. I was not ready to tell anyone the truth.
    His eyes sought mine in
the darkness. I rested against the seatback, and he brushed my forearm and hand
with his fingertips. “Ok. If that’s how you want it.”
    “Cayne, it’s just…there
are things that I can’t…”
    “It’s fine, Brinley. You
don’t have to tell me anything.” He shifted the car into gear. We continued
through the empty intersection.
    I opened my mouth to
speak several times but remained quiet. I wanted so badly to offer some kind of
a justification, however feeble and half-complete, but the right combination of
words failed me. A strange mixture of pride and shame kept me tongue-tied. I
was ashamed that I had allowed myself to be broken in the first place and too
proud to let anyone glimpse the shattered pieces. If that led Cayne to imagine
that I was hiding secrets, he was right. But maybe his imaginings were
preferable to my admitting the awful truth.
    He pulled up to the curb
and cut the engine. I noticed a light in Aunt Lu’s bedroom and saw a twitch of
curtains. Then the light went out.
    “Thank you for the
ride,” I said weakly. I picked at my jeans, nervously scratching my nails into the
denim.
    “No problem. It’s the
least I could do after holding your car hostage. Besides, it gave Cami a chance
to spend some time with Jasper. My sister couldn’t make her feelings any more
obvious if she wrote them across her forehead. He’s not a bad guy, despite what
you may have witnessed tonight. Cami’s had a crush on him since she was
thirteen, and he has yet to take advantage of it. Of course, he knows I