“That’s what I said,” Grandpa replied.

  “Hey, Nana,” I said, letting Grandpa take my bag. “Surprise!”

  “Best surprise I’ve had all year,” she said, hurrying toward me. She kissed my cheek as she pulled me into a hug. “What are you doing here?”

  “I thought it was time for a visit,” I said, grimacing when she gave me an unbelieving stare. “I’m off work for at least a few days because of the fires, so I hopped on a plane.”

  “Only half of that is true,” she said knowingly. “But you can explain the rest later. You hungry?”

  “Starving, actually,” I replied sheepishly. “I almost got something to eat at the airport, but I figured you’d be cooking.”

  “You figured right,” she said with a laugh as she started puttering around the little kitchen area.

  “Your folks know you’re here?” Grandpa asked suspiciously.

  “You know I’m twenty-one, right?” I asked dryly.

  “That doesn’t answer my question,” he replied.

  “Howie, leave her be,” Nana said with a wave of her hand. She pulled bacon and a carton of eggs from the fridge. “Put this bacon on the smoker, would you?”

  Grandpa harrumphed, but grabbed the bacon out of Nana’s hands and carried it outside. As he made his way down the steps, he reached up and patted the breast pocket of his t-shirt, confirming that his phone was inside. My lips twitched. He’d be on the phone with my dad the minute he got that bacon on the grill.

  “So,” Nana said. “Tell me everything that’s been happening. Those fires are scary as hell. We’ve been keeping an eye on the news.”

  “It’s gnarly,” I said, sitting down at the little kitchen table. “You want some help?”

  “Not enough room, sweetheart,” she said with a smile. “You just sit and relax.”

  “Yeah, the fires are pretty bad,” I continued. “Casper and Farrah’s house burned down—”

  “Oh no,” she said quietly. “That family’s had enough heartbreak for a lifetime already.”

  “No kidding,” I replied. “Rose wasn’t sad to see it go.”

  “She’d had a lot of history there,” Nana said, glancing at me. “Not all of it good.”

  “I know.”

  “Still, sad to lose the family house like that. Charlie must be so upset.”

  “She is,” I said, remembering the look in Charlie’s eyes when we’d driven over to her parents’ property and she’d seen the carnage for the first time. “Our apartment was in the red zone for a while, but the wind must have shifted or something, so we were able to go home yesterday.”

  “Well, that’s good, at least,” Nana said, clicking her tongue a couple times. “You smell like a campfire.”

  I laughed. “Everything smells like a campfire in Oregon right now.”

  “Your dad was saying that their house is fine?”

  “Yeah,” I said, pulling off my sweatshirt. “They’re inside the city limits, away from all of it. The smoke is bad everywhere, though. You can’t really escape it.”

  “Unless you hightail it to Montana,” she said knowingly.

  “Right,” I said with a laugh.

  “What else are you here to escape?” she asked nonchalantly.

  “Boy problems,” I replied.

  “Boy problems?” she repeated in surprise. “I’ll be damned, I never thought I’d see the day.”

  “Hey,” I said in mock irritation.

  “Must be Draco,” she said, glancing out the window at my grandpa.

  “Why must it be Draco?” I asked.

  “Because he’s the only one you’d leave the state to escape,” she said with a laugh. “Not to mention the fact that you’ve never even looked at anyone else.”

  “That’s not true,” I argued. She shot me a look of disbelief. “It’s not! I’ve looked. I’ve just never seen anything else I’ve liked,” I grumbled.

  “Well, if you’re escaping Draco then the two of you must’ve broken that little stand-off you’ve been having for damn near a year.” She laughed at my look of surprise. “I’ve got eyes everywhere, honey. Don’t you forget it.”

  “Jesus, is everyone talking about us? It seems like they’d find something better to gossip about.”

  “You know you’re my favorite topic,” she replied, pointing a spatula at me.

  “It’s no big deal,” I said, throwing my hands up. “I just needed a little space.”

  Nana hummed noncommittally.

