Page 1 of The Way Home (Pathfinders Lake Romance #5)

Riley

Ten Years Ago

G iant trees lined the road that passed through the small town.

Of course, there were trees everywhere—nothing like it was back home in Southern California, where we had hills of brown, dried grass and more houses and traffic than there should be.

The trees were pretty, don't get me wrong, but they were a little suffocating, looming over everything and blocking out the sun.

Even if it felt open and bright here, it still wasn't home.

I understood why we moved, but that didn't make being across the country any easier, especially moving in the middle of high school.

Now here I was, thousands of miles away from my friends, living in a hotel with my mom, and absolutely no ocean in sight.

I hung my head against the car window, my glasses smooshed against my face.

My mom reached across the car and patted my shoulder. “It's going to get easier, Ri.”

My only reply was a heavy sigh.

A break in the trees appeared, showing the kind of sign with changeable letters, which read, “Youth Lock-In Party.”

I turned to face my mom, who slowed down to turn into the lot. “I really don't want to go to some pathetic church thing.”

“I know, sweetie, but I think it will be a good opportunity to meet kids your age. You're going to be starting your junior year in the fall. Don't you want to know a few people before school starts?”

“Not church people,” I grumbled.

“ Riley .” My mom gave me that tone, the one that didn't require yelling but got my attention all the same. “I looked it up. It's an affirming church. I wouldn't take you somewhere that would be unsafe for you.”

I came out to my mom at thirteen, and she'd been nothing but supportive.

Not that I'd dated anyone. I had worked my way through crushes on my friends but had never acted on them.

I suspected my chances in a small town like this would make it even harder, especially as a nerdy gay guy.

At least I knew I didn't have to worry about bringing a boy home—if I could find one.

“Yeah, I know.”

She parked and turned to face me. The makeup she wore covered the dark circles around her eyes, but I knew they were there. They had been ever-present since she left my dad, and she'd had to figure out what to do. Living in California wasn't feasible as a single mom.

When she spoke again, it was in a softer tone that cut right through me. “I need this to work, Riley. I know it's been hard, but I don't know what else to do or where to go. I want you to be happy, too, though. Can you please just try ? For me?”

My mom had always been pretty good at keeping her composure, so in the rare moments she let it slip, it killed me. I hated to hear her voice tremble and see the worry in her face. “Yeah, Mom, I'll try.”

“Thank you, Ri.” She squeezed my hand and put the mask back into place, forcing a smile. “You never know. There might be some cute boys here.”

Doubtful . I snorted. “Yeah, sure.”

“Have fun. I'll be back to pick you up after the lock-in ends.”

I stepped out of the car and took a deep breath as I stared up at the small steepled building. A lock-in. I was going to be trapped inside until one in the morning. This was going to be the longest night.

Forcing myself to walk in the front door, I was greeted by overly-friendly staff and directed to the youth room, where the door was decorated with red, white, and blue balloons. How shitty was this going to be? If they made us do an egg toss or limbo, I think I might puke.

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find a space full of couches and bean bags with several TVs and game stations set up.

Some kids were already there, busy talking or playing.

If nothing else, maybe I could find a game I liked to pass the time.

The reassuring thought disappeared when everyone noticed me, and the activity around the room came to a halt.

In a small town like this, there probably weren't a lot of new faces. Lucky me.

I gave an awkward wave, already hating the attention from a room full of strangers. By some sort of miracle, I was saved by a boy shouting for me.

He sat on a couch, leaning over the back, waving at me. “Hey, over here. I saved you a seat.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. The other kids returned to what they were doing as I made my way over to the couch to meet my knight in shining armor. I didn't know who he was, but I could kiss him for taking the pressure off.

When I came around and took the seat next to him, I got a better look at the guy, and swallowed hard.

He was… gorgeous. His skin was a rich, golden hue, and he had dark brown hair cut in a purposefully shaggy style that looked hot as hell.

He watched me with interest through chestnut eyes as if he was assessing me in the same way I was him.

“Hey, I'm Jeremy.”

When I stared a little too long at the hand he held out, his mouth curved into a sexy smirk. I shook my head, trying to clear it, and respond like an actual human. “Hey, I'm Riley, uh, Riley Carter.”

