AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, we have decent schools here, and our peewee football team is coached by a former pro football star.”
“Wow.” Juliet feigns interest, although I know she is zero percent interested in sports. “That’s great.”
“Yeah, he’s kind of the hometown hero around here. Ryder McCauliffe.”
My ears perk up at the last name McCauliffe, and so do Juliet’s, our eyes locking across the table.
“Very cool. Not every town can say that, I bet.” Juliet smiles up at her, folding and unfolding her napkin, trying to keep her talking.
“Nope, I reckon they can’t. He took us all the way to the state championship. The whole town showed up to support the team. Really fun time for everyone.”
“Sounds like. He grew up here then?” I ask, flipping through the paper and pretending to scope out the real estate.
“Sure did. His parents used to run the general store before his cousin, Liam, took over. Real nice family, the McCauliffes. Ryder’s brother, Quinn, went to school with me. He works for the fire department now.”
“Nice. Seems like a great place to grow up.”
“It is—if you like small towns. I never minded it, but my younger sister couldn’t wait to get out. Moved to Arizona the day after graduation and hardly ever comes back. Says it’s stifling here.”
Juliet shrugs. “Small towns aren’t for everyone. But I like them.”
“All right, I better let y’all eat before your food gets cold. You need anything else, just holler.”
“Thanks.” I nod in appreciation, and the waitress waves before heading over to the next table to refresh drinks.
“Nice work.” I raise my chin at Juliet in appreciation. “You’d make a pretty decent detective.”
“Thanks. I watched a lot of Law & Order growing up. Just in case I had to bail my family out, ya know. I wanted to know how the legal system worked and all.”
The vision of a young Juliet, sitting and taking notes in front of the television, makes me tense up, a hard pit settling low in my stomach. I hate that she had such a rough childhood—and that what happened between us didn’t make her life any easier.
But nothing can be done about that now. Just have to press on and try to make it up to her now, a day at a time.
I cut into the chicken, taking a bite and mulling over a plan.
“So tomorrow we’ll pop into the general store, scope it out, and see what we can learn. Then, in the afternoon, around dismissal time, we can do a drive-by of the school. Maybe we’ll be able to spot her.”
Juliet chews thoughtfully, her nose scrunching up as she stares out the picture window.
“Okay. Seems like a decent plan. Long as we move through the school zone real quick. Don’t want to raise too much suspicion.”
“Agreed. At least we have a solid lead now. Hopefully we can get more info in the morning.”
“You think she’s related to the football star and the firefighter?”
I shrug, taking another bite of chicken. “No idea. I don’t even know if she’s a McCauliffe by marriage or not. But I suppose we’ll find out more tomorrow.”
21
JULIET
I sleep great, wrapped up in King’s strong arms. Safe from my brothers and a world away from all the drama back home.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” King’s warm breath tickles the shell of my ear as he brushes a stray lock of hair from my face, still spooning me.
“Hey.” I snuggle back against him. “What time is it?”
“Seven thirty.”
