Falcon Point : Deception Read online

  Falcon Point

  Deception

  “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive” – Walter Scott

  Author S.J. CHAYNIE

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Epilogue

  Playlist

  Shania Twain- Man I feel like a woman

  Cody Johnson- On my way to you

  Miranda Lambert- Kerosene

  Priscilla Block- Just about over you

  Avril Lavigne- Happy Ending

  Copyright © 2021 S.J. CHAYNIE

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter 1

  Steeley

  I hear a faint annoying sound that keeps getting louder. Pulling me out of my deep sleep, I reach over to my nightstand, eyes closed, fumbling around for my phone to turn it off. I take a deep breath before opening my eyes squinting from the light that's shining through my bedroom window. I rip back the covers and hop out of bed. I head straight to the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth. I shuffle into the kitchen wearing my favorite Golden Girls T shirt and my underwear, which is my go-to sleep attire. Thank God I live in a house with my two best friends where pants are not a requirement. Sloan is already up; she is the early bird. Her ombre hair is piled on top of her head and her bright green eyes are cheery.

  We have been best friends since kindergarten, some even mistake us for sisters with our green eyes and blonde hair. We are also vertically challenged, me coming in at a whopping 5’ and her at 5’3. She is hovering over the stove scrambling some eggs, she is the cook out of the three of us. We try to do our part but let's be real, we ain't got nothing on her cooking skills.

  “Morning Steels,” she calls out as I go to the fridge pulling out a bottle of water.

  “Morning,” I mumble, tearing open my fruit punch spark packet dumping it into the bottle. “Where’s Willa?” I ask.

  She points over to the couch with her spatula. I didn’t even see the dark hair hanging out from under the pile of blankets.

  “I guess she couldn't make it to her bed?” I say with a laugh.

  I hear a groan and Willa pops up from the blankets. “I hear y'all, and no I couldn't make it.”

  Sloan and I giggle, Willa is also one of my best friends, all three of us have been inseparable since elementary school. She stands up, still wearing her clothes from yesterday. Her brown hair is sticking straight up on one side of her head and her blue eyes look exhausted. Willa is taller than Sloan and me, she has long killer legs and the attitude to go with it. Willa is the wild child, keeping her in line is a full-time job.

  She stumbles over to the bar rubbing her head. “What time is it?” She groans.

  “It’s 8:00,” I responded.

  Willa makes a cry face, “Oh my God it’s too early to be up on a Sunday, I mean seriously it’s the sabbath.”

  Sloan laughs. “Girl, after last night's activities I don’t think you can use the sabbath as an excuse.”

  Willa rolls her eyes and steals a piece of bacon from my plate.

  “So, what did last night’s activities include?” I ask, wagging my eyebrows.

  “Oh, you know the usual, a few margs at Tucker’s, a little slow dance or two, then I just happened to run into Ian Jacobs….”

  “Oh, how convenient,” I say with an eye roll. Ian and Willa have a history of random hookups.

  Tucker’s is the local bar/restaurant in our small town, pretty much the only thing to do around here with the population coming in right under 1,000. Willa’s uncle owns the place and he’s the “fun uncle” so he turns a blind eye to what the bartender gives her and whoever she is with.

  We all graduated back in May, with high school behind us we were ready to go to the next chapter. My Aunt Della is a wealthy woman and has no children, so luckily, she treats me like her own. With that being said, that is how we managed to score this little three-bedroom house on the edge of town. Aunt Della said as long as we are going to school, we can live here rent free with the only responsibility of the upkeep. We had no objections; we couldn't wait to finally taste a little bit of freedom.

  Aunt Della lives in Dallas, she only comes down to Falcon Point once a month, so we just make sure everything is kept nice and tidy for her inspection. We’ve had a great summer, pool time, beach time, you name it, we made sure we did it before the “rest of our lives” begins in two short weeks. All three of us are taking classes at Nolan Community College in the next town over. Willa and I are taking our basics while Sloan will be taking classes for makeup artist.

  I head out of the kitchen back to my room to get myself together for the day. I grab my remote and turn on Netflix to Criminal Minds. This is one of my favorite shows, I love anything “investigation” related. True crime is my jam. My dream is to be a private investigator, there is something thrilling about uncovering evil and bringing out the truth. My mother would prefer me to be a nurse or something more practical which is why I'm taking my basics just to keep the peace until I make my final choice.

  That's me, the peacekeeper. The good girl, I have literally never been drunk or even drank alcohol. I have only kissed two boys, technically Maddox from fourth grade doesn’t even count. So that makes one, my boyfriend Owen. I am terrified to take the “next step” so I’m pretty sure I'm the only eighteen-year-old virgin in three counties. I get good grades and I don’t like to disappoint my parents. Basically, I'm a prude. It’s not that I don’t like to have a good time, I do. I love to dance, laugh, and even enjoy parties. I just choose to not drink at them. I feel someone has to be the responsible one, so I guess I'm the lucky winner in my group.

