Filed To Story: Secret Shifters Next Door Series PDF Free
My own tears were still sliding down my face when I looked at the massive field of flowers. It stretched on almost as far as I could see until the glade bent around to hide behind a copse of
trees that attached to the surrounding forest. Blayne pulled the truck into a parking lot near the field.
“What is this place?” I asked.
He chuckled. “You’ve never been here?”
“No.”
“You’ve lived in Lilly Valley almost your whole life and you’ve never been here?” He sounded amused.
“Nope. Can’t say that I have.”
“Where do you think Lilly Valley got its name?”
I looked out the window and took a closer look at the white flowers that spread like a blanket across the green field. “Oh…” I whispered. “An actual lily valley?”
“Yeah. This is where the town got its name. Apparently someone brought a bunch of bulbs out when they came homesteading back in the eighteen-hundreds. They planted them before moving on toward California. I guess the soil in this valley was perfect, and by the time a group of settlers came this way to actually found the town, it was like this—lilies as far as the eye can see. Come on.”
I got out of the car, following Blayne around the front of the truck. It looked like it was a touristy area. Lots of cars were parked in the lot with us, and there were a couple of carts near the field.
Blayne led me toward a cart where they handed out baskets. He handed over a few single bills, and we went into the field to pick flowers.
This must have been a popular date spot. I could see a dozen couples winding their way through the flowers. Behind us, I could see the guys my dad had sent to follow us. Thankfully, they were staying in the car and not getting out to look out of place.
I wanted to ask more questions, but after the car ride, I was worried it might get too deep. There were a thousand things I
wanted to ask, but I did my best to keep quiet. My face must have betrayed my curiosity, though.
“Go ahead and ask,” Blayne said with a smile.
“Ask what?”
“Whatever you’re dying to ask me. Go ahead.” He knelt and plucked a massive white flower, then dropped it into the basket.
A sigh escaped my lips. “That obvious?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“All right, fine. When did things change for you? What caused you to…accept me?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Getting deep first thing?”
“Hey, you asked. I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“Fair enough.” We strolled along, picking flowers for a few moments before he finally answered. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately. I had to look deep into my heart. I was so fucking angry for so long, it became hard to focus on anything but that anger. I needed an outlet for all my pent-up rage and bitterness, and I directed it toward you and your family. Once I realized my anger was misplaced, it was like it all sort of tumbled away, like dominoes.
“Liam was all I’d had, and I had to push that blame somewhere. I couldn’t believe that my brother would choose something that would take him away from me. After hearing your father say he tried to pay Liam
more
money to stop doing the dangerous jobs, I realized that Liam
did leave me. He chose the danger, chose to put his life on the line. I am making peace with all that.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’ve got a long way to go before I’m totally good. At least I understand now that you and your family didn’t kill my brother. No different than if he’d been a firefighter. If he’d died in a fire, I wouldn’t have blamed the fire department. Not sure if what you and I are doing is right or wrong, though. All I know is that I care for you. Maybe
Liam would approve, and maybe not. What I do know is that my brother would haunt the crap out of me if I didn’t protect you when I had the chance. Falling for you? Well, that’s an unexpected bonus.”
Blayne’s words slammed into me. I’d never been struck completely silent before, but all my comprehension of words disappeared. He’d been much more forward and honest than I’d thought he’d be. All I could do was continue walking beside him, picking flowers.
“Are you okay with that?” Blayne asked. “I know that was a lot.”
I got my words back and smiled. “I am.”
Blayne grinned, and I felt a storm of butterflies shudder through my stomach.
TWENTY-THREE