Page 11 of Protecting Her Secrets

Not that Walker’s in my life. It’s the opposite, actually. I haven’t seen or heard from him since I left him in Vegas, and I didn’t expect to either. What I did was unforgivable. And judging by the reception Walker has given me, he feels the same way.

I wrap my arms around myself and glance out one of the many windows where sheets of snow are falling. It looks so peaceful and serene, but it’s making me feel the exact opposite inside. All this glittery magic is ruining my life.

My cell alerts me to an incoming call, so I dash over to the kitchen counter where I left it. Bile rises up my throat with the possibility of it being Klutch. I have no idea what I’d tell him about where I am. Most of my friends are closely linked to the club, and any lie I’d tell about being with them would quickly be found out.

I breathe a sigh of relief when I see it’s my closest friend, Dee. She’s the only one who knows the whole story about why I’m here. She’s also my only friend outside the club, so she’s safe.

“Dee,” I say, my voice hitching.

“Oh, no, sweetie. What happened?”

“You mean, what’s currently happening?” I wipe my snotty nose on the back of my hand.

“You’re still in Culver Springs? Girl, we had a plan!”

“Yeah, well, that plan went to shit when Mother Nature decided it was a good time for a blizzard.”

“No.” She gasps. “Shit. Did you find somewhere safe to stay?”

I look at the cozy house around me and think about how perfect life would be if I was still with Walker and if this was our house. Living off the land, or whatever the hell he’s doing up here, wasn’t ever our plan, but looking around, I can picture it.

“Yeah, I found a place.”

Anyone else would move on, but Dee knows my every tone. “Sky, where are you?”

“A mountain home with lots of windows and rustic furnishings. You’d love it.”

“Liar. Rustic and I don’t know each other.” She giggles for a second, then sobers. “You’re at his house, aren’t you?”

“How’d you know?”

“I’m a genius. Just kidding; we share our locations with each other, dumb ass.”

“Oh, right. Duh.”

“You turned location services off with Klutch and your dad, right?”

“Of course.”

“Good. So, is it awful?”

“Beyond. I don’t want to be here, Dee, and I really don’t want to do this. As dumb as it sounds, I felt as long as we were married, at least a part of him was still mine. But after he signs those papers, he’ll be lost to me forever.” I barely choke out the last word. Saying it out loud makes it feel all the more real.

“That’s because I will be,” Walker says from behind me, and I whirl around. He took off the canvas onesie thing he put on to go outside when he declared he had to do chores, leaving him in a worn pair of jeans and a Counting Crows T-shirt. I smile becauseI was with him when he got it. We camped outside of a winery in Oregon where the band was playing. It was such a fun trip.

I’m still revisiting that memory until I process his words and realize I’ll never again feel as happy as I did in that moment. “Dee? I gotta go, but I’ll call you later.”

“Okay. Good luck.”

I tuck my phone in the pocket of Walker’s sweats. “I didn’t mean for you to hear any of that.”

His eyes are red, as if maybe he was crying or close to it, and it makes me feel like trash. I’ve only seen Walker cry once, and that was when his mom basically told him to move out. But back then, he was practically still a child, whereas now, seeing red-rimmed eyes on this mountain of a man with a bushy beard—and possibly a closet full of axes—feels much worse.

“Yeah, well, you’re in my house, so. . .” His dog whimpers at his side until he bends down to ruffle the fur on his head.

“Right.” I absorb his venom without reaction. “Do you think we could sit down and talk?”

“Actually, I wasn’t lying when I said I had chores to do. I have to make sure everyone’s okay to wait out the storm, and I thought you could go with me.”

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