Page 19 of Downpour

Now all I stared at was plain white paint.

I should have put some of those glow-in-the-dark stars up there. Or maybe a TV. That would have been smart.

But all I could do was stare into the blackness and wait for daybreak.

5

BROOKE

My stomach churned as I drove under the timber gate of the Griffith Brothers Cattle Ranch. Ray’s mom, Claire, was on her porch as I passed. She beamed from ear to ear and waved.

I rounded the bend, passing the two other houses—Christian and Cassandra’s, and Nate and Becks’s—Ray’s two brothers and their families.

I had yet to meet his youngest brother, and part of me wondered if I ever would. Maybe I’d meet him when they hauled me off the land for trespassing.

The squat metal building that housed the ranch office came into view, and I spotted Cassandra walking inside. She looked over her shoulder and watched with an unsettling gaze as I passed.

I continued driving, soaking up the last of the peace as Ray’s grove of trees appeared in the distance. The truck was under its usual tarp, and the blinds were closed as always. Everything was familiar, except for the two teenagers knocking on the front door.

They turned and stared when I pulled into the driveway.

“Who are you?” the younger one asked when I got out and closed the door.

“Brooke. Who are you?”

“Gracie,” she said.

The older one knocked again, but there was no answer.

“Is Ray not home?” I asked. He was supposed to be, according to his digital calendar.

The older one shrugged with teenage indifference. “I dunno. He won’t let us see him.” Her dejected sigh broke my heart.

“Which grown-up do you belong to?” I asked.

“Christian is our dad,” the older one said.

“And Cassandra is our evil stepmother-to-be,” the younger one added.

I laughed. “So Ray is your uncle?”

The younger one nodded. “I’m Gracie. And this is my sister, Bree.”

I smiled weakly. “Well, it’s nice to meet you.”

“What are you doing here?” Bree asked. If I had to guess, she was around fourteen or fifteen.

I checked the time on my phone. “I’m here to hang out with your uncle.”

Gracie’s eyebrows lifted. “Will you ask him if we can hang out with him too? Maybe he’ll say yes to you.”

“I’ll ask.”

“Thank you!” Gracie flung her arms around me in a tight hug.

The girls raced down the ramp and cut through the trees. They had almost disappeared among the leaves when I saw the blinds crack.

I waited a moment, then knocked. When he didn’t answer, I tried the handle. To my surprise, it was unlocked.

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