Fated Under the Moon Read online

"Elle. I'm sorry for how he behaved. I promise he isn't always like this. His friend lived here, and they're not with us anymore."

  Oh, no. Suddenly maybe his behavior made a little more sense. Still, not forgivable, but perhaps understandable.

  "Ryker, why don't you just go do whatever it is you were doing before she got here? The boys and I will help her with her bags. You can go be moody elsewhere, and I'll help get her settled. Deal?"

  He sucked in a breath. His eyes squinted then gentled, and the way they gentled on his sister made me think for the first time since meeting him that he could be attractive.

  "I'm sorry, Mins."

  She cleared her throat, indicating that I was owed an apology.

  "I'm sorry, Ariel," he said through gritted teeth.

  I was about to correct my name but changed my mind at the last second.

  "She's right. I was a dick to you from the start, and I shouldn't have been."

  Whoa, I didn't see that one coming. As Ryker's face softened even more and his body language relaxed, I thought that it wasn't that he could be attractive. He was attractive. He was extremely tall, at least six-three, maybe six-four. I was five-ten an above average height for a woman and was drawn to taller men than me. His shoulders were broad, and I had a feeling that without his shirt, he would have quite the body. Even in jeans, I saw thickly corded muscles. Still, first impressions are a bitch, and his would take a lot more than a forced apology for me to get over.

  Mindy clapped. "There, that settles it. See you later, Bro. I got Elle from here."

  He shook his head and left the apartment, and for the first time, I was able to take in the space. The couch was older than it looked in the picture, but it was leather. Although the brown leather cracked in a few places, I had a feeling it was expensive at some point, and it would still be comfortable. There was a coffee table that looked to be handmade with the same craftsmanship as the front door. The wooden floors shined, so I could tell it was cared for, although this building was old. There was a breakfast bar and a small kitchen. I didn't need much, though, since cooking was the devil, only a fridge and a microwave.

  "Do you mind if I take a look around?" I asked Mindy.

  Her eyes got big, "He didn't even let you check it out before being a jerk? I'm very sorry he greeted you that way. It was hard for him to let this place go, but he needed to. It was time. Please, by all means, check out your new digs."

  I walked down a small hallway and opened the first door. It was a bathroom with tiny black and white octagon tiles. A clawfoot tub with a black shower curtain that was open at the sides and a newer-looking showerhead. The sink was a freestanding pedestal sink, and the mirror over it was painted black. The edges were hand-carved with small flowers carved in the wood that looked so individually unique and beautiful. The walls were white, adding a nice contrast. It was pretty.

  I opened the next door in the hallway and discovered a linen closet. The door after that was the bedroom. As I opened the bedroom, I was blasted with heat. There was a window, but the window was right where the porch was, and there were no blinds. The other thing this room needed was furniture. Hopefully, I could find a place to pick up what I needed.

  "It's a volcano in here!" Mins said from behind me. I was so into taking in the space I hadn't paid attention to where she was. I watched as she walked over to the window, unlatched the top latch, and pulled the window up. Then, because there was no screen, she stuck her head out and yelled, "Reece! Come on in and meet Elle. We'll get her keys, and you boys can help unload her car."

  A few seconds later, I heard a commotion in the living room. I left the bedroom and followed Mindy down the hall towards the noise and found three men standing in my living room.

  "Hey! I'm Reece." Reece walked over to us with his hand extended. He looked like a younger version of Ryker, and, if I had to guess, all these men were either in their late teens or early twenties. His hair was dark like Ryker's, and he had the same jawline, but his face still held so much youth. I shook his hand.

  "He's my brother. This one is Grey; he's my man," She said, throwing her arm around Grey's waist. Grey also looked to be in his early twenties; however, he had one grey streak through his hair that was longer on top but clipped shorter around his ears.

  A throat cleared, "I'm Micah, this one's brother," he said, making a fist and pointing his thumb towards Grey. I could tell that Micah was younger than Grey, but I wasn't quite sure by how much. Maybe a few years. "It's so nice to meet you. I swear there hasn't been a new face around here in Lord knows how long."

