Rocky Mountainside was a nice little city, and the people there were smart, but they never left their home for much of anything. They would travel to find people to marry, but if your last named started with Blue, then you would return to Rocky Mountain to raise your babies.

Grandpa Earnest was the first one to break that tradition in his family.

He never went into detail as to why he chose not to move back when he married grandma Rita, but I know he missed it.

And yet he choose to start a new life in dinky Citrus Grove, population: who ever the fuck got lost on their way to Riverside, probably.

Big Blue, as the patriarch of the family, had the biggest house, where any number of his descendants could be staying at any time. Right now, only Joshua lived there permanently, but cousin Hester, Big Blue’s heir, I heard would be moving in with his wife shortly.

My own ancestor through Big Blue, Big Blue’s son Darian, had died when I was little, which was why I had come with my Dad, uncle and grandpa the last time. Grandpa Earnest’s own father, Sasha, didn’t speak to Grandpa and had a falling out with Dad as well, though I had no idea why.

Well, I knew why he had a falling out with my Dad – Dad was as obnoxious as I was, so big fucking surprise there. No one liked us outside of a few select people.

But Grandpa Earnest...everyone loved him.

So I didn’t get it.

I thought it might have something to do with Grandpa’s brother Laurie – not Lawrence, Laurie, whom my uncle Lawrence got his nickname from. Great Uncle Laurie was killed way before my Dad was born, though again, that was sort of a mystery to me.

And usually when there was a mysterious death, it had to do with the nightwalkers enforcing some law or taking out their temper on you. Given by the fact that Grandpa and Dad refused to talk about it, I guessed it had to do with them enforcing a law.

Because they never talked about why my Uncle Laurie was taken other than ‘he didn’t follow the rules of the colony’, which usually meant one thing.

He was a homosexual.

Which, you know.

Was apparently genetic or something.

When we reached Big Blue’s big blue estate, I hopped out of the carriage to go ahead to the house to let them know we were here while my Dad and Grandpa walked the horses to the carriage house.

At the massive double doors I pulled the rope, taking a big step back to wait. After a minute, it opened to reveal my cousin Joshua and his bright blue eyes. He chuckled at seeing me and embraced me, kissing the top of my head before he put me in a headlock, dragging me off the porch under an arm while I weakly struggled.

Because you would never beat Joshua in a fight – everyone was convinced he lived with Big Blue because he was an an affair baby and would never go on the registry, but I was convinced he was actually Big Blue’s bodyguard. He was just way to strong.

He kept me in a headlock until my Dad and Grandpa came over, Joshua tossing me forward so I tripped and fell off the porch and face first into the bushes. I struggled out as Joshua shook hands with my Grandpa first, then my Dad, who came over to yank me back onto my feet.

We then went around the house to the workshop attached to it, going inside to see Big Blue was doing a demonstration for five of who I was sure were my cousins, all under five and sitting on a bench while Big Blue showed them how to treat leather for shoes to soften it. The smell was awful, but all the big windows were open so the night air kept the fumes from the chemicals from being to overwhelming.

He glanced over to see us and then he nodded to Joshua, who turned and left us to watch as Big Blue continued to show the little cousins the process of apply the treatment. After a few minutes, Joshua came back with Big Blue’s only daughter, and Big Blue ended the lesson, telling his daughter to bring back one in particular – Bane – the next night with his father to talk about possibly having him apprentice under Joshua. And then off they were marched.

I waved with my Dad at the little cousins as they lined up and followed Big Blue’s daughter out of the workshop and away from the house, likely to be brought home.

“I can’t believe you are still doing your mandatory shoe making lessons.” Dad chuckled as Joshua went over to help Big Blue clean up his workspace and put away his tools.

“Shoemaking is what puts food on the table,” Big Blue said, “Never had a baby born in my clan that went hungry.” He said lowly as he went to the sink there to wash his hands, Joshua pouring soap onto them for him. When he was done, he hobbled out of the workshop and we followed after him, though I think my Dad and I made a point not to do so in a line like the kids had.

Because that would be silly.

Grandpa Earnest didn’t care though and happily fell in step behind our patriarch.

The house was big and quiet when he entered, following Big Blue into his office, the three of us sitting down together on the couch there while Big Blue sat behind his desk, Joshua getting out what looked like two dozen different pills to start placing them in a glass dish.

