Yes, my mother knows.
No, it’s not a big deal to either one of them.
But…it’s a big deal to everyone else who doesn’t understand their don’t-talk-about-it sort of marriage.
This is a nightmare.
I whimper while covering my face with my arm. Why do we have to dedicate so much of our lives to this shit if Dad can’t even keep his dick in his pants for his own dream?
Right before we plan our website launch, our name is being dragged through the mud alongside his.
Two weeks…
We get two more weeks before we have to move back into the spotlight and deal with this. For now, our family is taking a quick breather, letting the heat die down.
In other words, we’re hiding from the rest of the world.
Now I remember why we caved and got wasted on moonshine. Our constant family drama could turn a saint into an alcoholic.
The last thing Kai needs is to be linked to me. If anyone looked into him in hopes of slinging more dirt on the family, they’d learn he’s an underground pot grower.
Not that they’d ever find me in Tomahawk. It’s easy peasy to hide out here.
Deciding not to waste what’s left of my vacation worrying about it, I get out of bed, smiling down at the pajamas I couldn’t have possibly dressed myself in.
I find Kai tucked away in the small kitchen area, pancakes flipping in the air, as he hums a familiar song. My smile falls immediately, as he turns and grins over his shoulder, still humming the Baby Shark song.
“I’d like to forget that ever happened,” I inform him with as much dignity as I can muster.
His lips twitch as he turns around, dumping a pancake onto the plate that is stacked high with a lot more. I’ve never been served breakfast by a guy.
It takes me a second to realize all the pancakes…are shaped like sharks.
“How in the hell did you do that?” I ask on a sigh, as he smiles once again and begins humming, shrugging a shoulder as though it’s not a big deal.
“Hurry up and eat,” he says instead of answering as he starts turning off everything and tidying up his minimal mess. “We’re going to town. I’ll be back to pick you up after I take care of some things at my place.”
My smile only grows when I spot the layout of syrup and other things he’s gathered for me on a tray. Was he going to serve me breakfast in bed?
“Thank you for—”
The door shuts, and my head snaps up to see I’m all alone in my cabin. In the next instant, I hear the Jeep cranking. Did he even put on his coat?
He’s an abrupt sort of guy, so I’m not even surprised anymore when he bails without much warning.
After I eat, and hurriedly shower and dress, Kai returns as though he timed it to be the second I finished up.
I head out to meet him, finding him a little quieter and possibly more distant than usual. It’s this far-away look in his eyes that’s confusing me.
“Everything okay?” I ask as he drives me toward town, since he hasn’t said a word.
He blinks, and that easy grin moves across his face as though I was worried for nothing.
“I think I’m the one who should be asking you that question. Everything okay back home?” he asks me.
I grimace. “Just a load of family drama I won’t bother you with.”
“I’d like to be bothered. You’ve got my Ma begging you to rent your womb out, so I think it’s obvious I’m not going to judge,” he says with a shrug of his shoulder.
I don’t know what happens, but suddenly I word vomit the entire ordeal to him, giving him a blow-by-blow of my father’s stupidity, my family’s history, and all the dark corners.
This is why it’s dangerous for me to be even a little bit vulnerable.
His facial expression never changes as he patiently listens to me upchuck it all, and I sigh as the weight on my chest starts to subside.
“So yeah. I’ll be in Tomahawk another two weeks, only now it’s to lie low. It’s probably best if you don’t hang around me too much, just in case we’re tracked down here by the sharks who already smell blood in the water,” I prattle on. “Considering the pot farm and all.”
His lips twist in a wry grin. “Don’t worry about me,” he says, not understanding how severely screwed he’d be if these hellhounds came to Tomahawk.
“I don’t think you understand the severity of the situation and how very real the problems could—”
“Tomahawk isn’t on anyone’s radar. If they track you down, we’ll do like we do with Liam and forget your name. Folks in town don’t like much attention on the town. You think I’m the only one doing something wrong?” he muses. “Our town wouldn’t exist if we played by the rules. It’d be rundown, broken, and full of depressed people. It’d stop being family if we weren’t all covering each other’s asses. You don’t make it in this town if you don’t act like family.”