  His casual demeanor immediately put me at ease.

  "Nice to meet you, too."

  "Don't mind, Elle. Ryker put her in a mood, but we're going to fix that, aren't we!" Mindy declared.

  "We sure are, Babe." Grey squeezed Mindy's side.

  "Can I have your keys?" Mindy asked, stretching out her hand.

  "Sure." I fished them out of my purse and began to walk to the door.

  Mindy grabbed my arm. "Just hand him the keys. They'll get it done for you." Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I handed him the keys. Unpacking sucked.

  Micah, Grey, and Reece left, and I started to haul my giant bed in a box to the bedroom. Mindy moved to the other side of the box. "I'll help you." She crouched low and grabbed a corner of the box, lifting it like it weighed nothing. I worked out, and my arms visibly showed the results, but regardless, the box was heavy, and there was no way I was lifting it that easily.

  We moved it to the bedroom, and I sighed.

  "What is it?" she asked.

  "I guess my mattress will be on the floor until I get a bed frame to put it on or a box spring. I don't suppose there are mattress stores in town? Also, I need curtains or blinds for the windows."

  "There's a second-hand store on Main, and my friend Rosa owns a cute little boutique by the post office that we might be able to find curtains at. I can take you there if you want, but you're right, there isn't a mattress store."

  I nodded. When she said that this place was pre-furnished, I assumed there would be a little more to it than this. After setting the box down in the bedroom, I moved to the kitchen and opened the cupboards. There were a few plates and a couple of cups. There wasn't a coffee maker, so I knew I'd need to go to the store as soon as possible.

  "Ryker said there's a hardware store in town. Will they have a coffee maker? Also, I can't help but notice all the custom woodwork. If I can't find a used platform bed at the resale shop, do you think whoever made all the beautiful woodwork would build one for me if I paid them?"

  She bit her lip, "Maybe? But you'll have to ask."

  "Why? Who is it?" I asked as dread filled my belly. I had a feeling I knew.

  "I can see by your face that you've guessed correctly who the builder is."

  "Fingers crossed there's something at the second-hand store then."

  The guys began moving box after box into the apartment, and what seemed like it took hours to load only took a few minutes for them to completely empty.

  "Wow, thanks," I said to them.

  "Have you eaten? I'm starved. I think we should all go grab a pizza," Reece said.

  "The way you eat, don't you mean five pizzas?" Micah replied.

  "I could eat a pizza," Mindy said.

  "Me too. Maybe we add a couple more on to that," Grey added.

  "How do you like your pizza? We can go, or I can go upstairs and make a call."

  "Can we go in instead of getting takeout? That way, I can stop at the store. Question though, it's not just me, right? You don't get cellphone service here either?" I asked Mindy as we all started to shuffle out of the apartment.

  "Nope, service stinks here."

  I moved to lock the door. "You don't need to do that. There's like zero crime here." Mindy said, then moved across the hall and banged on Ryker's door. "We're grabbing Ralphie's. Do you want anything?"

  Ryker opened the door, "Pepperoni and mushrooms." He reached into his wallet. And Grey waved him off. "Don't worry about it. I got it. You got it last time."

  "Reece, Dad wants you to stop by when you're done."

  Reece nodded, and we left. "Should we take the truck?" Micah asked. "We can squeeze, or someone can ride in the back," he suggested. We moved to an old dark blue pickup truck that was rusted by the wheel wells.

  "I think I'll drive. A little air conditioning will be good for me, and I want to stop at a few places when we're done."

  "I'll ride with you," Mindy said, then she turned to her boyfriend, gave him a quick kiss, and muttered, "See you there."

  "You could've gone with them." In reality, I just got here, and as nice as Mindy and the boys were, I wanted to go through things and take my time. I'd been traveling nonstop, and this was a lot. I wasn't used to so many people being so... people-y.

  "I know, but as I said, we don't get a lot of new people here. Sorry if I'm coming on strong. It's nice to have another female. You'll see there are so many more guys here than women! I'm not even exaggerating."

  I turned on the car and immediately blasted the air. "That's better," I said, aiming a vent towards me. "Your brother said the hardware store is sold out of fans. Any idea where I can get one? I'm not used to this humidity."