  “I’m not sure I want the same things he wants,” I said. “Or at least not the same way.”

  “Well, I’ve got no idea what that means,” she said, cracking eggs onto the skillet with one hand. “Unless you mean in bed, and in that case, you should probably discuss this with Charlie… or Rose.”

  “Ew,” I said, balling up a napkin on the table to toss at her.

  Nana laughed. “What do you mean you might want different things?” she asked. “You want babies and he doesn’t?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “We haven’t even talked about babies. God.”

  “Then what? You want to travel and he doesn’t?”

  I shook my head.

  “You want to live in Timbuktu and he’d rather stay in Eugene?”

  “Timbuktu?” I asked in amusement.

  “Well, hell,” she said with a shrug. “Back in my day, you either wanted to get married or you didn’t. You worked out the rest later.”

  “I set the timer,” Grandpa said as he came back in.

  “Kara’s runnin’ from Draco,” Nana told him.

  “Ah,” Grandpa said in understanding. “Why?”

  “Just trying to figure that out now,” Nana replied.

  “I’m sitting right here,” I said, pointing to myself. “And I’m not running from Draco. I said I needed some space.”

  “Sounds like runnin’ to me,” Grandpa said. Nana hummed in agreement.

  “I’m not running,” I said in exasperation.

  “So what’s the story, kiddo?” he asked as he sat across from me with a grunt. “Not that I’m not happy to see ya. You’re welcome here anytime.”

  “I think there might be too much history there,” I said vaguely.

  “Boy went to prison for you,” Grandpa said gruffly. “Some resentment there?”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. I couldn’t let him have that impression of Draco. “No, he says he’d do it again. A thousand times.”

  “Good boy,” Nana said to herself.

  “You do somethin’ while he was gone he can’t get over?” Grandpa asked, clearly the next logical explanation in his mind.

  “No,” I said, mildly insulted. “Nothing like that.”

  “Well, then, what is it?” he asked. “You’ve loved that boy for years. He clearly loves you. Simple math here, sweetheart.”

  “It’s not always that simple,” I retorted.

  “It is unless you’re lookin’ for a reason for it not to be.”

  “He says he’d do it again, Grandpa,” I said, leaning forward on my elbows. “That he’d go to prison again if it meant that he was protecting me.”

  Grandpa stared at me uncomprehendingly.

  “That’s a bad thing,” Nana said from her place at the stove. The words were almost a question, but not quite.

  Grandpa’s phone timer went off.

  “Be right back,” he said, heaving himself off the seat. “Shouldn’t have sat my ass down.”

  “Is he okay?” I asked Nana after he’d left the RV.

  “He’s just old, honey,” she said with a chuckle. “Standing up takes a little doing these days.”

  I didn’t like to think about my grandparents getting older, especially when we didn’t see them as often as I liked. I wondered if they’d settle in somewhere eventually, hopefully somewhere near Eugene where I could drive to visit.

  “Ten more minutes,” Grandpa said as he climbed the stairs again. “Now, back to what you were sayin.’ It’s a bad thing that he wants to protect ya?” he sounded completely confused.

  “Yes, it’s a bad thing,” I replied in exasperation.

  “You’re gonna have to break it down for me, darlin’,” Grandpa said, leaning his hip against the back of the kitchen bench seat. “Because I wouldn’t want a man anywhere near ya that didn’t feel that way.”

  “I don’t want some self sacrificing bullshit,” I said angrily. “Love me enough to stay out of trouble, how about that? Control yourself enough to stay out of trouble. Maybe have my back, but let me figure shit out on my own?”

  “Huh,” he said, reaching up to rub his jaw. He looked at Nana, who shrugged like she had no idea what to say.

  “What?” I asked. “Spit it out.”

  “Any man raised right is gonna be willin’ to step into the gates of hell and fight off the devil for his woman and kids,” Grandpa said, his voice low. “Not sure what to tell ya if ya think that’s a bad thing.”

  “Not sure where you learned it was a bad thing,” Nana added. “Your grandpa and Dad are those types of men.”

