Browning's Crossing (The Browning Series Book 1) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Copyright

  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

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  About The Ending

  About the Stars

  About The Music

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  BROWNING’S CROSSING

  D.Barrett

  For the cat.

  (Because it will make Craig happy.)

  Copyright © 2018 Dorothy Barrett

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.

  Visit www.dbarrettbooks.com

  Chapter 1

  Korinne Wilkes wasn’t suffering in the stifling California heat, despite the fact that she was riding shotgun in her best friend’s newly acquired, newly repainted, and newly reupholstered vintage Honda Civic on a hundred degree August afternoon. The car, fully loaded with a crap AC unit and old-school windup windows, had come to Etta Daniels after months of holding down her first job at a local Best Buy. While it wasn’t exactly the coolest of rides, Kory could find no fault with the welcome sense of freedom it provided.

  “Damn, girl! You did an awesome job on these seats.” She giggled, shifting her butt on the fuzzy purple slip covers Etta had purchased to match the sparkly plum exterior of the hatchback.

  “Thanks, K. You know it was some hard work, but I couldn’t handle driving around in a puke-mobile for the remainder of our high school existence.”

  “I don’t know, Etta, army-green is kind of bad-ass. You could have ordered some camo car magnets or something, maybe a faux rocket launcher for the roof.”

  Etta smirked. “The only army I want anything to do with is Dumbledore’s.”

  Kory laughed at her friend’s literary obsession. “Oh, shit, that reminds me,” she said, leaning down to rummage through a worn black bag studded in places with staples, safety pins, and even a couple of swatches of duct tape, “I’ve got a present for you. You have to pull over.”

  Etta laughed a low rich purr that Kory knew was one day going to have the dumb-ass boys at school take notice. It was one of the loveliest things about her friend, aside from the fact that she was flippin’ gorgeous. With dark bronze skin, deep brown eyes, and a full head of short springy curls surrounding her face like a raven halo, she was a striking natural beauty. As was her thing, Etta had dressed up her hair with a sapphire beaded scarf that accentuated her flawless complexion and high cheekbones.

  Worried that her own face was probably melting into a fugly mess, Kory flipped down the car’s visor while Etta carefully navigated into the lot of a warehouse store on the edge of town. Squinting into the miniscule mirror, it took a moment for Kory to assess the damage. Most of the smoky black eye shadow she’d swept around her dark green eyes had indeed travelled a bit further south on her pale cheeks than she was strictly comfortable with. Kory brushed at it with the back of her thumb, hoping to minimize the raccoon effect. It didn’t help. With a rueful snort, as her friend pulled into a spot, Kory decided she didn’t much give a shit. Costco was hardly Rodeo Drive.

  Snapping the visor closed, Kory immediately plopped a small gift bag on the other girl’s lap. Etta smiled as she realized the sack was recycled from a previous gift she’d given to Kory. This time around, its plain pink paper had been gratuitously graffitied in vibrant swirls of color.

  “Girl, you’ve got mad skills with a Sharpie,” Etta whispered, turning the bag around reverently as she checked out the intricate patterns Kory had scribbled on every inch of its surface.

  Kory shrugged, tracking the other girl’s movements with mounting excitement. Drawing had always come naturally to her; truthfully, it was a bit of a compulsion. Some people journaled away the craziness in their heads. Kory doodled. And the call of a canvas, any canvas, was often too much for her to resist. Her latest artistic endeavor, however, had been something entirely different. Kory fidgeted nervously as her friend continued to stare at the bag.

  “Come on, E,” she said at last, “just open it already.”

  Etta laughed as she yanked the wad of tissue from the top of the bag. Her long fingers made short work of ripping open the wrappings to reveal a small pile of gold links, charms, and sparkly purple rhinestones. She lifted the jewels carefully. “Oooooh, it’s so pretty, Kory! Thanks, girl. I mean, like you didn’t have to do this? It’s not my birthday.” Etta continued to handle the delicate gift, lifting it this way and then that, while Kory sat by with an eager grin.

  “It’s like this,” Kory said, swiping the gift from her friend and pinching a large hook in the middle of the confusing shimmering mass. At once, the baubles fell into place: a pretty cascade of recycled jewelry Kory had acquired from her aunt’s extensive collection of bling, and had spent the better part of three weeks linking together in an intricate pattern of rondelles, spindles, and beads. “I made it for you to celebrate the momentous occasion that is your very first ride. Here you go.” Without further ado, Kory hung the small decoration from the short rod behind the car’s rearview mirror. “See! Much better than those stupid dice.”

  Etta’s smile disappeared for a moment as she took in the beautiful pattern of light the sparkly gift reflected onto her dash. Then she spied, nestled at the very bottom of the dangle, a large gold charm fashioned into the shape of a lightning bolt. “You didn’t,” Etta breathed.

  “Yep. I did.”

  “You made this, for real?”

  “I so flippin’ did.”

