Chapter 1: Ainsley
βMy legs hurt,β Elena complains, her young voice sounding tired as her worn out shoes scuff along the dirt road while she tries her best to keep up with me.Β
βNot far now,β I gasp, also feeling worse for wear. Itβs been a long journey by bus from Sugar City to Whisper Valley, and this walk is the last part of that. But once we reach our new cabin, we can rest to our hearts content.Β
βHow many steps?β Even though sheβs ten years old now, Elena is still very driven by counting things to gauge time. It started when she was five and counting how many sleeps until she started school and continued from there. Now it seems weβre adding steps into the mix.Β
βMaybe a hundred?β I reply, turning back to see her blue eyes go wide above her rosy cheeks. I give her an encouraging smile. βYou can do that, right?β
She frowns, two featherlight brows arching down from behind her blonde bangs. βDo I have to count themΒ all?βΒ
βNo, Ellie. You donβt have to count them all.βΒ
βOK, then. I can do that,β she says, skipping a couple of steps so sheβs walking right next to me, her matted teddy bear clutched against the side of her face for comfortβanother thing she refuses to grow out of, but something I have no objection to. If I can keep her childhood alive for just one more day, then all of this will have been worth it.Β
βOf course you can do it. Youβre tough as they come,β I say, trying to keep her spirits up since Iβm the adult she looks to for support these days. Not that Iβm much of an adult at only nineteen. But Iβm all sheβs got. Weβve been through hell and back over the years, and sheβs been such a trooper these last few months. It hasnβt been easy, but this is the final leg of our journeyβa literal mountain climb to our final destination. This cabin is the place Iβm hoping our luck will finally turn around. Somewhere we can start fresh. New town, new home. A place where no one knows our story or our past and all we have to do is build toward our future. Together, as sisters.
βIs it a hundred steps yet?βΒ
βI thought we werenβt counting,β I say with a smile. She rolls her eyes, then moans and stops walking.Β
βCan I just sit for a minute, Ainsley?Β Please.βΒ
I stop with a sigh, knowing that even a brief pause is going to make it a thousand times harder to start up again. But my little sister is suffering, and as always, Iβll do whatever it takes to make her feel better.Β
βOK. But just for a little while. Itβll be dark soon, so we have to keep going.β
βOK.βΒ Β
Hefting the oversized suitcase Iβve been dragging behind me to the side of the road, I gesture for her to sit on it while I shift the weight of the giant hiking pack off my back. I feel like I might float away now that that thing isnβt weighing me down.Β
βHere, take a drink.β I pull out a water bottle and hand it to her.
She does just that, drinking thirstily before giving it back. βIβm hungry.βΒ
βMe too.β I dig into the pack a little further and pull out a granola bar, snapping it in two for the both of us to share. Iβve brought just enough supplies for a couple of days, and after that Iβll need to venture back down the mountain for more. Itβs a difficult feat when you donβt have a vehicle, but Iβll figure it out. After getting us all this way without too much drama, I kind of feel like I could manage anything right now.Β
βAll right letβs get moving,β I say after we finish our meager meal and wash it down with some more water.Β
βI wish we had a car.βΒ
βI know, honey. And I promise to sort that out as soon as I can. But for nowβ¦β I pick up the pack again and swing it onto my back. βWeβve gotta use the feet God gave us.βΒ
If I thought the pack felt heavy before, taking it off and putting it on again seems to have increased its weight tenfold. The moment Iβm strapped in, I donβt think I can hold it.
βOh no!β I yelp, my arms flailing as I overbalance, teeter forward, then correct myself by turning sideways before I succumb to the unyielding power of gravity on a steep hill.Β
Thud!
βFuck.β
βYou said a bad word,β Elena whispers as I lie winded on the side of the road, legs and arms floundering as I try to work out how to both breathe and right myself when Iβm headfirst down an incline. βAnd you also look like a turtle.βΒ
Elena nods very seriously, and itβs at the point I stop flailing and just start laughing. Who would have thought that after all my careful planning and preparation for this journey that the one thing thatβd stop us getting to the finish line is my fat ass pinned to the dirt by a heavy pack? Iβve never regretted lying to get out of gym class more in any moment of my life.Β
βYou look ridiculous.β Elena places her hand over her mouth, giggling along with me.Β
Sheβs right. I know I look ridiculous. And if I could stop laughing, I could probably work out how to get myself up, but Iβm tired, and Iβm in a situation I never dreamed of being in a couple of years ago, and lying by the side of the road having a giggle fest with my little sis seems like a pretty reasonable idea to me. Well, at least until the crunch of tires on gravel and an idling motor pulls our attention.Β
βWhat on earth are you two doinβ?β a deep grumbly voice demands.Β
Oh. Shit.