  My phone buzzes on my dresser with Owen’s name coming up on the screen. Owen and I have been dating for about a year, we have known each other our entire lives. He was the golden boy in school. Football captain, most popular, etcetera. He is handsome and sweet and treats me well. I know he is getting impatient with me when it comes to certain aspects of our relationship but he never says it.

  I swipe and answer. “Hey.”

  “Hey babe, I know we're supposed to meet at Tucker’s today but something came up and I have to help my mom,” he huffs.

  “Ok that's fine, I really need to go pick up my books for my classes today anyway.”

  “Is it open on a Sunday?”

  “Yeah they opened special hours, they know some people work during the week.”

  “Oh ok, I'll call you later, maybe I can drop by?”

  “Yeah that sounds good.”

  “Ok by babe.”

  He hangs up. Great. I feel a distance has grown between us this summer but I ignore the feelin
g something is off and apply my mascara. Looking in the mirror I smile, I have graduated, started college, have the best two friends a girl could ask for and a great boyfriend. Nothing can mess this up for me. I'm determined to live my best life.

  I have no idea of the shit show that lies ahead.

  Chapter 2

  Pace

  I fling open the front door of my house, Blu and Jake are sitting on the couch watching a Shania Twain music video for “Man I feel like a woman.”

  “What are you two girls up to this morning?” I holler walking towards the kitchen to wash the cow shit off my hands.

  “Shut up asshole,” Jake hollers.

  Blu laughs, “Not only is this a good song, but Shania is hot.”

  I huff out a laugh, ok he got me there. Blu, birth name Judd Walker II is one of my closest friends, his family owns this ranch I work on. We call him Blu because back in Jr High Jake played a prank putting blue hair dye in his shampoo bottle. His blonde hair quickly turned royal blue in one wash and he spent about four weeks getting rid of it. It was classic. Growing up with three sisters, Blu knows almost all of that girl shit and he owns it. He says this, “helps him with the ladies”. Whatever the hell that means.

  I am four years older than him and Jake, but I have worked on this ranch since I was in high school, so we have all become good friends. Blu is loyal and will do anything for you, an all-round good guy. Jake Jackson is a wrecking ball. Party guy, ladies’ man, and makes no secret of all the girls he bangs. He may be a loose cannon but he will have your back no questions asked. It’s good to be back here, we three share one of the houses on the ranch. It's small, three bedrooms, only one bath, but for some young country boys it works.

  The last four months I have been helping on a ranch up in Wyoming. Blu’s dad has a cousin up there who was down some ranch hands and needed help so I volunteered. I have always wanted to see that part of the country, so I jumped at the chance. It was beautiful. The mountains went on for miles, the weather was a culture shock. I’m used to 105 degree days in the summer so 75-80 was a picnic. I almost didn’t want to come back. My mother would probably fly to Wyoming and drag my ass back though. She is one woman I don’t want to piss off. My family has been in this town for generations so I feel obligated to stick around.

  The last few years that I have worked here on the ranch have been pretty brutal. We had been shorthanded, so the days were long and the nights weren't much better. I saw Blu only because he lived out here and Jake never seemed to go home. Other than that, my presence in town or anywhere else besides the Walker Ranch had been pretty scarce. Thank God Blu and Jake have graduated now, they took a big load off me. Plus, Walker was able to hire a couple other guys while I was gone to Wyoming that stuck around. I guess you can say I’ve been “promoted”. I make Blu and Jake do all the shit work I don’t want to do.

  Falcon Point is your typical small Texas town, everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows your business. Which is why it was no surprise when after being back for a grand total of eight hours I got a text from my ex, Tasha. Here we go again. Tasha was fun, we had a good time, but my preferred level of crazy only goes so high. Which is exactly why she is my ex. I won’t deny I give her a call every now and then, I mean a man has needs. Why go through the trouble of finding someone new when I know a willing participant is a text away? She knows it is what it is.

  Blu and Jake join me in the kitchen. “We gotta go grab our books today, can you hold down the fort until we get back?” Blu asks.

  “You mean do all the work while you two dick around in town?” I shoot back.

  Jake laughs, “lighten up gramps, we will be back in two hours tops.”

  I scowl at him. He knows that I hate when he calls me that. They joke that I'm an old man trapped in a young man's body. I flip them the bird and head out the back screen door. I reach the large barn, Mr. Walker has me hauling hay today. I actually enjoy this. Working on a ranch is what I have always wanted to do. I fire up the old ford pickup and take off towards the county road. This is what I like, the simple life. All I deal with are horses, cattle, and hay. Aside from the two shitheads I live with. I don’t want complications, as long as I have a paycheck, some cold beer, and a place to sleep at night I'm happy.

  Chapter 3

  Steeley

  All three of us hop in Sloan’s equinox and drive to campus. It is August in Texas so it’s like 112 degrees outside. Ok that's an exaggeration, but 98 feels like 112. We arrive, parking up against the building. I spot Blu’s chevy pickup across the parking lot. Blu is my cousin; our moms are sisters and somehow ended up getting pregnant around the same time. We are only three months apart.