  Etta screamed and lunged for her friend across the car’s center console. “It’s perfect, Kory. Thank you. And you totally get out of paying me gas money for like the next year at least.”

  “Well, okay. But for now, I owe you a slice of Costco pizza. We gotta do this celebration right, Etta! Now let’s get our booties out this car before we melt.”

  ***

  Twenty minutes later, the girls were sipping on a pair of berry smoothies as they exited the shopping center when Kory felt a sudden tingle in her neck. It was a slight sensation an ordinary person might have chalked up to a sugar rush or a slushy-induced brain freeze, but Kory was not much of an ordinary person, and she had become very familiar with this particular sensation over the years. Kory stopped
and peered behind them. No one was there.

  “Kory? What is it?” Etta stopped too. “You see something?”

  “No, it’s nothing. I just thought I heard somebody.”

  “Is it Sprite? She here again?”

  Kory looked up sharply at her friend. Etta’s expression was careful as she took a quick sip of her drink. “You know I’m cool with her, right? Like, how long have we known each other?” Etta resumed walking as if the subject of her seventeen-year-old best friend having an imaginary friend was no big deal. “We were in kindergarten together, K,” she said while digging through her purse for her keys. “She didn’t bother me then. She doesn’t bother me now. She bother you?”

  “No. She just…” Kory opened the car door slowly and tried not to make it so obvious she was scoping out the backseat of their purple chariot for a childhood daydream, or that her gaze had indeed come to rest on the startling blue-eyed orbs of a fairy. Well, that was what she had assumed the tiny blonde to be when Kory had first met her at the age of four.

  Kory sighed, “She just… is.”

  Sprite sat behind the driver’s seat, clearly unfazed by the stifling sweatbox the car had become during the girls’ absence. A slight smile curled the tiny bow tie of her mouth as she rested the side of her head against the window.

  Sprite rarely said much to Kory. She was pretty quiet for an imaginary friend. This was probably a good thing because the kids around town already assumed Kory to be a bit of a nut job for staring off into space so frequently. She wasn’t sure what they would do if they caught her having enlightening conversations about the universe with thin air.

  Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Kory knew several bitches who would be blowing shit up on Facebook, talking more smack about her than they already did. Sometimes it seemed Kory couldn’t make it through a single week of school without hearing at least one crack about her slightly chunky aunt, whose passion for the Jewelry Television Network was always on full display. Mimi had a real thing for sterling silver, and she wasn’t shy about showing it off. Unfortunately for Kory, the wenches at Ryland weren’t shy about the commentary.

  Another more frequent target of their scorn was her trailer park status. Kory had learned long ago to turn the other cheek on that one. More accurately, she turned a specific finger, cause fuck ’em, she genuinely liked the small community where she lived. She also genuinely loved the sparkly redhead who’d raised her.

  The hardest thing for Kory to ignore was the occasional gossip about Mimi’s older brother. She’d heard all sorts about him over the years. Some stared at Kory with pity as they whispered amongst their cliques. Others delighted in recounting the old story, throwing in extra gory details, and generally, treating Kory like she was the demon spawn of Jack the Ripper. Kory couldn’t exactly blame them. Jeremy Wilkes was a real piece of work. The man was currently serving time in a prison down south. Kory wasn’t sure where. She’d never made it a point to visit; she probably never would, cause there was no exaggerating the fact that the last time Kory had seen her father was the last time her mother had been alive.

  The night it happened, the police had found Kory sitting quietly on a lumpy brown couch, staring at the blood on her Hello Kitty backpack as she hummed the theme song to Thomas & Friends. After they’d carried her from her old apartment and sat her down in a big flashing cruiser, Kory had simply rested her head against the cracked leather cushion in the backseat and continued to hum. That had been the first time Kory could recall ever seeing Sprite.

  “Kory, you alright?” Etta’s words were quick to chase away the sad memories, and Kory didn’t feel like dwelling on the landmine of insanity that was her childhood. She sat up quickly and pulled her sleeveless black top away from her sweaty skin. Etta’s own sky-blue “Mischief Managed” tank was managing to look pretty soaked as well.

  “Crank the AC, Etta – I think she can give us more juice,” Kory said with a cheeky grin.

  Not missing a beat, Etta replied, “I’m giving it all she’s got, Captain!”

  “Damn it, Jim, flood the forward thrusters! The chick in the back is imaginary; she don’t need no stinking air conditioner.”

  Etta choked on her smoothie as she started jabbing at buttons on the dash and studying all her instruments like she was flying the damn Enterprise. Kory laughed at her friend’s antics, and glancing into the newly bedazzled rearview mirror, she noted the bemused expression Sprite was trying to conceal as she resumed her vigil staring out the window. It was just as Etta had collected herself enough to back out of the parking space, that Sprite’s demeanor suddenly changed.

  “Wait!”

  Kory’s head whipped around to the back seat, and Etta slammed on the brakes as if she too had heard the soft command.

  “Oh, my gosh, is someone back there? I know I checked my blind spot.” Etta searched her mirrors immediately.

