Page 21 of Faun Over Me

10

Avery

Though not aggressively windy, the drive down to Elkins was nauseating. With her father in the passenger seat, chatting business as his associate drove, Avery spent most of it with her head pressed against the window and her eyes closed. Were she her younger brother or had she any interest in Payne Strategies as a future career, she would have felt pressured to pay attention, absorbing all she could for the inevitable moment weeks from now when her father decided to quiz her on the conversation.

But Avery was neither of those things. Firstborn, yes; first son, no. In a way, it made life easier. She felt none of the pressure to follow in her father’s footsteps that Michael did, but the expectations leveled on her were different.

Old fashioned, she mused.

Avery was expected to be a Good Daughter. To be modest in demeanor and dress, to pursue feminine hobbies, and, eventually, marry and produce more little Paynes for her father to use as marketing and PR props. She supposed she ought to be grateful that America also cherished its athletes and that women of her mother’s generation had fought for and earned the opportunity to pursue higher education and moderate independence so long as they eventually “settled down.”

When Avery presented her case for working at Elkwater Music Camp, her father had vetoed the idea. It had been her mother’s interference, pointing out how a Payne working at an integrated camp was good for optics, that led to his begrudging agreement.

Though Avery was grateful for her mother stepping in, she still fumed that she’d had to argue for her own future. Forgetting that she needed this summer, for Carnegie, for herself, that she had to present a business case to do something any other parent would be proud of, that it required his buy-in, was ridiculous!

It was no surprise, then, that he had wanted to make the hour-long drive to Elkins rather than eat at the camp and tour Avery’s home for the summer. He brushed it off, as he always did.

“Business expense, kiddo, you know how it is.”

And she did. With so many kids and a wife to provide for, it made sense Nathan Payne would cut corners where he could. Not that the family needed to cut corners. Her grandfather had built Payne Strategies from the ground up in a golden era of bootstrap sensibilities, taking on clients that represented the beliefs of a particular political party and riding that wave up until the day he handed over the reins to his son.

Still, Nathan Payne clung to his public image: businessman and father, family man, a man you could trust, but only so long as you didn’t look too close. So long as you didn't peel back the shiny veneer and glimpse the nasty, bigoted man beneath the wide smile and styled hair.

The sedan slid into a parking spot, and Avery snapped out of her thoughts, sitting up and blinking out the window.

“Best this shithole has to offer, I’m afraid,” her father’s business associate, Troy, said. “The other options were McDonald’s, a dago-run pizza joint, and a bar that likely serves tetanus along with your fries.”

“This’ll do nicely.” Nathan shoved the passenger-side door open, sliding out of the sedan like a snake slithering from its burrow. “Nothing better than a stick-to-your-ribs Appalachian burger.”

“If you want to have your Armani let out,” Troy laughed.

Avery joined them on the sidewalk, biting her tongue to keep silent. Her father dropped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her close.

“Elizabeth certainly looks as though she’s been enjoying the local fare.” His fingers tightened on her upper arm, digging into the softness there. “Can’t be that bad.”

“She certainly does.” Troy’s smile turned leering, and he flicked his gaze over her in a way that made her skin itch. He spun and charged up the restaurant stairs, reading the name painted on the glass pane before holding the door open for Nathan. “We might as well meander in.”

“Meander’s,” Avery corrected before she could stop herself, pronouncing the restaurant’s name the way she had heard other locals say it. Mean-ders.

“Fitting in already.” Nathan smiled down at her, his eyes cold. “Let’s pretend we’re civilized for a few hours, hm?”

And with that, he sauntered up the steps, nodding at Troy as he entered the restaurant. Avery lingered on the sidewalk, debating running for the hills.

“You coming?” Troy called from the door, that sharp, intense gaze leveled on her. She sighed and trudged up the steps, tugging her skirt from between her calves. He held the door for her, an innocent grin on his face, and followed Avery closely into the restaurant. She stopped a few feet away from her father, who was chatting with the hostess, and Troy stopped right behind her. She glanced back, hoping her annoyance wasn’t too clearly written on her face. Oblivious, he swept the plackets of his tailored coat aside and put his hands on his hips. Eyes drifting closed, he inhaled deeply and exhaled with a sigh.

“Ah, now that smells like a full meal.”

Avery frowned, sniffed, and had to agree. Meander’s smelled amazing: burgers and fries, country gravy, and a hint of sweetness from the dessert display. Her stomach growled, and Troy chuckled far too close to her ear.

“Hungry, little girl?”

“Wilkolak!” her father barked, circling his hand in the air for them to follow. “Let’s get this over with.”

Troy shot Avery a tight-lipped smile as he slid past, following her father and the hostess into the dining area.

Wood-paneled and cozy, Meander’s interior looked like it hadn’t been updated since the restaurant opened. Taxidermied deer heads decorated the walls alongside sun-bleached photographs of the region and framed newspaper articles spanning thirty years featuring the citizens of Elkins.

The hostess sat them in a booth, Troy sliding in beside Avery on the cracked leather bench, and eyed both of the men warily as she handed out menus. Her hand lingered on Avery’s, and when she looked up, Avery startled at the young woman’s eyes—slitted like a snake and set in bold yellow pupils. She nodded once, eyes dropping to Avery’s shirt, then let go of the menu. Avery glanced down, belatedly remembering she was wearing a green Elkwater Music Camp polo tucked into her tiered denim skirt.

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