Miranda keyed my car, left threatening voicemails—even went so far as to break Hayley’s window with a rock, mistaking it for mine. Thankfully, my baby sister had been at a sleepover at—you guessed it—Jade’s house. I don’t tell Jade any of that, though, because this is hard enough to relive without dragging Miranda’s name through the mud.
After the whole window incident, Mom and Dad stepped in. “My parents helped me file a restraining order,” I say to Jade, leaving out that I felt like the biggest asshole for doing it. “I thought that was the end of things until I got a call from a blocked number on a random Tuesday night. Miranda was completely drunk or high…maybe both? I don’t know. But she could barely speak.” I’d changed my number at that point, so I wasn’t sure how she got hold of it. “She asked if we could talk, but I didn’t think that was a good idea, so I said no. The next day, she tried to call again, but I didn’t answer. The following morning, Mom called to tell me Miranda had overdosed.”
Jade sucks in a breath, her knuckles turning white where she grips the unopened beer.
“I still wonder if she would’ve survived if I’d told her yes.” Every fucking night.
“Oh, Dylan…” Jade’s hand finds mine, her soft palm soothing and warm.
The contact may be casual and light, but fuck does it feel good. I repress the urge to lace my fingers with hers and hold on tight. I can’t remember the last time I held hands with someone besides my niece. Jade’s thumb traces over the rose on the back of my hand—the one I got for Mom when I turned eighteen. My heart beats a little harder; my gaze finds her mouth and clings there.
Jade’s phone suddenly blasts to life on the table, and our hands quickly separate. She silences the call almost immediately, but it’s too late. I’ve already seen the nameNateflashing across the screen.
It’s the wake-up call I need to stand up from the couch.What the fuck am I doing?“So anyway, that’s my sob story,” I say.
Jade scrambles to her feet. “Wait. You don’t have to go.”
“I really do.” Otherwise, I’m going to guzzle that beer she’s holding on to for dear life and then try to drown myself in her delicate hands, pouty lips, and emerald eyes.
“Hasta la vista, Jadie.” I do this stupid-as-hell salute thing and return to the night, telling myself this was a mistake. But it’s hard to believe that when my heart feels lighter than it has in years.
CHAPTERTWELVE
JADE
I sweepmy gaze over the festivalgoers milling past the towering pumpkin displays and homemade scarecrow sculptures, searching for one face in particular. But there’s no sign of a petite brunette clutching a reporter’s notepad, which is no surprise given the size of the crowd. Nate wasn’t wrong. The county must’ve pumped a bunch of new marketing dollars into Fall Fest this year.
As I turn back toward the Quinn Brothers booth, a figure I’d know anywhere catches my eye. My lips pull up at the waist-length black hair and the smitten smile as Ruby wraps her arms around the neck of a blushing pilot.
Aww, bless. Still all over each other like puppies. My smile widens as I edge my way through the spectators toward the lovebirds who arrived in town last night.
“Who let you two in?Security!” I joke as I round on Ruby and Flynn. They quickly untangle, and Ruby flings her arms around me, even though we all had breakfast together this morning at my place.
“You been feeding this fair steroids behind our backs, Jade?” Flynn asks with a smirk, stroking Ruby’s shoulder.
I laugh. “I know. It’s gargantuan, right?”
“Look out world, Still Springs just joined the map. Maybe I’ll start doing regular flights here for my boss.”
I snort. “Let’s manage our expectations, shall we?”
Ruby’s still giving me that lit-up look she has when she hasn’t seen me for ages. “Any sign of that reporter yet?” she asks, knowing it’s my mission of the day.
“Not yet.” I press a hand to my hip while scanning the crowd again. “But I’ve got the booth set up over there with some colorful mosaic jewelry, these fantastically gruesome clay sculptures, and some painted bowls I just got in, so hopefully, she comes past.”
“She will.” Ruby slips an arm through mine as the three of us stroll over to the Quinn Brothers booth, where Dad’s making a face at the sculptures of misshapen heads with no eyes and screaming mouths. A laugh bubbles out of me. I sure didn’t get my fondness for horror from Dad.
Flynn strides over to shake Dad’s hand. Ruby hangs back and watches them with a dopey smile. A twinge of envy tugs in my chest over what she’s found with Flynn. But if it can only be one of us, I’m glad it’s her.
I lean against a wooden pole wrapped with fairy lights and cross my arms. “Look at you with the candy eyes.”
She catches her face between her palms. “I’m so in love, it’s ridiculous. You might need to slap me out of it.”
“Hell no. You’re both way too adorable for that. And it’s so good to see you happy.”
She tilts her head, giving me the same assessing look she did this morning. “Thanks. And you’re okay? Dad said things still aren’t great at the store.”
I respond with a nonchalant wave of my hand. “All is under control, captain. You know Dad, such a drama queen.”