  “No, Etta we’re clear. I just…” Kory’s eyes settled on Sprite, who was now staring through the glass with focused intensity. Sprite’s whole body seemed to be vibrating with an energy Kory had never seen before. Kory placed a hand over Etta’s on the gear shift. “Just hold up a minute, okay?”

  Etta visibly relaxed upon realizing she wasn’t about to run over a tiny shopper or jack up someone’s Lexus. She turned towards Kory with confusion. “What’s up?”

  “Back out a bit more.”

  Etta cautiously reversed until they had cleared the Suburban adjacent them, then stopped, her attention immediately arrested. Kory could see them too. A half-dozen spots down to her right, three boys were busy unloading a massive haul of groceries into the back of an old pickup. The tallest of the teens was lifting a crate containing several gallons of milk. He was fairer than the other two, though still deeply tanned, and his arms were flexed with perspiration as he settled the box onto the truck bed.

  “Dammmn. Hello, Muscles!” Etta giggled. “You seein’ this, Kory?”

  “Yeah,” Kory breathed back. “Don’t move anymore.”

  “But our ass is hanging out, girl! What, you want me to repark, so we can objectify those dudes on the down low? I’m good with that.”

  “Noooo,” Kory shrieked, “just stay right here for a sec, nobody’s coming.” Kory looked back at the boys, who were working quickly to unload their cart. The shortest of the group looked to be about fifteen. He wore his dirty blonde hair much longer than the big guy’s buzz cut, and his leaner physique was a clear tell that he was the youngest of the three – that and the smirk he wore as he tossed an economy-sized pack of toilet paper at the other boy’s retreating form. The tall guy, almost as though he had eyes in the back of his head, pivoted at the last second and snagged the bundle out of the air. Then he whipped out his middle finger and said something to the prankster that had the younger boy laughing. If Kory wasn’t sure they were brothers before, in that moment she was certain of it.

  Shifting her gaze to the front of the truck, Kory saw long legs emerging from the driver’s side as the third guy leaned in and fiddled with the dash. She traced the rise of faded blue denim and swallowed. It was ridiculously hot out. He was probably turning on the AC. Smart dude. Kory’s sights settled on well-worn pockets just as the sound of a horn blasted through the lot.

  Etta gasped. Kory jumped, her chin jerking up guiltily as the boy pulled out of the cab. Dark eyes swung about and found hers immediately.

  Even over the distance, Kory understood exactly what had captivated the mute in the backseat. This guy, she was not prepared for. Short black hair falling in curly waves over warm brown skin, high cheekbones lifting over a strong jaw, and two full lips quirking steadily upwards had pretty much rendered her speechless.

  Kory flushed as she realized he’d caught her staring. Then she turned back towards the little blonde, self-consciously swiping at her melting makeup and praying that he couldn’t see her that well. But when she risked another peek, Kory found that he was still as focused on her as Sprite was on him. Shit, it looked like her imagi
nary bestie had just fallen in love with the stranger Kory was ogling in a Costco parking lot.

  Hooooonk.

  “Damn, Etta, we gotta move.”

  “Ooohhhh, no!” Etta said with a stubborn sass that Kory had grown rather fond of in their adolescence. “We are just being polite and waiting for our boys here.”

  Kory heard the tailgate slam on the truck, and then the boys were climbing in. The tall one took the passenger seat, the younger one hopped in the back, but it was Sprite’s dreamboat who commandeered the wheel, reversing the big Chevy until it was within several feet of their car. Mischievous eyes shifted from Etta to Kory in the rearview mirror as the truck slowed lazily to a halt. Kory found herself smiling into their rich brown depths. Then, the truck shot forward, the dude in the passenger seat extending one long, muscled arm to flash them the deuces.

  Etta tracked the move with a snort and slowly finished backing out. The minivan mom behind them was throwing up her hands in exasperation as their purple limo inched into the lane. “What you want to do now, Kory?” she asked, pausing in the street. “We got a couple of hours before I have to get back home.”

  Kory looked around once more at Sprite, who finally seemed to have returned her attention to someone female. The little blonde leaned forward; her soft musical voice carried clearly over the loud rush of the wonky air conditioning unit and the irate blast of a horn.

  “Follow them.”

  Chapter 2

  Gray let off on the brakes of his father’s Chevy Silverado as the traffic heading south down Perkins got the green light. His brother Lee sat quietly by his side, eyeballing his mirror for the fifth time since they’d left the grocery store. The boys’ little brother, Will, was in the backseat plugged into an iPod, playing what was most likely the kind of popular music the kid preferred and their dad detested.

  George Browning had a large collection of ’70s rock CDs in a holder in the glove box, and he’d also programmed the truck’s few stereo buttons to stations like the Eagle and K-Rock. The boys were under strict instructions not to mess with his music, but every once in a while, Will got a bit bold and their dad would fire up the engine to a chorus of Taylor Swift.