Chapter 2: Ajax
For the vast majority of my thirty-five years on this earth, Iβve lived on the family land in the mountains surrounding Whisper Valley. And not once have I ever come across a woman lying in theΒ middle of the damn road,Β giggling while a little kid stands over her.
She must be high.Β
When I first spotted them as I was driving, I thought maybe the one on the ground was having a fit, so I slowed down to offer help. But when I got close enough to hear the laughter, I knew I was dealing with some sort of an unstable person. No one normal would ever be this stupid.Β
I lean out the window and frown. βWhat on earth are you two doinβ?β I demand, causing the little girl to jump back and the crazy one to whip her head around as she rocks from side to side on top of a too-big-for-her hiking pack.Β
βShe got stuck like a turtle,β the girl says, smiling just enough to show me sheβs got crooked front teeth.Β
βIβm fine,β the one on the ground, who most definitelyΒ isnβtΒ fine, says. βI just overbalanced and tripped. All I have to do isβ¦β She pauses and rocks her shoulders from side to side, getting absolutely nowhere.Β
βSee?β the girl says. βA turtle.βΒ
Releasing a slight grumble at this ridiculousness, I cut the engine and get out of my truck. βWhat are you even doing up here on foot, anyway?β I ask, walking over to the woman and grabbing hold of the straps around her shoulders. I use them like a handle to haul her up, and she shrieks at first, but then she seems to relax when I plant her back onto her feet and pull the bag from her back.Β
βThanks. That thing is crazy heavy.β She rubs her neck and shoulders as she lets out a heavy breath, and I find my gaze lingering on her smooth skin. With her dark hair pulled into a haphazard style on the top of her head, a few dozen whisps of curls have fallen free to frame her ruddy, freckled face. The look conjures images of a Greek goddess on a warm day, and I feel my insides respond. But she seems young. Too young for the likes of me. Iβm quick to shut that shit down and look away.Β
βYou havenβt answered my question,β I say, tearing my eyes from her and looking to the girl instead. Sheβs as blonde as blonde can be. Her straight hair secured with mismatched hair ties on either side of her head. Hugging a threadbare stuffed animal against her neck, youβd think she was a kindergartener, but even though sheβs small like one, thereβs something about her features that tells me sheβs a lot older. Maybe nine or ten? The older of the two seems around twenty at most.Β
βWhat question?β the woman asks innocently.
βWhat are a couple of kids doinβ sitting on a mountain road? And whereβs your car?βΒ
The oldest of the two juts her chin in the air. βWe donβt have a car, and IβmΒ notΒ a kid.βΒ
βThatβsΒ exactlyΒ what a kid would say,β I return with a smirk, laughing internally as she rolls her eyes. βAnd that still doesnβt tell me what youβre doinβ all the way up here alone.βΒ
βListen, mister. Iβm thankful to you for helping me up and all, but I donβt owe you an explanation as to why Iβm here or what Iβm doing. Iβm a grown-ass woman who can do as she pleases. So, if you donβt mind, my siββ She stops abruptly and presses her lips together before continuing, βMyΒ daughterΒ and I have somewhere to be.βΒ
βYeah,β the little one says. βAinsley is my mom.βΒ
βYou just call me Mom,β the one I now know as Ainsley hisses at the younger one.
βDaughter, huh?β I say, looking between the two. Besides the fact they bare zero family resemblance, the older one would have been a kid herself when this one was born. Iβm not buying it.
