Wide Open Spaces (Shooting Stars #2) - Aurora Rose Reynolds Page 0,59

“There’s a creepy clown in it, and if you like clowns at all, you won’t once you’re done with that movie. It will ruin everything.”

“We so have to rent that one next time.” She laughs, and I groan.

“Don’t worry. You can sit that one out,” Zach says, while Aubrey giggles and starts to head for the living room.

Looking over her shoulder she mutters, “I’m going to put the DVD in.”

“We’ll be there in a minute,” he tells her, then drops his eyes to me.

“I picked you up a bottle of wine. It’s in the fridge.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you going to be okay watching the movie? If not, we’ll—”

“I’m an adult now. I’ll be fine,” I say, waving off his concern.

I regret those words an hour later, when I watch yet another person get murdered by a group of crazy people living in the middle of nowhere. Holding the blanket up to my eyes, I peek over the top, knowing I’m going to have nightmares about this crap for a good year, if not more, and I will never be able to go to the desert again. Not that I’ve ever been, but still.

“Dad.” Steven’s voice breaks into the dark, and I cover my head with the blanket and scream at the top of my lungs.

“Jesus, babe,” Zach mutters, pulling the blanket away from my face, and Aubrey, who is sitting on the floor, falls to her side laughing, while Zach chuckles and Penny crawls onto my lap to protect me.

“God, Mom. What’s wrong?” Hunter asks, while Steven flips on the light in the living room and Aubrey pauses the TV.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” I lie, holding my chest. Aubrey rolls around on the ground, and Penny decides she wants to get in on the action and jumps down off the couch and begins to lick Aubrey’s face, making her giggle louder.

“What’s up, bud?” Zach asks, looking at Steven, and I pull my eyes from Aubrey to look at him, seeing he looks worried.

“Mom said her car won’t start and asked if you could come and help her,” he replies, and Zach stands.

“Did she say where she was?” he questions, and Steven nods.

“Yeah, at the Shore House. She just got off work. She tried to call you, but you didn’t pick up.”

“I’ll take care of it, bud.” Zach walks past him and Hunter comes into the room, but Steven follows behind him.

“What are you guys watching?” Hunter asks, taking a seat next to me on the couch, and I pull my eyes from the doorway to look at him, not liking the feeling I have in my stomach.

“The Hills Have Eyes,” Aubrey says, and his eyes widen.

“Don’t say it. I know it’s scary, and no, you can’t watch it.” I hold up my hand in his direction.

“I’ve already seen it.” He shrugs, leaning down and grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl on the floor next to Aubrey.

“What, when?” I frown. I haven’t let him watch any scary movies, even though he’s begged me to.

“When I stayed the night at Eli’s house once, we watched it.”

“Did his mom and dad know?”

“Yeah, they didn’t care,” he says, shoving another handful of popcorn into his mouth and leaning back against the couch.

“You could have had nightmares.”

“I’m not a chicken, Mom.”

“Are you calling me a chicken?” I ask, and he smiles through a mouthful of popcorn but doesn’t answer.

“Whatever,” I grouch, watching him chew and swallow.

“You scream like a girl,” he points out, and I grab the pillow from beside me and hit him with it softly.

“I am a girl,” I remind him, and he laughs, pulling the pillow away from me tucking it behind his back.

“Yeah, but you scream like the girls do in the movie.”

“You really do,” Aubrey agrees, and I toss my hands up in the air.

“Well, that’s because I was scared, and those girls are scared because crazy people are trying to kill them.” They look at each other laughing, and then look toward the doorway when Zach walks back into the room, shoving his cell phone into the front pocket of his jeans.

“Is Mom okay?” Aubrey asks, as Zach moves back toward the couch, taking a seat on the other side of me.

“Your mom’s good, gorgeous. Arney’s heading over to give her a jump, since he’s closer than me, and he’ll follow her home to make sure she gets there okay,” he tells her, and that unease I was feeling disappears.

“Okay.” She wraps her arms around Penny’s neck, forcing her into