Page 2 of Turn

CHAPTER TWO

“Rude,” I huffed and my sister laughed.

“I guess not all guys appreciate it when you deposit trash on their car,” Cami teased as she pushed her bangs from her sweaty forehead and took a sip of bottled water.

“I didn’t mean to,” I grumbled, feeling a little embarrassed as I watched the old car leave the parking lot of Scratch. “You think it’s too late to flip him off?”

Cami found the question funny. “Since when does Cassidy Gentry flip the bird to angry strangers?”

I stuffed my phone into my back pocket. “Since I decided it was time to toughen up.”

“You might want to pick a different test case. That guy doesn’t look like the type who would be amused.”

She was probably right. He was a dangerous looking stack of muscle and ink and even though I’d learned from an early age not to judge a man solely by appearance he radiated a ‘Fuck off’ kind of vibe that I didn’t want to get next to.

“Let’s go indoors,” Cami said, as she headed for the entrance. “I feel like I’m roasting inside Satan’s armpit out here.”

“Sounds good,” I said.

Passing through the front doors of my father’s tattoo parlor always made me feel like a minor celebrity.

“Girls!” squealed Aspen as she scuttled from behind the reception desk to encase us in a hug. She’d been working at Scratch since Cami and I were toddlers.

“Your father seemed to think you’d be on the road from California all day,” Aspen said, sweeping a piece of hair out of my face in a sweet maternal gesture.

“We got an early start,” Cami explained. “The car is totally packed to the roof but Dalton won’t be home for another hour and nostalgia wouldn’t allow me to pass this place by without stopping in.”

Aspen’s grin broadened. “And how is Dalton Tremaine these days?”

My sister smirked. “Ready to cohabitate.”

“Don’t remind me,” boomed the voice of Cordero Gentry. He stood six feet away, examining us with what was probably supposed to be a harsh expression but didn’t fool me. I could see the corners of his mouth twitching.

“Hi, Daddy,” Cami said, moving in for a hug and choosing to ignore the comment. I knew both our parents genuinely liked Dalton, a former major league baseball player who ran a local nightclub for a while before switching gears and opening a youth sports facility. Dalton adored my sister and their relationship was a big reason Cami had accepted a job here in the Phoenix area now that she’d finished college.

However, Cami hadn’t been sure how the folks were handling the news that their baby girl was officially moving in with her gorgeous thirty-year-old boyfriend.

Smile lines crinkled the corners of my father’s blue eyes as he gazed down at my twin and planted a kiss atop her head. “My college graduate,” he said with unmistakable pride.

I hated myself a little for feeling a tiny involuntary sting. My dad wouldn’t have any reason to say the same thing to me anytime soon. I knew I was behind where I ought to be in life and that was my fault. Still, I felt as much pride in Cami’s achievements as my parents did. She’d graduated with a perfect 4.0 from a major university and had a dream job lined up with a prestigious Phoenix newspaper. She’d worked hard and stayed focused and deserved every reward. But I also looked forward to the day when I might give my parents a reason to have as much pride in me. I’d caused them more anxiety by myself than any three daughters put together.

“How was the drive?” My dad directed the question at me.

“Long and hot,” I answered. Two days ago I’d driven the old Toyota out to San Diego to help Cami pack up her college life. Cami said Dalton had offered repeatedly to drive out and deal with all the hard labor himself but she told him we could handle it. We’d been looking forward to the road trip, just us two girls, the way we’d started out in life.

“You painted the ceiling,” Cami observed, looking up.

“A work in progress,” my dad admitted, tilting his head back and squinting critically at the ceiling, which was now painted a deep, nearly black, purple and dotted with constellations. “I work on it in my spare time.”

“Since when do you have any spare time?” Cami wanted to know.

My dad shot her a rueful look. “Since my baby birds started leaving the nest one by one.”

It was true that the family dynamic was rapidly changing. Even though Cami had been at college in California, she was frequently home on breaks and over the summer. But now, even though she’d only be living eight miles away, Dalton was her world. And our younger sister, Cadence, would be leaving for college in Tucson in August. Cadence wouldn’t even be around for the summer. She was busy getting ready to spend the next two months up in Flagstaff as a counselor at a kids’ summer camp. For the first time in my twenty-two years I’d be the only child in my parents’ home.

“You’ve still got me hanging around for a while,” I reminded my father.

He smiled. “Thank god. Your mother and I are not ready to be empty nesters at such a tender young age.”

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