Not A Small Town Girl[2/2]

★。＼｜／。★

VANESSA DAVIS

★。／｜＼。★

“What is this?” Lionel asked as he picked up the piece of paper I’d thrown away. Shit. He looked at me after unruffling it up, and reading through it. “why is she writing to you? From dusty creek?”

Yeah, creek. Right. Is that even a place? Is it like a small venue in New York? Hmm.

“I don’t know. I just got the letter. I don’t know why she hasn’t reached out in twenty years. Okay, what am I supposed to do?”

Ezra growled, “Do what you always do when you don’t want to entertain bullshit. She doesn’t get to see you. She never called, never even bothered to check in to see how Dad was doing. no. You can’t go.”

normally, this would be a given. I hate my mother. But I have to admit that what she did reroute my brain. Our family was perfect, and she ruined it. However, I can’t seem to feel that bubbling hate right now. I truly want to know. My therapist- yes, I have one. When you key an old lady’s car at sixteen, call her a dying floozy, punch her grandson, and end up with three months in juvenile detention, you kind of get marked as a troubled kid who needs therapy.

What was i saying? Oh yes, my therapist says the closure could be the key I need to move on. Maybe if I see her, and hear what she has to say I can finally forward.

Besides, I have six months of nothing to do. I might as well do something that’ll at least be entertaining.

“I think I’m gonna go.” silence. Yeah that’s the calm before the-

“Are you out of your mind?!” Ezra was the first to break the silence.

“You can’t go. You cannot see that fucking woman.”

I turned my attention to my father who was in his wheelchair, quietly watching us. He regained the ability to use his upper body but his legs, everything waist down is done for. That bullet ruined him. I have it as a necklace. He gave it to me to remind me that he survived.

“Dad, what do you say?”

“You’re an adult, baby girl. Do what makes you happy. We’re only one call away.”

“Dad.” Ezra started to protest. My brothers were strongly against this, but I truly want some closure.

I’ve been saying I don’t give a fuck about her for years but I wanna know.

Why did she throw us away?

So I took a flight to the nearest city to Dusty Creek. Which by the way, is a small town in south Texas! I had to rent a car to make the six-hour drive from the nearest airport to the town.

Which brings us to-

/PRESENT TIME/

This stupid piece of shit just died on me. My jeep wouldn’t have done that. I’m in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing but dust, grass, and this empty road for miles and I still have three hours to go.

Ugh! This would never happen in Manhattan. I could call a mechanic, there’d be one thirty minutes away. But I don’t even have service. Thank god, the GPS app I use works offline or I’d be screwed.

What kind of town is this?

I take back everything I said. My mother can go to hell.

I got out of the car, to search for some fucking service. Thanks to this fucking car. I kicked it and hissed as my toes took the brunt of the hit. Damn it.

I am freaking out. What if I get stranded here and I die? What the fuck do I do then? I shouldn’t have come here. This is why I hate small towns. Sure not all of them are literally so far from civilization, however, all of them are stupid. How can I not find service?

Oh my god.

I’m gonna die here. Whyyyy!! WHY DID I SAY YES? I didn’t have to do anything with her, I could have said no. How did she even know where I lived? My address isn’t online. AHHHH!

I kicked the car again with my other foot, then hissed and hopped around in slight pain.

I leaned against the car and tried to make myself think of what to do. And it’s so hot. It is so damn hot. I’m gonna melt.

As though the universe wanted to save my life, I heard the sound of an approaching car. Sure, I could be kidnapped by this stranger but it is better than nothing. I stood straighter and tried to wave the truck down.

It looked worse than this rented car. It was a black truck, with bull horns at the front and tires covered in mud. What kind of jackass drives this?

I might as well just shift, find a way to tie my bags to my body and run the rest of the way. Sure when I shift back I’ll be naked, but it’s better than whoever this creep-

The truck slowed as the gravel crunched beneath its tires, dust curling into the air behind it. The window rolled down, and that’s when I saw him. A cowboy—the cowboy, straight out of every country song I’d ever secretly swooned over. The brim of his worn, midnight-black hat shaded his face just enough to make him look mysterious, but not so much that I missed the sharp line of his jaw or the way his piercing eyes cut through the haze of heat. Sunlight glanced off his tanned skin, and the faintest hint of a smirk tugged at his lips. He leaned casually against the doorframe, one hand on the wheel, the other gripping the edge of the window like he owned the whole damn horizon.

“You lost, darlin’,” he drawled, his voice low and smoky, with a confidence that made every muscle in my body tighten, “Or are you just lookin’ for a reason to stay a little longer?”

“Uhhhh... lost.”

Shit, no, say something better. Goddamnit!

