mean?
“How did you get in? Wait, never mind. Where’s Thorne?”
“He’s… not here?”
It was a question, not an answer. It just made him more confused.
King shifted slightly, completely thrown by Effie’s sudden appearance. Of course he’d seen Effie a few times over the years. She could only be avoided so often, as the person who was practically glued to Thorne’s side.
He stared at her, and she stared back.
“Stay here,” he said. “I’ll be back.”
As he got dressed, he ran over scores of things he should say. Her being here, surprising him like this, it was the last thing he needed.
When he stormed back into the living room, Effie was on the couch with her shoulders covered in the thick blanket. He could see the low-cut satin camisole underneath. It dipped into dangerous territory, but he refused to let that distract him.
Who cares if she’s even hotter than she was in high school?
“Where’s Thorne?” he asked.
Great. That’s a really strong opener.
“He’s… he’s…” Effie gestured, and then dissolved into tears.
King glanced around the room, but there was no one to help.
This is exactly what I need, he thought.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“He’s cheating on me!” she said between sobs.
Awkwardly, he reached out and patted her shoulder.
“It’s okay,” he said. “He’s—”
“It’s not okay! I freaking caught him in bed with someone else! Someone who looks just like me, by the way.”
“Oh,” he said, frowning. “Well, I guess that’s kind of good.”
“Good?” she asked, exasperated.
“I mean, at least he’s attracted to you, right?” King could hear the smugness in his own voice, but he couldn’t help it. “I mean, kind of keeping it in the family. You are both so good at that.”
He just couldn’t stop himself. King hadn’t realized until that moment that for the past three years he’d harbored so much anger over her dating his brother.
“You’re a jerk, you know that?” she asked.
Effie stood up and let the blanket fall onto the couch. She grabbed her jacket, but not before he could see that she’d taken off her bra to sleep. The sudden chill from losing the blanket hardened her nipples instantly against the thin fabric. He felt his cock stirring below, but pushed the urge aside.
She deserved this.
King heard the front door slam and a car start in the driveway. Slowly, he made his way onto the patio. His erection refused to wane even when her SUV was out of sight.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
3
Effie
Effie had thought she’d been cried out, but by the time she’d reached the end of the Smiths’ cabin’s driveway, her tears were blinding.
There’s no way I can be around anyone like this.
She didn’t even have to think about it. Effie angled the SUV towards the trailhead of the familiar chipped paths she’d explored with King all through high school.
It soothed her, just the sound of her footsteps in the wild. Like she was a teenager again, she easily picked out the sounds in the forest that hugged the outskirts of the city. Dark-eyed junco. American Goldfinch. Northern cardinal.
It was here, her junior year, that she’d first told King she wanted to be a vet tech. He’d laughed and joked that it was good her relentless memorization of bird songs would come in handy.
She knew her Dansko work shoes were getting covered in mud, but she kept on. Dr. Yung would give her hell when she saw them, but in the woods work seemed a lifetime away. Effie didn’t stop walking until she realized the sun would set soon. She was exhausted, but calmed.
As she approached the Explorer, the clouds in the sky started to turn a threatening deep slate. Effie barely made it out of the deserted parking lot before the first drops of rain appeared.
Freezing, she jabbed at the seat warmers until it was on full blast. It took her a mile to get into a reception zone, and her phone shook to life with backed-up texts.
The ones from Thorne she deleted without reading. Her mom, begrudgingly, had agreed to take care of Yaya.
“We’re out of thyme,” her mom had added.
“So figure it out,” Effie said under her breath before she replied with a simple thumbs up.
There were no messages from King.
No big surprise there. He never was much for the phone, even before he gave her an ultimatum and then took off for Chicago alone.
The rain had turned into a torrential downpour. Even with the wipers on as strong as possible, Effie couldn’t see more than a couple of feet in front of her.
She rounded the corner only to be greeted by a wildly veering sedan with its brights on. They blared the horn as Effie’s heart froze. Instinctually, she veered to the side of the road and stopped inches from the steep ledge that led to a creek.
“Forget this,” she said. In this weather it would take hours to get home—assuming she even made it safely.
Turning the car around, she slowly drove back to the cabin.
“Please be gone,” she whispered as she turned the SUV onto the cabin’s long driveway. “Please be gone.”
What was King doing up at the cabin, anyway? Last she’d heard, he had his act together with a normal, professional nine-to-five. She’d had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing when she’d heard.
Effie knew there was no way he could keep up that kind of charade. It just wasn’t him. But she hadn’t heard about him quitting.
She flipped off the lights as she rolled up to the house. The exterior lights were bright enough to make the entire, generous parking area visible. There was no sign of King’s car, but she hadn’t seen it last night either.
“Hello?” she called as she pushed the door open gently. “Anyone here?”
She
