Page 1 of Bounty

Chapter One

WILLA JEAN

Ten Years Old

The sun’s rays beat down on my back as I sprint barefoot through the corn stalks. They slap my calves and elbows, like a million tiny knives slicing me. I sweat through my white and blue gingham print party dress. I don’t care how dirty my dress gets—as long as I’m far away fromhim.

From the announcement that ruined my entire life in a matter of seconds.

From a future I don’t want.

From the dark, hollow green eyes that always watch me…taunt me.

“Stop running!” he yells, his voice sounding angrier and closer than it did a moment ago. Ever since we were little kids, he’s always had a cool, unaffected voice. But it’s gone now, and in its place is rage.

Maybe there’s an island I can escape to on the other side of the field, where I can be alone. Where I can pretend this isn’t my life.

My tears fall down my face, blurring my vision. If I get lost in here, Mama is going to be so upset. She’s always so stressed out, probably from planning her wedding to Father Mannix. I don’tcare if I embarrass her and get punished in front of the whole farm again. They can’t make me live with him.

I’d rather run away and live in the woods, with all the animals. At least they’d leave me alone.

Mom never told me she was going to marryJude Harvest’sdad. The boy who tortures me and makes me miserable every day. Once we’re siblings he’ll make my life a living Hell.

I can hear Jude’s loud puffs of breath and the pound of his shoes in the dirt. He is relentless, so it's no surprise he catches up to me and grabs my hand, pulling until I turn and slam into him. His fingernails dig deep into my skin, leaving little half-moon marks. The malicious expression on his face is scary, especially when we’re alone.

“I told you to stop running, thistle,” he sneers at me. thistles are a toxic weed with a purple flower. He’s called me that since I was young, because he doesn’t want me here. “You’re going to be in trouble when we go back to the festival.”

I scratch his arm, trying to loosen his grip on me. “I’mleaving,forever.”

“You know you can’t run away from the farm—It’s a gated community. Stop being such a cry-baby, come on,” he tries to pull me with him, but I dig my heels in, slowing him down.

“I’m serious, Jude. If you don’t let me go, I’ll sneak out in the middle of the night. One day, I’ll be far away from here.”

From you, too,I want to scream at him.

He scowls at me, like I’m the dirt on his work boots. “Where will you go? You gonna run off and find your real father? Ask him why he abandoned you?” He tears into me and his words still hurt, even though he’s said them all before. “You won’t last a whole night off the farm. You won’t even make it past the woods, spoiled little brat.”

He hurls insults at me all the time, and it shouldn’t hurt anymore. But it still does. Our eyes lock. Time stands still for a moment until he rolls his eyes. “Come on, let’s go.”

My feet start to drag as he pulls me, and panic sets in. He’s too strong. Too smart. Too charming. EveryonelovesJude. I’ll never be able to win against him. I sink my teeth into his forearm, the only thing I can think of to make him let go.

“Ouch! You little shit. What thefuckis your problem,” he shouts. His face winces in pain as he lets me go, and I topple to the floor in the uneven dirt.

“You are!” I point at him, my emotions bursting free like water from a broken dam. They’ve built up for years, ever since I came here as a toddler. “You’re so mean to me. You take pleasure in humiliating me and making me cry. And now I’ll be your stepsister. It’s my worst nightmare come true.”

He kneels on the ground in front of me, and swipes my tears away. Lifting my chin with his thumb, he forces me to look at him. I know better—this isn’t Jude being compassionate or nice. He’s incapable of that unless it’s toward his few close friends or it gets him something in the long run.

His lips quirk into a devious smirk, running his hands through his copper hair. On any other boy it would look cute, but not Jude. Everything about him, even his face, is evil.

“Listen to me, thistle. You’re a weed in the garden of Eden. Out of place, an eyesore. No matter how many times I pull you–” he roughly tugs my pigtail, “You unfortunately always bounce back. My dad chose to marryyourmom, of all the women on the farm, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Just get over it.”

He’s right. Father Mannix’s word is law in Harvest Farms. There’s nothing I can do about him marrying my mom. My whole life is falling down around me, and I’m being crushed by the rubble.

“I hate you,” I grit out before breaking down and sobbing. I can't see through my waterfall of tears and I have issues breathing because my nose is clogged. “I wish I never met you.”

Jude stares at me with his haunting green eyes. They feel like daggers slicing through me, judging me. He must think I’m a circus freak or an alien. I’ve never seen him cry or smile. Sometimes I wonder if he can feel anything at all. It’s like he’s a robot without any real emotions, just the fake ones he uses to charm everyone when he wants something.

“You better take that ba—” he pauses, his gaze swinging behind him.

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