  We walk through the doors spotting him and Jake standing in the middle of the student center. Jake being his usual self gives us a whistle and wags his eyebrows up and down. We all smile and make our way over to them. We have been best friends with Jake as well since elementary. I won’t lie Jake is very good looking, but he could flirt all day and none of us would touch him with a ten-foot pole. Chlamydia is not exactly on our bucket list. I really don't know that he has ever had anything but judging by his rep, I'm out.

  “Well good morning ladies.” Jake flirts.

  “Good morning.” I say with a super cheesy fake smile.

  Blu gives us all a side hug as we wait in line and grab our books. We listen to them banter about hunting dogs for thirty minutes before saying our goodbyes and making our way back to the car. Driving through town we pass Chic -fil -a, why I always seem to crave it on Sunday’s I don’t know. Probably because we are always drawn to something we can’t have. Figures.

  After we get home, I spend the next few hours getting my books and notebooks organized, I do a little laundry and listen to my Dateline podcast. We always make Sunday’s a catch-up day. Then we usually binge Netflix or Hulu depending if we are caught up on Handmaid's Tale or not.

  There is a knock at the door, I answer it to find Owen standing with a bright smile. He walks in, putting a kiss to my lips as he passes.

  Sloan glares. “Well, look what the cat drug in.”

  She doesn’t really care for Owen; she thinks he takes me for granted and has secrets under his handsome features. I don’t have any proof or reason to believe he has secrets so for now I let it go.

  “Lovely to see you too, Sloan,” he says annoyed.

  He goes straight to my room as I follow him down the hall.

  “How did everything go with your mom?”

  “What? Oh yeah right, it went well, all taken care of.”

  Okay. He pulls me into him and kisses me, he gets a little handsy so I pull away. He doesn’t think I see but I know he rolled his eyes. He decided to go to the University that is an hour away, so in two weeks our relationship is going to look a lot different. I’m not sure exactly how often we will see each other but he says we will make it work.

  “You know we ought to make the most of the two weeks we have left,” he mumbles, placing his lips to my neck.

  Now I'm rolling my eyes. I don’t know what it is, I'm just not ready. I don’t know if I'm not ready in general, or not ready with him.

  I push him back slightly, “okay okay, I get it. I'm sorry you are just so beautiful, I'm having a hard time holding back.”

  Oh please “You’ll live,” I say, giving him a peck on the lips.

  He leaves promising to call me in the morning and I go back to cleaning my room.

  About an hour later Sloan pops her head in, “hey you hungry? I just talked to Judd. He wants to know if we want to eat supper?”

  I don’t know why, but we all call Judd his nickname, Blu. Except for Sloan, she refuses. She has always called him Judd. At some point I plan to figure out why. I am kind of hungry and I'm pretty sure we are going to Tucker’s so why not?

  “Sure, let me get dressed real quick.” I throw on my cut off shorts and yellow T-shirt with my rose gold slides and head out to the car.

  As we drive I realize we ar
e heading in the opposite direction.

  “I thought we were going to Tucker's?”

  “No, Blu said they were making fajitas and we could just come out there,” Willa replies.

  “Oh okay then.”

  Which is fine, I honestly probably would have just stayed home if I knew that, not that I mind going over to my cousins I just know how crazy the guys are. They once lit a tiki torch and somehow accidentally set the whole yard on fire. Idiots. I guess I have nothing else to do.

  We pull through the entrance of The Walker Ranch, veering off to the left down a dirt road. I have been to the house many times, we used to play there as kids when it was empty. We park and hop out walking to the door. I don’t even knock, I just burst in. Blu is in the kitchen cutting up peppers and onions. He motioned to the back deck and said he will be out there in a minute.

  I open the back door and see Jake strumming on a guitar then my gaze lands on the other guy. My. Heart. Stops. He is sitting on the railing of the deck; his legs are dangling. He has the most beautiful hazel eyes I have ever seen. His brown hair is cut short with a ball cap on his head. He is wearing a green T-shirt which only brings out his eyes even more and he has a smile that makes my legs literally feel like jello. I have seen him before though, in fact, I know exactly who he is. I haven't seen him in a few years. Pace McCoy sits directly across the deck from me. And I. Can’t. breathe.

  Chapter 4

  Pace

  I’m on the back deck listening to Jake attempting to play the guitar.

  I grab it from his lap. “Let me tune it the right way.”

  Jake just takes a swig of beer and lets me handle the guitar. I learned to play at a young age, I'm not one to brag but I'm pretty handy. It took a lot of practice and I still have a long way to go.

  I handed it back to him. “Here, try this.”

  He strums along, it sounds better now, then he breaks out in song singing Cody Johnson’s “On my way to you.”

  “I'm pretty sure I hear coyotes howling,” I joke. He isn't bad, I just like to give him a hard time. He flips me off with a laugh.