Page 74 of Lavender and Lightning

“Quite the opposite. Running headfirst into a situation that you know is dangerous doesn’t make you brave. It makes you stupid, and more often than not, it makes you dead. Picking your battles, engaging only when the time is right, that makes you smart. And you’re very smart, Lydia,” he replies confidently.

I nod and smile a little to myself. “Thanks, Caleb. I’ll have to let the pack know that they can cancel our flight plans, then.”

Caleb chuckles and nods, leaning in to nudge my shoulder with his. “And hey, just think. If your scumbag ex decides to show up here in Everton, I could always give him an acute case of lead poisoning.”

I gasp and stare at him with eyes wide and mouth agape as he lifts one side of his jacket to reveal the butt of a handgun. My eyes bounce between Caleb’s serious face and the gun, unable to form words. After a few moments, Caleb lets out a belly laugh at his own joke.

“That’s not fucking funny–”

The vibration of my phone on the counter cuts off the rest of my scolding. The number is blocked, but I swipe the answer button anyway, hoping it’s Jason. Before I can even get out a greeting, the woman on the other line is already shrieking, familiar Southern squawk rattling my bones and piercing my mind with a cold lance of terror.

“What do you mean you’re not going to the wedding?!”

thirty-one

Lydia

I’moutsideontheback deck of the pack house that evening, lost in my head. The rain has passed, leaving only oppressive humidity behind. Even now, when the sun has already set, and the sky is dark, there’s enough lingering heat to make it intolerable to most people. But to me, this sort of muggy weather feels like home.

I snort a little to myself. Could I even call Louisiana home anymore? It’s where I was born, where I grew up, but I’d never felt comfortable there. Leaving it behind was tough at first, but the longer I’ve been gone, the less I’ve missed it. The only part of home I’ve ever regretted leaving behind is Jason.

Jason.

My brother, who’s done everything in his power to keep me safe ever since he came to realize how serious of a threat Darren is to my life. In the beginning, his support hadn’t been unconditional, but that changed the day he helped me escape. He’s put his neck out for me time and again, covered for me when my father or mother started asking too many questions. And what have I ever done to repay him?

It’s been this way since we were children. I’m his older sister, and by all rights, I should be the one protecting the baby of the family, and Sam and Adam should have protected the both of us. But it was almost like we were children from two different families. Sam and Adam were attached at the hip, already close before I ever came along, just after Adam turned six. And then there was me and Jason. We hardly went anywhere without each other. I know him almost better than I know myself. I know where his secret escape spot is on our family’s property, every girl he ever had a crush on, his favorite foods, his irrational fear of roaming black holes, everything.

“Jacey, wait up!” I shout, pumping my legs as fast as I can to catch up with my brother.

Just to taunt me, he turns and runs backwards for a few paces, laughing. Even though I’m older, he’s already taller than me at ten years old. Sammy says he’s going to be tall like PawPaw Anderson, but I only hope he’s wrong.

Jason rounds the corner of the path, disappearing through the trees for a moment before I catch sight of his nearly white-blond hair between the leaves. Grinning to myself, I jump off the well-trod walking trail, taking a shortcut I’d found. I clamber over fallen logs, breathing in the musty, damp air of the forest at the edge of the bayou. I jump over shallow streams, careful of my footing as I hop from stone to stone. At last, I break through the brush, coming back out onto the path just as Jason takes another bend behind me.

“Cheater! You’re such a cheater, Lydi!” he yells, but the laughter in his voice undermines the accusation.

“It’s only cheating because you didn’t think of it first!” I throw back over my shoulder, taking off toward our finish line.

We’ve run this trail over and over, trying to beat Adam’s record. Jason is closest, but I’m not far behind. If I can just push a little farther—

“Lydi, watch out!”

I turn at the shout, my foot slipping on a damp stone, sending me sideways. As I hit the ground, I cough and wheeze, arm and leg stinging. But as I look up, I freeze in place. Not three feet in front of me is a brown coil of scales, a low hiss in the air. Before I can think better of it, I scream and try to crawl backward. Time seems to slow, the cottonmouth’s head rearing back and then lurching forward, glistening fangs in a wide jaw getting closer and closer.

And then a stick comes down on the snake’s back, stopping it inches from my ankle. Jason brings the heavy branch down, over and over, until the snake stops moving and the forest is quiet. Our heavy breathing eases after a long pause, and we can only stare at each other. And then a chuckle bubbles up my throat and escapes before I can stop it. Then another. And soon we’re both laughing, unable to control ourselves. He helps me up off the ground, my clothes a mess of mud and sweat, but I hardly care. We walk back to the house, Jason’s arm draped over my shoulder.

Later, when we’re at dinner, Sammy talks about the dead cottonmouth he found on the path, and Mom reads him the riot act for messing with something so dangerous. He tries to defend himself, saying he found it like that, but she doesn’t believe him. Jason and I share a smile and spend the rest of the meal staring at our plates, so we don’t burst out in giggles and give ourselves away. Another secret between us, not the first thing we’ve kept from our parents. We’d pray for forgiveness later and beg Jesus to have mercy on us for lying and disobeying. But for now, getting away with breaking the rules feels too good.

The sound of the garage door opening breaks through my thoughts, and I sigh. We’d promised to never hide anything from each other. But because of my stupid choices, I have to go back on my word. All in the name of protecting my brother. Jason has jumped in front of too many loaded guns for me over the course of our lives. It’s my turn to take the bullet for him.

I groan as I get to my feet, stretching before heading through the sliding door into the house. Rhett and Mateo are just coming in through the mudroom. Mateo’s face lights up when he sees me, and he makes a beeline to my side, sweeping me into an embrace. His kiss is brief, but the feeling behind it still makes me a little dizzy. When he pulls away, I look to find Rhett staring at me with a furrowed brow. I give him a sad half-smile and lift one of my shoulders.

“What’s for dinner, Luc?” Lex asks, coming in from the hall.

Instead of pots and pans, there’s an array of white Chinese takeout boxes. Everyone starts serving themselves, and I listen to the casual banter as I scoop some fried rice and orange chicken onto a plate. Despite the anxiety churning in my stomach, there’s a certain comfort in the way we move together, shifting positions without needing to speak. By the time we’re all seated, I almost have myself talked out of not saying anything about what happened today and just letting us have one normal night for a change. But, of course, Rhett can’t leave anything well enough alone.

“So I got the strangest text from Jason today. He said you messaged him out of nowhere that you are no longer attending your brother’s wedding,” he says, trying to sound casual but failing spectacularly.

I shoot Rhett a heated look, but he doesn’t shift from his bland, curious expression.

---