  "I'll grab one from Grey's. He's been staying at my place a lot, so I'm sure he has an extra fan."

  "Thanks."

  I followed the truck down a few blocks then made a left onto Main. I saw the entirety of the small downtown area and noted Ryker was right. There wasn't much to it. We pulled into a parking spot next to the truck, and I took in the quaintness of the place. All of the shop fronts were similar, and I imagined it was done on purpose. Many businesses had red and white striped awnings that hung over the sidewalk to provide
shade for passersby. It was clean, and with the style of everything, I had to pinch myself to make sure I didn't wake up in a nineteen-fifties time warp—that's what it reminded me of. Any second, Michael J Fox would come around the corner on a skateboard while being chased by his goons. I did one more perusal of the street, expecting to see the clock tower when Mindy nudged my arm.

  "Are you going to get out of the car today?"

  "Oh, sorry. I guess I was just taking it all in."

  "It's a lot to take in," she said on an eye roll. "Come on. The boys are already inside."

  "I'M GOING TO LOOK AROUND and run some errands," I told everyone while we walked outside of the restaurant. I was so full, I doubted I'd feel like I could move much in a few minutes. The carb attack was real, and I knew it would pull me under if I didn't start moving around.

  Pizza was fun. I was older than everyone, and a few times when they talked about pop culture, I felt the difference, but other than that, I really enjoyed myself. Mindy was the sweetest, and I found myself thinking of her like a little sister.

  The boys could eat! I learned that Micah was the youngest at eighteen. Grey and Reece were twenty-three. They scoffed and didn't want to believe me when I told them I was already twenty-eight.

  Everything felt like it was going great except when Reece asked why I moved here, and I told them I'd been offered a position at the Valdere Estate. It was subtle, but I'd noticed all of them pull away from the table slightly and suck in a breath. This was the second time I'd had an odd reaction about the Valderes, and I was wondering if coming here had been the wrong decision. I really couldn't argue with the pay, though, and I was optimistically thinking of it as an adventure. However, I felt like there was some very bad blood between them that I needed to know about. As I was saying goodbye to Mindy, I decided to ask her about it without the others.

  "Your brother had a bad reaction to the Valderes, and I noticed all of you did as well. I start in two days. What is it about them? Do I need to be concerned?"

  She bit her lip, unsure what to say. She looked around as if checking to see if anyone could overhear her. "Our families don't get along. They never have, and they never will." She backed away a few steps. "I should get going. I'll see you later, okay?"

  "Sure. See you later."

  The exchange left me uneasy. I shook it off, though, and walked to the second-hand store, and did a quick search. There were no bed frames, but I was able to find some curtains. They were gaudy in the most fabulous way. There were giant peacocks with their heads toward the top and feathers of greens, blues, and purples flowing down the length of the curtains. I was also able to find a used coffee maker and a coffee mug that made me laugh. It read, "It's beginning to look a lot like fuck this." I found it hysterical.

  There were no fans, and as much as I could enjoy shopping, the store was hotter than hell. I quickly hauled my purchases to the car then walked over to the hardware store. I found a curtain rod and a hammer and screws, so I could put the curtains up. By the time I was done shopping, I couldn't wait to sit in my car's air conditioning. Did no one believe in cold air here?

  I happily remote started my car as I walked to it. There was just enough cold air blowing to help me out with my boob sweat by the time I opened the door. It was a problem. I moved closer to the vent and opened my shirt over the vent to let in the cold air. An older lady noticed me and scoffed as she passed by. Whatever.

  I drove to my new apartment and unloaded my car. I was surprised to see that sitting inside my apartment was a fan! Yes!

  I'd have to do something nice for Mindy. She really was very thoughtful.

  I made quick work of hanging the curtain rod, wanting to change in my bedroom and sleep without feeling like anyone on the porch could see right in. After hanging the curtains, I opened my mattress in a box and laid it on the ground. You had to give these things time to rise. I then went through one of my large Rubbermaid containers and dug out the new sheet set I'd purchased. I'd bought a new comforter as well, but I was pretty sure there was no way I was going to use that anytime soon.