  “My mom—”

  Grandpa raised his hand to stop me. “Please do not try and compare a man’s choice to protect his family and a sick woman’s psychosis. That’s doin’ a disservice to both.”

  “You don’t see the similarities—”

  “I do not,” Grandpa said firmly. “And you shouldn’t either, Kara. Your mama was sick and she didn’t have the help she needed. Her death didn’t have anythin’ to do with sacrificin’ to keep her family safe. She killed herself because she was sick, honey.”

  “I don’t want Draco to go back to prison for me,” I said, frustration making my voice crack.

  “Why do you think he will, Kara?” Nana asked curiously.

  “I don’t know,” I replied. “Because I told him about how terrible high school was for me. Those same guys who had passed my photos around back then hassled me for two more years.”

  “The hell you say,” my Grandpa replied angrily.

  “It was terrifying to go to school every day just wondering if they’d stop with the innuendos and finally do something,” I said, staring at the table. “And they’d be easy enough to find now. So, what, Draco just beats all of them up? How will that change anything except to get him into trouble and leave me alone for four more years?”

  “Okay,” Nana said, taking the skillet off the stove. “We’ll get into the fact that you never told anyone you were having problems in a minute.” She came and sat across from me. “You told Draco that?”

  “Yes,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “And did he run out and start looking for those boys?”

  “No,” I replied.

  “So, he didn’t go off half-cocked looking to bash some heads in?”

  “No,” I replied. I knew where she was going with this.

  “Then why do you think he would?”

  “Just because he didn’t then, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t the next time we saw one of them in the grocery store or something,” I shot back. I was getting so sick of having to defend how I felt, especially to my own grandparents. Weren’t they supposed to be on my side?

  “You’re paintin’ him with a brush you bought when you were fifteen years old,” Grandpa said. “He was what, sixteen or seventeen when he beat up that boy? He’s grown up since then, the same way you have. He given you any indication that he can’t control his temper?”

  I thought back to the night before in the bar, the way he’d stared down that prick Jayden Parker. He’d put his hand on my shoulder to reassure me, but he hadn’t been aggressive. He’d been watchful. Protective, but cool as a cucumber.

  “He beat up his brother,” I said, feeling vindicated.

  “Put him in the hospital?” Grandpa asked.

  “No,” I ground out.

  “Why’d he beat Curtis up?” Nana asked.

  “Because of me,” I said, not exactly clear on that. I hadn’t told him what Curtis had said to me until after they’d fought. “I think because Curtis didn’t look out for me.”

  “Sounds like you didn’t tell anyone what was goin’ on,” my Grandpa chastised. “How was the boy supposed to look out for you?”

  The words hit with the power of a sledgehammer. Maybe Draco was right and I was the cause of all the drama. He hadn’t known what his brother had said to me, but he’d somehow convinced himself anyway that Curtis had let me down—when the truth was, I wouldn’t have told Curtis a damn thing anyway. Shit.

  “Go on and check your bacon,” Nana said to Grandpa, reaching back to pat his hip as his timer went off again. “Let’s eat.”

  As he left the RV with a clean plate, I sat there, my mind picking through the events of the past couple of days. So much had happened that I felt overwhelmed with it all. Someone could argue that Draco and I’s new relationship wasn’t new at all, considering the history we had—but it still felt new. New, but not fragile.

  Being with Draco was new because there was still so much to figure out, because our day to day lives hadn’t meshed yet and the situation was completely different from anything we’d had before, because I was afraid that at any moment he’d be gone. But it also felt solid. Like we’d been together for years. I knew his personality, his likes and dislikes, how he felt about his family and how he interacted with them, the way he treated his friends, the things that were most important to him and the things he didn’t give a shit about. I knew him inside and out and he knew me.

  Bottom line, I needed some time.

  “Can I stay with you guys for a few days?” I asked as my grandpa came back inside.

  “You can stay as long as you want, baby doll,” he said gruffly. “You know that.”

