Page 55 of Craving Consequences

“Who?” I blurt, staring from one to the other, thoughts a cyclone of disbelief and rage.

“Who is doing this? Why are they allowed? And you never once told me my house may get burned to the ground.” I round on my friend.

“What the fuck kind of town did I move to? I get order and following the rules and a few nosy neighbors, but in all the years I have known you, you never once said I was moving into a cult.”

“Jefferson isn’t a cult,” Everly says a little too quickly.

“Baby, threatening to harm you and your family for not following the most insane rules is a cult,” I snap .

.. too harshly, but this is beyond my comprehension.

“When you have people in charge who hold an entire town hostage solely through fear, manipulation and terror, that’s a cult.

” I face my friend who is not looking at me.

“Talk, Shaw. What the fuck is happening here?”

All this time, all this goddamn time, I thought their worries were based on a few busybodies spreading rumors. Gossip that would eventually die once something else popped up. I know enough about small town mindsets to figure they’d eventually let it go .

Under no circumstance, not once, had my guess been that we would be assaulted.

Possibly killed. That’s a different ball game.

That’s a level of insanity a normal person would laugh at, but as a man who spent too many years watching a literal war unfold .

.. it would be a cold day in hell before I let anyone touch Everly. Or Lachlan.

Lachlan sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Let’s get dressed. We can talk over breakfast.”

I allow it.

I can feel my temper brewing dangerously close to the rim. I need to calm down. I also need a shower. We all do.

I help Everly out of the chair and keep a firm grip on her hand as we return to the main part of the house.

I’m trying really hard not to squeeze too hard.

To not pinch her fingers when all I can feel is her terror of a town she grew up in.

People she grew up with. I want to deny the audacity because I haven’t seen any such crimes taking place, but Everly and Lach wouldn’t lie to me; if they say the town is dangerous.

I believe them. The only question remaining is what am I prepared to do about it?

Halfway up the stairs, the power zaps on with a low whir. Lights flicker back to life and a familiar hum echoes from the kitchen and the fridge. The three of us exchange relieved glances before resuming our direction.

In the bathroom, none of us question the showering process.

There’s no conversation when we strip together.

When Lachlan turns the nozzle on and helps Everly inside.

No one says a word when we join her. The task is so normal.

So natural. Even the cramped space doesn’t hamper the methodical process of scrubbing down and rinsing off.

It all proceeds in a strangely organized manner of me cradling Everly while Lachlan washes.

Then him holding her while I rinse off. We both help her to make sure she doesn’t miss any hard-to-reach places.

Team work.

When she cums on my fingers, her moan a soft plea against Lachlan’s mouth ... Well, thorough is thorough.

An hour later, we’re in the kitchen. Everly in my lap while Lachlan cracks eggs into a bowl.

“All right, someone talk,” I command once we’re all comfortable.

Everly has her head on my shoulder, her hair damp and filling my nose with the sweet scent of her strawberry shampoo.

She’s clad in a simple, pale blue dress that has bunched high around her thighs.

Her bare feet swing slightly while she traces one fingertip along the roadmap of tattoos across my chest.

“There isn’t much to say,” she says, which makes me both want to laugh and yell, but her voice is so small, so ... uncertain. “Anything I say, you’ll think Jefferson is this evil place full of monsters who will hunt people down and kill them, but it’s not. ”

I lift an eyebrow, my disbelief heavy at my throat. “Isn’t it though?”

Her face remains tucked into the curve of my neck even as she gives it a tiny shake.

“It really isn’t. It doesn’t make sense to people who aren’t born and raised here, but Jefferson is beautiful and peaceful.

The people care about each other and look after one another.

” She pauses as if trying to explain herself better.

“Jefferson is like living with family. You get on each other’s nerves, but when it matters, they’ll be there for you. ”

I get what she’s saying. One of the reasons I agreed to take the electrician’s position, uproot and move Lauren and myself to Jefferson was because of how close knit everyone seemed.

How peaceful. We may not have been embraced and pulled into the folds right away, but people were kind and helpful when we needed it.

Once we started putting down roots and showing up to functions, and making friends, it definitely felt like being part of a family.

But none of that justifies all the underlying issues no one ever mentions.

“And the whole setting your house on fire situation?”

The finger outlining the Fehu rune inked over my chest pauses.

“Sometimes, there’s no helping people,” she whispers like she’s reciting something told to her. “They become a cancer on the community and to save the flock, the growth has to be severed.”

“Everly,” I murmur, unable to restrain the disappointment creeping into the single utterance of her name.

Her head comes up and her big eyes meet mine. “They are given options. Plenty of opportunities to do better and stay in the community.”

“Baby,” I sweep a lock of their off her temple, “that’s a fucking cult.”

I expect protest, outrage like back in the sunroom.

Instead, she pulls in a long, heavy inhale that lifts her shoulders nearly to her ears.

“It’s just the way things have always been.

No one has been hurt in years. Most people learn their lesson and everything is okay.

But this...” she plants the palm of her hand over the symbol, over my heart, “we won’t be given a warning.

Nothing we say will matter. We will be asked to leave.

