Page 18 of Stalker's Valentine

“I don’t know what you are––“ I started to deny, but he wasn’t going to have it.

“You do,” he cut me off, and I sighed.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” I offered.

The fewer witnesses to this conversation, the better. It was bad enough that one drunken night after moving to Moonlit Pines, my little brother had shared about his family being cursed to never find and keep true love. People thought we were crazy as it was. Not that it stopped the single female population from making it more than clear they would be willing to try and break the curse.

We walked out and towards his truck, we leaned against it and for a quiet moment watched people come and go. It was Friday, so there was a little more foot traffic than usual.

“I don’t have all day,” he muttered.

“Austin,” I sighed, and he shook his head.

“You know why we can’t get involved. It always ends terrible for the Hart men.”

“I haven’t done––“ I started to lie, but he shot me a look that had me shutting my mouth. He leaned in close. Austin and I were about the same height and build.

“I have eyes, Merri. I’ve seen how you look at her when she comes in and how fucking devasted you look when she doesn’t stop by with her sisters. You really think I believe you love the brewery so much you’ve practically made it your home office?”

“Austin––“

“She’s my best friend’s little sister, Merri,” he reminded me. “She’s younger than you. Fuck, if you’d been a teen dad like Uncle Cord, you would be old enough to be her fucking dad.”

“Austin.”

“What?” he clipped, and my shoulders relaxed. There was only one way to get him to see reason here.

“I love her,” I admitted out loud, and it felt like the whole fucking world came to a stop, somehow holding on where it was and not plummeting through space.

“What did you say?” he whispered.

“I love her,” I calmly repeated. Austin’s eyes were lighter than mine, and I watched them shut as his head tilted forward until his chin touched his chest.

“No,” he stated as if it was law. “No, you’re not in love with Onyx’ little sister. You can’t be! Or did you forget about the goddamn curse?”

“It’s a fucking self-destroying habit the men in our lives like to blame. Not a fucking curse.” His eyes opened, and he turned his head to look at me. Something was working behind those eyes.

Something I had no idea what it was about, but fuck me, it looked a lot like fucking hope.

“You think so?” he asked with caution. Something was going on with him, and it didn’t surprise me. Where Boyd and Shep were open books with their conquests up and down this mountain, Austin and I were more discreet and held our cards closer to our chests.

“Come on, man.” I shook my head. “Think about it. Like you said about Uncle Cord. Sure, he knocked up his high school sweetheart, but they were happily married for a decade before Aunt Trish passed because she got sick. He turned to drinking to cope with the loss, but imagine if he hadn’t? Imagine if he had coped better? Or if Dad had after Mom walked out? Maybe they would have found love again instead of finding themselves at the bottom of a bottle?”

Austin sighed and looked out towards the town. I didn’t miss the way his gaze stayed locked onto the new hair salon. “All I’m saying is we make our own destiny, man.”

“This is a crazy one-eighty, Merri. Just a month ago, you were telling us how this curse was a blessing because it got us focused on our careers.”

“Hey, shit happens. You get older and wiser.”

“And a month made the difference?”

“One night did,” I rasped, honesty dripping through my deep voice. Austin looked at me and then tilted his head. I could see the pieces clicking into place.

“One night? Wait… New Year’s? The grand opening party?” My eyes narrowed.

“How’d you know?”

“I saw you two. She bumped into you. It was brief but…” He stopped talking and shook his head. “Holy shit.”

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