βYes. MyΒ daughter,β she insists. βIβm her mom.β The curvy brunette must see the disbelief in my expression because she pulls the little one closer to her side.Β Β Iβm older than I look, you know. Iβm twenty-five.β
βTwenty-five?β the girl stage whispers behind her hand.Β
βSure you areβ¦ Ainsley was it?β I pull my cell from my pocket and shake my head. βIβll just give the local sheriff a call and see what he thinks of all this.βΒ
Her eyes go wide immediately. βWhat? No! You canβt call the cops. We didnβt do anything wrong.βΒ
βFor starters youβre trespassinβ on my familyβs land.β She shakes her head at that. βAnd I donβt believe for a second that this kid belongs to you. You areΒ notΒ twenty-five, and I didnβt miss the fact you almost called her your sister a moment ago.β Now sheβs taking a step backward. βSweetheart, I donβt know what the heck you two are really doing all the way up here alone, but Iβm not the kind of man to walk away and leave two girls who are obviously in some sort of trouble on their own.βΒ
βFine!β she yells, throwing her hands out to the side before I hit the call button. βYouβre right. Sheβs my sister, OK?β
βWhere are your parents?βΒ
βIβm an adult. I donβt need parents.βΒ
βBarely,β I say. βWhat are you? Eighteen?βΒ
She sets her jaw as she looks to her little sister. βNineteen.β
βOK.β I slide my cell back into my pocket. βLooks like weβre getting somewhere now. How about we keep up this honesty by you tellinβ me where your parents are and why you two are up here alone?β
Ainsleyβs eyes flash before she turns to her sister whoβs tugging on her arm. βTell him. I think he wants to help us.βΒ
Rolling her lips in contemplation, she lets out a sigh then looks back to me. βTheyβre dead, OK? Our parents are dead and Iβm all Ellie has. If you call the cops, theyβll take her from me and put her in foster care.βΒ
βMaybe thatβs the better place for her?βΒ
βItβs not,β she says, laughing without humor. βItβs really not. Please, sir. Please just let us be on our way. I promise Iβm not trespassing. Weβve rented a cabin up here, and I have the paperwork and the keys in my pack.βΒ
βA cabin? Who from?βΒ
βDylan Valentine. Itβs all legit. I spoke to his wife, Millie just last week. Iβve paid two months in advance and everything.β She reaches into the front pocket of her pack and pulls out a folded wad of paper. I snatch it from her and check it over.Β
βDylan is my brother,β I say, scanning the lease agreement before handing it back to her. βHe didnβt mention a tenant was moving into his old place.βΒ
βI donβt know what to tell you, dude. Maybe he didnβt think it was any of your business since itβsΒ hisΒ place and all.β
I assess her for a long moment, trying to work out whether I should help her myself or wash my hands of whatever this is and get the cops involved. Foster care or not, these two up here doesnβt sit right with me. People seek the solitude of the mountains for one of two reasonsβtheyβre societyβs outcasts, or theyβre running from something. These girls have βrunningβ written all over them.Β
Letting out a heavy breath, I make my decision when I reach down and lift both the pack and the suitcase off the dirt.Β
βHey! What are you doing with our stuff?β Ainsley shouts as I start walking toward my truck.Β
βHelping you,β I say, tossing the luggage into the back. βGet in and Iβll take you to your cabin.βΒ
βGet in?β Ainsley says, her arm shooting out to block Ellie who was just a second away from running right to me.
βYeah. Get in,β I say, pulling the passenger door open.Β
βHow do I know you're not a murderer or something?β she asks, still blocking Ellie.Β
Itβs my turn to roll my eyes. βIβm not.βΒ
βThatΒ exactlyΒ what a murdererΒ wouldΒ say,β she retorts, tossing a little of my own smartass attitude back at me. It actually makes me crack a smile.Β
βListen, I donβt know what to say here, except that you look tired, itβs gonna be dark soon and walkinβ along this road at night isnβt safe. Iβm just tryinβ to be neighborly.βΒ
βNeighborly?βΒ
βYeah. Weβre neighbors. My place is the cabin right next to yours. Iβm Ajax, by the way. Ajax Valentine.β
βPlease, Ains,β Ellie says to her sister. βI donβt think I can walk anymore.βΒ
Ainsley sighs. βFine. But if we end up dead, Iβm gonna hold you responsible,β she says, making the younger sister laugh as she holds up her pinky.Β
βOK,β she says as Ainsley hooks little fingers with her. The sibling display makes me smile, remembering simpler times with my brothers and cousins before the big, bad world got its claws in us and sent us deeper into the mountain. Like I said, people move to the mountain for one of two reasons. And the Valentines are no exception to that rule.