You will lose everything. Lachlan. Lauren. All of us. I can’t let that happen.”

The soft sizzle of butter melting in the skillet fills the silence. It cuts through the tension, drawing our attention to the topless man idly flipping strips of bacon in a pan. He alternates between keeping an eye on the meat and pouring whisked egg into the second pan.

I don’t fail to realize that this might be the last time we get this. The last time I’ll have Everly in my lap with the other man making breakfast. The arrogant side of me, desperate to assure myself they’re wrong, isn’t blind enough to ignore the reality of our situation.

“Let’s say I accept what you’re saying and abide by Jefferson rules, what does this mean for us?”

Everly’s expression falls with the droop of her shoulders. Her hand slips off my chest into her lap and I already don’t like her response.

“There wouldn’t be an us anymore,” she murmurs so softly, I nearly don’t hear her.

“There’s no realistic way to continue. Jefferson is too small to hide anything.

They will notice the amount of time we spend together.

They’d notice if we all disappear for a whole weekend at the same time.

They’d notice if we make too frequent visits to each other’s houses.

We had the cover of Lauren and Bron in the past, but that isn’t feasible anymore. ”

I steal a glance in Lachlan’s direction. Curious to see his thoughts on this, even though he’s been very clear in his stance on the matter.

“And you’re okay with this?” I ask, relieved when the question stiffens the length of his spine.

His hand freezes mid fluff of the eggs solidifying in the pan. His head jerks up and pivots in my direction.

“Of course, I’m not okay with it,” he snaps.

“There isn’t another way unless Everly changes her mind and decides to forgive and forget, which she shouldn’t.

I’m not going to let her stay in a bad place because I need her in my life.

” His fingers tighten around the fork in his grip, and he turns away to stare hard at the steam coming off the top. “I don’t know what to do.”

With a sigh, Everly sets her head back on my shoulder. Her face finds home in my neck. The quiet acceptance of our fates breaks something in me. It tears my heart, leaving a void I can’t breathe around.

I refuse to accept that this is it. That this is the last time I’ll ever be allowed with her. But I can’t process a better solution. Was there one? How can I keep her safe from an entire town? How can I ask her to risk everything for me? How can I risk Lauren?

I don’t care what happens to me. I don’t care if I lose my position as the town electrician. I don’t care about the house or my car. It’s all things I can get again somewhere else. I’m not scared of rebuilding.

But I can’t tear Everly from her life. From her parent’s home. Their memories. I can’t ask her to set fire to her entire life for me.

Or Lachlan. His parent’s home that he practically rebuilt.

His dad’s construction business. His reputation.

I can’t expect him to just drop everything and commit.

Although, I know he would for Everly. I know he would give up everything for her.

I also know he won’t because it would hurt her in the long run .

“Then date me,” I blurt.

That has Everly and Lachlan’s full attention. Both face me with matching expressions of confusion and surprise.

“What?”

I suck in a breath, committed to this choice.

“If we date, no one will question why you’re at my house overnight or with me.

” I touch her chin. Run my thumb along the soft curve of her bottom lip.

“No one will question why Lachlan is with us. Why he spent the night. Why you’re with him.

” I pause with another inhale. “You can keep us both. I’ll share you with him, but to everyone else, you’re mine. ”

She kisses me.

The sweet folds of her lips settle over mine with such heartbreaking sadness.

“No.” She draws back, fingertips whisper along my jaw.

“You will lose Lauren. She will never forgive you.” Her touch whispers over my mouth, silencing me when I start to speak.

“You are her clause. Her one rule as my friend was that I never touch you. I have already burned my bridge with her, but she will never speak to you again if you stay with me and I know that will devastate you.”

I can’t argue her logic. I can’t pretend I would be fine cutting my daughter from my life. I love Lauren. I made a promise to Terese that I would never abandon her .

“I’m sorry I’ve made this so complicated,” she whispers. “It wasn’t supposed to be.”

It shouldn’t be. That’s the problem. In a normal situation ... okay, so nothing about this is normal, but no one would have given a shit who I have in my bed in the city.

Still ... Lauren.

She never liked me dating. Never approved the idea of me with another woman for longer than a night. And I get it. She wants me loyal to her mom — and that was fine in the beginning because I had no interest in finding another person. I probably never would if it wasn’t for Everly.

I love her.

It may not be the same love I had for Terese. It may not be safe and comfortable, and easy, but she makes me happy. She gives me a sense of peace I haven’t felt in years. I look at her and I feel like I’m home.

But I know that won’t matter to Lauren. Everly is ... was her best friend. That’s a betrayal unworthy of forgiveness. She will never speak to me. And with all the losses, she may revert back to the drugs and destruction, and this time, I won’t be able to pull her out.

“Fuck!”

Everly’s bottom lip quivers like she can feel my heart breaking. “I’m sorry. ”

My fingers close into the back of her skull and I drag her in. I kiss her hard and angry. I pour my frustrations into the grinding of our lips.

“I’m going to figure this out,” I snarl into her mouth. “I’m not losing you.”

Rather than answer or look relieved, she slips her arms around my shoulders and buries her face into my neck.