Page 447 of Once Upon a Fable

“Sue me if I was panic rushing.” His eyes filled with hurt. “Are you seriously going to give me the third degree for trying to find you after the past few weeks of hell?” His lips twisted as if holding back emotion. “I thought you weredead, Gemstone. I would’ve burned this place to the ground if it gave me a clue to where you’d gone.”

Oh, God.

Leaping to my feet and tossing the pillow to the floor, I closed the small distance between us and bent to give him a hug. Kas didn’t move from his place on the couch, and Josh stiffened before relaxing. He hugged me so hard, I choked.

He dragged me into his lap, shuddering with relief. “God, it’s good to touch you. To know you’re real. That you’re home.”

I struggled for air, even while comforting him.

Kas moved, shifting just enough to let me know he’d seen. He was watching, and he may or may not retaliate if my safety was in danger.

Pulling away, I kissed my brother on the cheek. “I’m very sorry for making you worry. But like I said on the phone, I’m back now, and everything is fine.”

“I don’t think you said that.” Josh cleared his throat and sat back, letting me go. His glossy eyes followed me as I returned to my place next to Kas. “You were more interested in talking about a pet squirrel.”

“Josh...” I pointed at his face, deciding to ignore that last bit and reply to his previous sentence. “Well, if I didn’t say that, it’s still true.” I waved a hand, my mind racing for ways to explain Kas’s place in my life and to truly apologize to my brother. The second part of that plan might have to wait a few days, but for now, I worried about how to make the two most important men in my life co-exist.

I ran fingers under my eyes, trying to figure it out.

I should’ve come up with a lie before this, but with the long drive yesterday, the exhausted sleep, and the rude awakening, I hadn’t been able to form one.

“So...” Josh turned his attention to Kas. “Just who the hell are you then?”

“I’m...eh—” Kas turned to me, looking for guidance. I’d told him to hide the truth, but after what’d just happened...Josh wouldn’t buy that Kas was just a hiker in the woods who’d shacked up with me. There were too many holes in that story. Why hadn’t I left the valley sooner? Why was Kas not relaxed in company?

Ugh...the truth.

It had to be the truth because I didn’t have the mental faculty right now to fib successfully.

Taking a big breath, I looked at Josh and spilled everything as fast as I could. “I went looking for that boulder—as you know. I got lost. I foundan abandoned mansion tucked in a valley. It intrigued me enough to go and investigate. I found Kas inside. And he...well, he wasn’t exactly happy that I’d trespassed.” I sped up, rushing past punctuation and pauses, racing to get it done, lying where I could so Josh didn’t kill Kas immediately. “Kas had been alone for eleven years, you see, and having company was a bit much for him, so he kept me for a few days while he acclimated, but then he released me, and he apologized, and we talked about me going home, but then...um, my Jeep had a dead battery, and my PLB wasn’t working, and, eh, a bunch of other stuff happened, which meant Kas got hurt, and I had no choice but to stay and look after him.”

Kas sat frozen beside me.

Josh’s mouth fell wide before he laughed out loud. “Do you honestly expect me to believe that load of crap?”

I sat taller. “Why? What’s wrong with it? It’s the truth. Mainly.”

He shook his head and held up his hand. “Right now, I can’t even address the fact that he stole you. That heimprisonedyou.” His eyes shot daggers at Kas.

“That’s not exactly what I said.”

“It’s what happened, though, right?” He locked his attention on me. “Reading between the lines and all that. He had to have trapped you toreleaseyou. God, Gem. How could you let him do such a thing?”

It wasn’t like I had a choice at the time.

Stiffening, I muttered, “It’s in the past. Let’s talk about something else.”

He huffed harshly. “Fine, I’ll come back to that because if I talk about it right now, I might go rent a gun and unload a few bullets into this asshole.”

“His name is Kas, and you’re not shooting anyone,” I snipped.

Josh glowered at me. “I’m not buying your story because it’s ridiculous.”

I frowned. “What’s ridiculous?”

“Well, for starters, you always unhook your battery so it doesn’t die—that was one of the very first things you learned when you started going off track. And that locator beacon? It was pretty much indestructible. The shopkeeper said it could withstand a tumble off a cliff and still work.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what happened. I don’t care if you believe it.” I crossed my arms. Hoping that he wouldn’t ask for details because, in my current annoyed state, I might just tell him every bit of the condemning truth. I might reveal the faint bruises around my neck were from Kas’s fingers and point at the fresh scar I’d left behind on Kas’s forehead from hitting him in the face with a shovel.