  I began to unpack other boxes as well and hung clothes up in the closet. I put my linens in the bathroom. And finally, as I continued through my boxes, I paused when I reached the bottom of a container. I knew what I'd find there. Inside the container was a box with a picture of my dad and me. There was a letter that I'd yet to open. Besides that, there was an iron medallion that had been in my family forever, passed down from one generation to the next. Even upon his death, my dad had it with him, and I wasn't sure if I could carry it with me. The medallion was small enough that I could fit it in the palm of my hand. It was a cross with a ruby in its center, surrounded by a tree of life. I never knew its significance, just that it was perhaps my dad's most valued heirloom which made me always question how he could bring it everywhere with him. I would've been terrified that I'd lose it. Next in the box was the ring he wore. I held it in my hand before setting it back down. There was a small ruby in the center of a rose. On the sides of the ring, there were symbols almost like a frat ring, but different. The last thing in the box was a small dagger with another ruby in its center, right where the blade met the handle. The blade was just over four inches long. This, I'd never seen before until I went through his desk after he passed and found it.

  A pang of longing moved through my chest. I took out the picture of the two of us from a month before I lost him. I hadn't seen him in some time. He'd traveled a lot for work, and we kept missing each other. But the distance between us weighed heavy on both of us, and at the last minute, he canceled a trip and flew to Seattle to surprise me. We drove up to Vancouver and did a whale watching tour, spotting Orcas, and I was in heaven. At the end of the tour, the captain took a picture of us. My dad had his arm around my shoulder, and you could see how much we resembled each other. I had his deep green eyes and full lips. And although he had dark hair that had primarily turned grey and I had my mother's blonde, it was easy to see that he was my dad.

  I hugged the picture to my chest then placed it on the windowsill. "I miss you, Daddy," I whispered and wondered if it would ever get easier. I gave myself only a minute more to think about him. The pain was intolerable if I did it too long, so I tried to limit my grief. Maybe that was dumb. Perhaps you couldn't control grief, but I had to at least try. He was my entire world.

  It had always been the two of us. My mom, wherever she was in the world, left us when I was a baby. Dad had never made me feel like I was missing anything, though. I'd always felt like I won the dad lottery. In school, he was always the dad to clap the loudest or volunteer. He was a scientist and was the only dad who could go into the school and make science seem cool. There was never a science fair that I entered that I didn't take first place. God, how I missed him.

  I yawned, feeling the exhaustion of the day, and knew I needed to push on. I needed to run. Some people ran because they enjoyed it. Fuck that; running was the devil. However, I learned that if I didn't run and exhaust myself beyond measure, I would dream, and dreaming sucked. I usually dreamed about my dad, but sometimes the dreams were different. So, I did everything in my power not to have those dreams.

  I could tell there was only, maybe half an hour more of daylight and thought that if I was going to run, I needed to do it fast. I threw on a pair of running shorts, a sports bra, and a tight athletic tank that helped hold the girls in place because, even though my boobs weren't the biggest, having a handful bounce around still hurt. I quickly found my running shoes, grabbed my keys, locked the door, and was off. I passed by Ryker, who was sitting on the top stair of the porch, then I did a quick calf stretch, ignoring him, and took off running.

  The sun was at the early stages of setting. How could it still be this hot! With humidity like this, I was praying that it would rain, and since I was well and truly over the rain from living in Seattle, praying for rain was like a fish begging for air.

  I ran towards the downtown area since I'd been that way earlier. People were hanging out on porches and walking their dogs. It seemed like everyone had the same idea about coming out when the sun wasn't at its highest. I ran past the hardware store, the pizza shop, the second-hand store, and a few other shops then kept going down the street. I spotted a bar with a few cars in the parking lot, then continued my run and spotted another bar at the end of the road called The Wolf's Den. For some reason, the name didn't surprise me. It was kind of fitting that Ryker owned a place with a name like that. What did surprise me was how packed it was compared to the other bar. It was still light outside, and I noticed motorcycles lining the front parking lot and a slew of cars parked behind it.