His laugh was something I’d never forget. So was the feeling of my throat closing up, and my heart picking up its pace as he hopped out of the truck. Tall, masculine, fine specimen of a man. The type I’d like to share a fun week with, think about for the rest of my life, and never see again.

The right kind of mistake I’d make in a heartbeat.

“Engine or tire? What’s the problem?”

It took me a solid second to realize his lips were moving because he was talking. To me.

I blinked, feeling bashful at my reaction. “Sorry, sorry. I have no idea. Maybe engine? I have no service, I’m headed towards Dusty Creek.”

His eyes lit up with surprise, and then he ran his gaze from the top of my head down to my heeled boots.

“Forgive me, darlin’, but girls like you don’t usually come this far. Especially not in a car like that, the road to Dusty Creek is disastrous to certain vehicles.”

“Girls like me?” who does this hot bastard think he is?

“Yes.” wow, no shame. “I can tow it for you, I’m headed to the town myself.”

I wanted to say I’d rather walk but I was already sweating, and these boots are for show, not for walking for three hours. And that was the time for the drive, I’m sure it’s triple that number if I walk.

“Well thank you. Maybe one day a girl like me will repay you the favor.”

“Don’t get your feelings hurt, I meant nothing bad.” I nodded, forcing myself to keep my words to myself. He’s being nice, I’ll ignore the rest of what he said. Why are the good-looking ones always the biggest assholes?

“Get your bag, put them in my truck.”

Very commanding. I do not like this guy. “Sure thing.”

I turned around and returned to the car. Counting to ten over and over again. I brought out my handbag only. The truck was huge, and I wasn’t sure how to even get in.

“May I?” his voice came from behind, startling me.

“May you what?”

He chuckled, and I felt my skin get even hotter as he reached around me to open the door, then with a single hand around my waist, he hoisted me up. I gasped and quickly grabbed onto the seat to pull myself the rest of the way in.

The door slammed shut once I was done and I tried to control my breathing as I pulled my seatbelt on.

He got in, drove the car forward a little, and then got out to attach something to the front of my rental. The drive was long, he played no music, and I was trying not to stare at his arms as he drove.

“So, um, where are you coming from?”

“I was delivering something to a local business.”

“six hours away. I cannot imagine.”

He laughs again. “Well, darlin’ I’m a farmer. And a rancher, so I do these things sometimes.”

I gave him a look. “No I meant, I can’t imagine why you’d live in Dusty Creek.”

“I don’t live there. My farm is on the outskirts of the town, and so is my pack.”

Ah, this hot man really is everything I hate. He runs a pack, and he’s okay with small towns. Yikes. I want to curl up, and just sleep off this day. I can’t believe this. But he smells nice. For now.

“That sounds rough.”

“Let me guess, not a fan of anything I just said.”

“Small towns don’t have anything I like, and packs are so 1960.”

His smile dropped. “what? Packs are what?”

“I’m sorry, they’re so old. No one should be doing that anymore. There are zero packs, in New York.”

“That’s why it sucks.”

I gasped. The truck went over some bumps, and my gasp turned into a small scream. Mr cowboy- wait, I didn’t get his name. I’m in the car of a nameless stranger who hates, a flourishing packless city like New York.

Once the bumps were done, I took a deep breath.

“New York rocks. People love to come there, and everyone knows where it is. Nobody knows Dusty Creek." It doesn't even sound like a real place. More like a place where dreams go to die. "By the way, what is your name? I’m Vanessa Davis.”

“I’m Colton Hayes.” he tipped his hat at me and then faced the road again. The road is bad, like truly a tragedy. I see why the rental woman looked at me funny when I told her where I was headed. “And dusty creek is a lovely town, new york is overrun by vampires, witches, and werewolves who have forgotten what makes them wolves. Packs are a safe space, a core foundation of what brought us here.”

“Yes, and I’m sure the history textbooks have that to remind us. But we should be evolving.”

He tilted his head at me, his brown eyes turned golden, and I felt something wash over me.

“Can you do that?” His eyes went back to normal, but his expression was cocky. I do not like to lose, but I also won’t lie blatantly to win.

“Well, no. But I’m only part wolf. The other part of me is a mermaid.”

He eyed me with slight suspicion. “I’ve never seen a hybrid before.”

I gave him a cheeky smirk. “In New York, Washington, Los Angeles, and other evolved places there are alot of hybrids. I’m sure there are hybrids in some parts of Texas that aren’t unknown washed-up small villages that remind me of a tragic film from the forties.”

He clicked his tongue. “Darlin’ you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I know more than you, Colton. I said in my head, obviously. I crossed my legs since there was enough space in this massive thing to do so. I already hate Dusty Creek and I haven’t even gotten there. This better be the worst of it all.

It wasn’t.