Page 35 of Soul

“Don’t run off,” the stranger ordered, looking interested.

“No, no, the oven’s on, just remembered. It’s not important anyway,” I replied and turned and walked away quickly.

“Bryony!” Soul called, but I waved a hand at him. “Catch you later, dude!”

Dude? I cringed as I hit my drive and rushed inside the house.

The woman’s beauty struck me as I stared at my image in the mirror and compared myself to her. Her long, flowing, dark auburn locks had natural curls. Her skin had shone healthily, and her eyes had gleamed. And I wore jeans and a tee and had my hair scraped back as I had been working.

The goddess next door had worn tight leather pants, a long-sleeved leather jacket with a patch on the back, and clearly loved to ride a Harley. If I straddled one, I’d probably fall straight over. What a wake-up call that had been.

Soul

“Who was that?” Lila demanded, looking interested.

“My neighbour.”

“I guessed that, Jayden. Don’t piss me off,” Lila retorted.

“She’s got those two kids I told you about,” I replied absentmindedly.

Bryony clearly needed to talk to me about something, and I wondered what. It appeared to have been important. I was just about to head after Bryony when I caught Lila watching me closely.

“Come on, let’s get a drink and wash the road off us,” I said.

Lila nodded but sent a glance next door. Shit, her interest was peaked, which meant Lila’s big sister instincts were up, and she was curious.

Lila followed me into the house and headed for the bedroom she used when she stayed. We’d met up at the cabin for a few days just chilling out. And she was going to stay for a few days more before heading back. I liked having time with Lila like this; it soothed my soul when my big sister was around. Even though she was a pain in my ass, I loved her to fuckin’ death and would take a bullet for Lila without a blink.

Although, I thought as I headed downstairs after my shower and found the house empty, I might shoot her myself. I grabbed my boots, stamped into them, and headed next door after the nosey bitch I called sister.

Bryony

“Oven wasn’t on then,” a woman said, and I jumped and spun around. At my back door stood the stranger. “I’m Storm.”

“Oh, hi. Could I do something for you?” I questioned.

“Lie to me,” Storm demanded.

“What?”

“It sounds stupid, but can you tell a lie?” Storm asked.

“I tend not to,” I replied, thinking this entire scenario incredibly weird.

“Please, just indulge me,” Storm ordered.

“You’re fucking ugly and a hag, and you stink to high heaven,” I snapped, and Storm laughed and rubbed her bare arms. She was wearing the leather riding pants still but wore a low-cut short sleeved tee with a rock band on.

“Don’t hold back…” Storm chuckled and entered my kitchen from where she’d been standing outside. “How strange.”

“What is?” I retorted as my kettle boiled. I poured hot water into a cup and offered Storm a drink.

“Please. Are those cinnamon-flavoured coffee sachets? I love those. Can I have one?” Storm asked, and I giggled.

“Sure, I’m addicted to them too,” I replied and made two of the special coffees and handed one to Storm.

“Why are you here? Does Soul know?”

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