We were all quiet as Big blue took each of his pills, drinking them down with the glass of water Joshua supplied.

All the while, he stared at me without blinking.

I tried to do the same, but failed, blinking twice in the time it took him to swallow what I counted was sixteen different pills.

When he was done, he handed his glass off to Joshua before he eyed me.

“When you work in Riverside, you’ll get done what you’ll need to get done, and then you’ll go home. You have been to Riverside occasionally for fun things, but Riverside is not your home. It will never be your home.” He said then. Grandpa Earnest and Dad both nodded so I nodded as well, frowning.

Because I kinda wanted to live there as a playwright when I was older, but, you know, I’d obviously wait until after Big Blue was dead.

“You will not go to Riverside, run afoul and be the little fool that you are at home. If you make a mess in Riverside, they will eat you up.” He said firmly as Joshua leaned against the wall behind his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the floor as he listened. “You will be on your best behavior when you work in Riverside and assume everyone in Riverside is your enemy, because they are. Agreed?”

I nodded. Sure. Whatever. “Agreed.” I said with another nod, Dad nodding as well.

Big Blue stared at me for a long minute before a muscle in his jaw jumped. “You need to remember every single day you go into work to train that the Riverside folk are the enemy, Lawrence. I think you’ll behave the first week or so, but after that, you’ll get comfortable, and when you are comfortable, you get sloppy and your guard is let down. And what happens when you guard is let down?”

“You get fucked.” I said automatically.

“Dad and I will keep an eye on him.” Dad said then, Grandpa nodding a little. I looked between them before I looked back to Big Blue and nodded as well.

He grunted, his eyes narrowing. “Then I give you my blessing.” He stood slowly and I stood as well, going over to extend my hand to shake his as I held his stare. “Watch your back around the Vermilion, boy. They’ll skin you to keep themselves warm.”

I wanted to say something to that, but Dad had given me a talking to a few days ago about watching what I said, so I held my tongue, just nodding. When Big Blue released my hand, he gave me a look like he was expecting me to say something, but when I silently walked backwards to rejoin my dad and grandpa, he grunted and looked to Joshua, telling him to have the cook make something for us to eat.

I told him I wanted to go wander around town a bit and Joshua said he would go with me, the two of us going out into the night.

We caught up on what was going on in my life as we walked away from Big Blue’s house. I told him about my graduation, about what I was writing about and how I was going to send something to a magazine in Riverside to see if they’d publish it.

He tried to get me to tell him what my pen name was but I refused, since I didn’t want anyone in my family to know what I was writing.

Well.

I mean my parents knew.

And my sisters.

And both my grandparents….and all my aunts – but not Joshua, and for SURE not Big Blue.

Joshua knew I wrote romance mysteries, and I knew if he came across something I wrote he’d know it was mine, but I rather him not know exactly how explicit the stuff I was trying to get published was, because if Big Blue knew – and Joshua would tell him, I was sure, if he asked – then I was almost sure I’d be getting a talking to about what was and wasn’t proper.

One of my cousins in the Blue Clan had a business baking goods for engagement parties that were very risque, and once Big Blue found out, he made her shut it down. She ended up opening it up again under her sister-in-law’s name, but still.

I didn’t want the drama of Big Blue finding out, and I didn’t want to feel betrayed by Joshua.

We walked to town and Joshua introduced me to a bunch of my cousins, most of which recognized right away who Grandpa Earnest was, calling him ‘Laurie’s brother’, and it took me a couple times to really cement that Grandpa Earnest had an older brother named Laurie that my uncle was named for, and I in turn was named for.

I asked Joshua if he thought names could be cursed, since both Grandpa’s brother and my Dad’s brother ended up being removed from the colony or killed by the novus, and he asked if I would ever do anything to draw the attention of the peacekeepers to me.

I shrugged and told him that wasn’t the plan, because there was sure as fuck no way I’d ever admit to Joshua that I might have the same issue my uncle had.

If I couldn’t trust him not to tell our ancestor that I wrote smutty mystery, there was no fucking way I’d ever admit to him I liked men.

But I wondered...if my name really was cursed, and if I’d have a fate similar to one of my namesakes.