Tea Leaves & Pine Trees

Chapter Four

THE BONFIRE

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I had rotten luck, that was a well-known fact.

Dianna's property was huge, probably rivalling Lake Lakewood's property in all honesty, but it only housed her and her five cats, two alpacas, and cow. It had one huge house right in the centre of it, with a gravel driveway that twisted and turned its way up to one of Summerton's main roads.

I wished I could live here with her... and it wasn't like I didn't have the choice to. I did. I simply chose not to because I liked being close to the town centre - it helped in emergencies.

My accommodation circumstances didn't play into my rotten luck, though, no, that would be the nineteen people approaching from the distance, four of them young children, children I recognised, one teenager who looked like he would rather be anywhere else, and... fourteen adults.

My stomach dropped, and nerves consumed me. I swallowed a bout of bile and looked to Dianna, hoping she would be free to greet her new guests, but she was caught up with Sage, Kamaria, and a couple of Summerton's other children closer to the fire, showing them how to heat the marshmallows until they were all melted and gooey, without setting them on fire. I tried to catch Isaac's eye next, hoping he would take on almost-boyfriend duties, but he was busily talking to the McClain's and Luka.

Which, frustratingly, only left me.

"For noodles sake," I muttered as I stood from my perch on one of the logs close to the fire. I gripped the cider in my hand, taking a swig from the can before I set it down and headed towards the swarm of people slowly approaching. With nothing but the moonlight, it was difficult to see, especially because the moon was barely a slit in the sky tonight, the deepest crescent it would go to before being a new moon tomorrow night.

A new moon which aligned perfectly with the start of the Floral Festival.

Not that I was superstitious, but it was nice to have that connection.

"Aubrey!" Sunny's voice startled me, and I lifted my head as the tall, muscular man bounded towards me. "Hey, thanks for the invite," he said with a broad grin that made him devilishly handsome in the moonlight.

"H-Hi," I managed, smiling as the rest of his crew approached behind him. I recognised Everest, Free, and Laurel first, and then saw Riku and Alex behind a couple of the others. Olivia was there, together with a woman who was significantly shorter than Olivia but with broader shoulders. "It's nice to see you again," I said to Sunny.

Sunny's grin widened as he returned the sentiment.

"By the way." He reached for a man's hand, dragging the stranger to his side. In the moonlight, I could barely see the newcomer, but what I did see of him was enough. His hair was a light shade of brown with bleached blonde streaks, and his eyes were a warm dark brown. "This is Martinez. I'm introducing you to him first because he's the most important member of our pa—our family."

Martinez chuckled, reaching his hand for mine, but before he could say anything there was a vocal protest from someone else. A woman pushed her way into view, her rich auburn hair falling down her back in long ringlets, and her eyes a deep hazel that seemed knowledgeable beyond my years. Her skin was dark and smooth, much like Everest's. She didn't match Sunny's or Martinez's heights at all, as they both must have been well and truly over 6-foot, but she still managed to tower me by a couple of inches. She was also heavily pregnant.

"Fuck off," she told Sunny, and then to me, she said, "I am the most important member of the family." Her lips pulled into a wicked grin as she looked me up and down. "And you are my new favourite person. Liv told us you snapped at Eve earlier today. Boy, you have guts and I admire it."