  “Your grandpa’s gonna have to stop walking around in his underwear,” Nana said as she set a platter of fried eggs down on the table. “But we’ll make do.”

  “Aw, hell,” he joked, smacking the table lightly. “I didn’t even think of that. You’ll have to go.”

  “Thanks,” I said, smiling.

  “Eat,” Nana said, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “And then I’ll take you out on my favorite hiking trail.”

  “I might need to borrow some shoes,” I replied, sticking my foot out from under the table.

  “What the hell are those ugly things?” my grandpa asked.

  I laughed and relaxed into my seat.

  Chapter 14

  Draco

  “She’s gone,” Charlie said glumly, swinging her front door open. “I told you she was going to move out.”

  “What do you mean she’s gone?” I asked, looking down at Kara’s pile of crap by the front door. “Her stuff’s still here.”

  “She took off,” Charlie replied with a shrug. “She wasn’t here when I got home this morning. Her bag’s gone and she took her bathroom stuff.”

  I didn’t quite believe what she was saying as I strode past her toward Kara’s bedroom. Where the hell had she gone? I’d left her apartment late as hell the night before and she’d already been in bed.

  “She’s not here,” Charlie said, standing at the end of the hallway. “But you can check under the bed if you want.”

  “I told her I was comin’ over this mornin’,” I said in disbelief. “She called you?”

  “Yeah, right,” Charlie replied. “I’m persona non grata, remember? She hates me.”

  “She doesn’t hate you.”

  “Well, she’s super pissed, at least,” Charlie said, leading me into the kitchen. “You want coffee?”

  “Sure,” I replied, leaning against the counter. “Where the fuck would she have gone?”

  “Her parents’ place, maybe?” Charlie said, getting a couple of mugs out of the cabinet. “It’s not like she’s got a ton of friends.”

  “I should’ve known she’d take off,” I said in frustration. “I shouldn’t have left last night.”

  “How’d it go?” Charlie asked, handing me a cup of coffee. “I was asleep before you got back.”

  “More like passed out,” I replied, making her shrug. “It went fine.”

  “Really?” she asked sarcastically. “Doesn’t seem like it.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” I said determinedly.

  Charlie sighed. “I love you both, D, you know that.” She paused. “But is there really anything worth figuring out at this point?”

  I looked at her in surprise.

  “Hear me out,” she said, leaning against the counter next to me. “You’ve been fighting for a long time for something that Kara seems incapable of giving you for whatever reason.”

  “You’re saying I should just walk away?” I asked quietly.

  “I’m saying,” Charlie said tiredly, “maybe you should just weigh the cost and benefits of chasing after Kara anymore. If she hasn’t told you she’s all in by now, are you just going to stay on this shitty ass carnival ride forever?”

  “Can’t believe this is comin’ from you,” I replied.

  “Honestly,” she grumbled, “I can’t either. I love her like she’s my sister, but she’s being a jackass and I haven’t seen any sign that’s going to end. Have you?”

  I’d been thinking the same thing all night, but I wasn’t ready to tell Charlie that. When it came right down to it, I was starting to wonder if I was in love with Kara because of the past or because of the present. Was I just holding onto something with her because it made things feel normal again and I was desperate for things to go back to how they’d been before?

  “Just think about it,” Charlie said, bumping my arm with her shoulder. “It’s not like I’m some relationship expert. My longest relationship was in high school.”

  “Two months with what’s her name—”

  “Aurora McCann,” Charlie said with a shit eating grin. “And oh, what a glorious two months those were.”

  “Why’d you break up?” I asked with a laugh.

  “Some boy asked her to a dance and she said yes,” Charlie said with a snort. “And it wasn’t an invitation for a three-way. I could’ve been into that.”

  I coughed, choking on my coffee and my eyes burned as it nearly came out my nose. Charlie chuckled.

  “You’re such a prude,” she said, watching me struggle. She reached for her phone. “Looks like the parents are calling. I don’t care how shitty Farrah feels, I’m not bringing her coffee in bed. Hello?”