Kissing Trouble by Airicka Phoenix, Morgana Phoenix

down to bail us out. It was always stupid things - stealing, breaking and entering, mischief, vandalism and the odd fight. That thing that happened this morning, that’s the kind of thing I would beat the shit out of someone else for doing. I’m not saying I was some kind of superhero, but I didn’t hurt anyone that didn’t deserve it.”
    “If you know who did it, then why didn’t you tell the sheriff?”
    He snorted. “Because I don’t know who did it. Exactly”
    “But you said...”
    He put a hand up. “It could have been anyone from town. The good people of Salmon Cove literally celebrated the end of summer every year because it meant we were leaving. Then, the next year, we’d come back to broken windows, and graffiti all over the place. One year, kids had broken in and trashed the place. That’s when dad installed the alarm. He also hired cranky Mr. Alberts. He’s the ground caretaker when we’re not around. Dad pays him to swing by once a week, mow the lawn, make any repairs that need to be made, and clean anything ... undesirable. I haven’t been back here in five years, so I don’t know if this was something recurring or if someone saw us drive into town, but it seems the welcome party has hit us and will now move on.”
    Julie narrowed her eyes, half in disgust and half in indignation. “The people in town gut helpless animals to pay you back for a few childish pranks? Are you kidding me?”
    “I wouldn’t say the entire town,” he corrected. “But a certain few would really like to string us up and let us rot. Mostly kids now. Those who think we owe them for whatever we did have more or less grown up, but we’re infamous.” He let his mouth turn up in a lopsided, humorless grin. “We might also have pissed off the wrong people. They’re very determined to make sure we don’t come back.”
    “But that’s ridiculous!” she cried in exasperation. “There are children here. Don’t they realize ... what if Rick had opened the door, or Wendy? Also, you can’t just go around slaughtering kittens! There are people who ... there are laws! And it’s disgusting,” she finished with a hitch in her throat.
    “It’s only against the law if they get caught,” he muttered. “Something that won’t happen when the sheriff refuses to look. They won’t do it again,” he went on. “They’re brave the first night, but they always stop. I think they’re worried we’ll retaliate, which we have a few times.” He offered her a wicked grin. “It wasn’t pretty.” His smile vanished. “If you want to take the kids home tomorrow, I won’t stop you, but I’ve seen the aftermath of Dean and Maureen’s blow outs. It’s nasty and it’s the last place those kids should be.”
    Julie raised her head and sighed. “I just want to do the right thing, Mason.”
    “Then stay,” he urged softly. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
    She wasn’t sure how he was going to do that, but he had a point; she couldn’t take the kids back home, not when Dean and Maureen were on the warpath. Dustin was barely keeping it together. The kid played tough, but she could see how his parent’s divorce was getting to him. If what Mason said was true and it wouldn’t happen again...
    “If it does...”
    “I promise to help you pack the car.”

Chapter Five
    T here were no dead animals the next morning. Julie checked the front porch the moment she woke up. Her hand had trembled as she had reached for the doorknob. By the time she was standing in the threshold, staring out into another beautiful day, she was nauseous. Her knees had been weak and her stomach had nearly crawled out of her mouth. The bitter tang of bile had stayed lodged in her throat even when she shut the door and leaned against it.
    Shaky and jittery, Julie shuffled her way to the kitchen, in desperate need of coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. Focused on her destination, she nearly leaped out of her skin when a voice interrupted her