The Thing About Trouble (Crystal Lake 1)

He poured himself a generous glass and sat down.

“I think we’re good on our own, tonight,” he said, then winked. “I’ll even let you watch a princess movie later.”

They got down to the important business of eating. Tawny, unaware, dug into her plate with gusto. She was excited about the movie—and on a school night. But Cam? He settled into his chair and didn’t touch his plate. And long after he’d put the little girl to bed, he sat in his darkened living room, the remnants of a meal meant to unite a family staring back at him, and he brooded.

Where the hell had he gone wrong?

24

Blue was exhausted. She felt as if she hadn’t slept in days, or weeks even. It was a bone-weary heaviness, and it weighed her down so much, she barely lifted her head when she got out of her car.

It was late. After midnight. She’d left Cam and had driven for hours, trying to find some way out of this mess, but there was no solution. None that saved Cam, anyway.

God, the look on his face when she said those hurtful, hateful things. She would never forget it. Not for a

s long as she lived. Probably not after that either. He would never know it was all for him and Tawny. She should feel at least some sort of happiness in that—surely one day she would—but right now, she was numb. There was nothing left for her.

Her past was littered with a wreck of a family and bad decisions. She’d come full circle, it seemed. Blue walked into her house and headed for the kitchen. Giselle darted out from the shadows and meowed loudly, demanding attention. The cat’s food and water bowls were topped up. If Blue had been strong mentally, she would have found that strange, but instead, she shrugged out of her jacket, forgetting why she’d come to the kitchen in the first place, and slowly made her way upstairs, the meowing cat following in her wake.

She entered her bedroom and walked over to the large glass doors that led to the balcony. Outside, the moon was partially hidden and the night sky looked ominous. There were no stars—nothing pretty or wondrous to look out at. The wind rattled the glass, and she put her cheek against the cold, smooth surface. The knot in her chest had been there since she’d seen Edward. It was hard and heavy, and she was afraid of what would happen when it broke. She couldn’t let that happen until she figured out where to go.

“What are you doing in the dark?” The voice came from somewhere behind her, and a heartbeat after the words were uttered, soft light filled her bedroom.

Shit. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes, and she swallowed hard, waiting a bit until they receded. When she felt she had her shit somewhat together, Blue turned around. Her brother stood in the doorway and looked like he’d just woken up. His hair was askew, his clothes rumpled, and sleep still clung to his eyes.

Her first instinct was to rush into his arms and tell him everything. But then where would that get her? The last time she’d done that, he’d acted on her behalf and ended up in jail. She couldn’t put this burden on him. He couldn’t know.

“When did you get back?” she asked lightly.

“A couple hours ago.” His dark eyes watched her closely. “You don’t check your phone.”

“It died.”

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes. Just tired.”

“You look it.” Cash walked toward her and enveloped her in a hug. She bit her lip and prayed she didn’t lose it. “Were you with Cam?”

“No,” she replied quickly, pasting a smile onto her face. “I bought a dance studio. Renovations and stuff have taken up a big chunk of my time. I was there working.”

“Blue, that’s awesome.” Cash angled his head so he could see her better. “I’m glad you’ll be dancing again.” He winked. “What’s going on with you and Cam?”

“Cam?” She shrugged, falling into the part she’d written for herself only hours ago. “Nothing. I haven’t seen him in weeks. Can’t remember the last time.”

“No?” She could tell her brother was surprised by that.

“Turned out we didn’t have all that much in common.”

“That’s not the way it seemed the last time we talked.”

“I was wrong. Look, I know you mean well, Cash. But I’m not joking when I say that I’m tired and I don’t want to talk about my nonexistent love life.”

“Fair enough.” He paused. “Don’t you at least want to know where I’ve been? What I’ve been up to?”

She frowned, wincing as a band of pain wrapped itself around her head like a vise. “Last I heard, you were in upstate New York.”

“That’s right. But I just came from Tennessee.”