I finally took his hand, and… was that a spark ? Did those actually happen? My skin tingled from his touch before I let go and wiped my hand on my jeans. “Uh, thanks for…that.”

“Sure, no big deal. Besides, maybe I just wanted to claim you for myself before anyone else could.” He gave me a wink and nudged my shoulder with his as if we were old buds. My heart pounded in my chest.

“Claim me?” I’d read some books with claiming in it, and the idea of that while I sat next to this beautiful boy had heat crawling up my neck. Get a grip, Riley, this is not one of those romance books you borrowed from the library.

Jeremy shoved a game controller in my hands. “Yeah, I need a partner, and everyone here sucks. I bet you play, right?”

My rocketing heart sank. Of course, he wasn't actually interested in me, that would have been too easy. He took one look at me and decided I was a big enough nerd to be a gamer. I mean, he wasn't wrong. I spent a lot of time alone in my room when my parents were fighting.

“Yeah, I play.”

Jeremy grinned, looking even more beautiful. “Perfect! Maybe you can help me get past the level I've been stuck on.”

“Sure. I can give it a try.”

Jeremy started the game, and once I got into it, I stopped thinking about not wanting to be here.

Hell, I got so caught up, I forgot we were even in a church.

With Jeremy's leg pressing against mine, it was distracting enough to make me forget what year it was.

I sat with my knees clenched together, trying not to take up too much space.

At first I thought it wasn't intentional, but when I shifted away slightly, Jeremy's leg followed, his warmth bleeding through.

When I chanced a look at him, I caught him watching me with a hungry look on his face.

Fuck! I was almost certain it wasn’t in my imagination.

With all the books I’d read, I wondered if someone would ever look at me that way.

Now that it was actually happening, I didn't know what to do about it. I was having a hard time thinking clearly with the heat from Jeremy’s nearness spreading through me.

I hit pause and stood abruptly. “I think I need a drink.”

Jeremy got up as well and patted my shoulder. “Good idea. Come on, I'll show you where everything is.”

Wherever he was going, I was happy to follow.

Not just because he was hot and possibly giving me vibes, but also because sticking by his side seemed safer than testing the waters with the other people here.

At least I thought he was giving me vibes, unless I had somehow misread everything, which was entirely possible given my lack of experience.

He led me to an adjoining room where they had a few tables and chairs set up. Along one wall was a table covered with packaged snacks and slow cookers, and there were two big ice chests full of waters and sodas.

“What do you like?” Jeremy asked, as he grabbed a root beer for himself.

“I'll take an orange soda, thanks.”

When he handed the can to me, he held onto it for a moment, and I stared at where our fingers touched like it was some earth-shattering event, because for me it was.

Jeremy cleared his throat, making me whip my head back up to catch another smirk on his lips.

He let go of the can, and I desperately popped it open and chugged it, trying to cover my embarrassment.

Of course, my attempt to hide my reaction only made things worse as I choked on the carbonation, and orange came spewing back out of my mouth.

Jeremy quickly grabbed a few napkins and handed them to me as I gasped for air. He calmly cleaned up the soda-saliva mix that flew out of me and landed on the table. My cheeks flamed with mortification. Why did I have to be such a fool in front of this hot guy?

“Fuck, I'm sorry.” I wiped my face and hands with the rest of the napkins he handed me. Was it too soon to call my mom and tell her to free me from the lock-in?

To my surprise, Jeremy simply laughed. “No big deal. Orange soda has a mean streak. It's picking us off one by one.”

The way he played it off calmed my panic and practically had me swooning. Plus his laugh… he had a great laugh. Mine was awkward, however, as I tried to play it off. “Yeah, no kidding. Fuckin’ orange.”

“Fuckin’ orange.” Jeremy winked and tapped his can to mine, as if I hadn't just been a spluttering, coughing mess in front of him. “So you're new around here, huh?”

“Yeah, how'd you know?”

“Well, first time I've seen you here.”

I shrugged. “Mmm… churches aren't really my thing.”

“Mine neither, but you may have noticed…” Jeremy leaned closer to whisper loudly. “It's not a very big town.”

I chuckled. “No shit! Nothing like it was back home.”

His brow arched with interest. “Yeah? And where's that?”

“Southern California. I think more people lived in my apartment building than I've seen in the entire town here.”