AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They all seem fine to me. I’m going to let Maura sift through them and make a recommendation.”
“You okay? You look a little out of it.”
“I’m fine,” Tag lied. “Tired. So much to think about.”
Ally was what he was thinking about, worrying about, wishing for. Two days without talking to her was taking a toll. Late the night before, he’d made up a believable excuse to borrow Bering’s phone and duck out of the party for a few minutes to call her, but realized he didn’t know her number.
The cell phone paradox at its finest: she’d texted him first, and he’d added her to his contacts without memorizing the number. Now it was nearly 11:00 p.m. Aside from Iris or Hannah, he couldn’t think of anyone other than Flynn who would have her number. Iris was the only one he felt comfortable contacting so late, and she hadn’t answered.
So here he was, stuck again. Between this breakfast meeting and the ensuing appointments, he would have to wait until he got back home. Besides, he told himself, even though it seemed like an eternity, he’d been away less than forty-eight hours. Maybe this was fate’s way of forcing him to get that distance he’d been seeking.
Either way, they were flying back this afternoon, and by tonight all would be well. The day couldn’t pass soon enough for him. And not just because of Ally. He needed some peace, time to reflect, to regroup, to prepare for this campaign battle. Bottom line, he wasn’t used to feeling overwhelmed. He didn’t like it.
“Don’t Kendall’s folks have, like, a billion dollars?”
“I have no idea. They are very wealthy. Her dad comes from money. Kendall has a trust fund. But it’s her mom who is responsible for taking them to the next level. She’s an investment genius or something like that.”
“Do they like you?”
Tag smiled. “They do. Sally came to visit me in Rankins after we broke up. She cried.” He shook his head, remembering how glad he was that Kendall had been the one to break it off. “Asked me to give Kendall another chance. When I pointed out that she was dating someone else, Sally told me she could snap her fingers and make him go away, whatever that meant.”
“So, we’re looking at a hefty contribution?”
“Kendall alluded to as much last night. Said Sally and Tom are ‘beyond thrilled’ that I’m running.”
Bering shook his head. “Seriously, you’ve got to be the only guy I know who can break up with a woman and keep the parents. There she is.”
Heads turned as Kendall strode through the door of the restaurant. Appearing oblivious to the attention, she glided toward their table. Tag had commented on it once, her seeming lack of awareness of her eye-catching beauty, to which she’d responded, “No, not oblivious, sweetie. Not at all. But if you pretend you don’t notice, it makes you even more noticeable.”
He’d been impressed by the statement at the time, awed by her confidence. Now, though, he saw things, and her, a little differently, and as she neared the table he purposely kept his eyes averted.
* * *
WHEN ALLY ARRIVED HOME, she discovered she had a visitor, but it wasn’t Flynn. One of Tag’s sisters was sitting on her porch swing.
“Hi, Ally. I hope this isn’t a bad time.”
It’s not exactly a good time was what she wanted to say, because unfortunately, this wasn’t a James sister she was eager to see.
“Hello, Shay. Tag’s not here if you’re looking for him.”
“I know he’s not. He’s still in Juneau. He’ll be back late this afternoon.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Ally didn’t want to confess that she wasn’t privy to his estimated return time.
“Have you heard from him?”
The sinking feeling she’d been battling won out, further plummeting her spirits. She didn’t want to confess, but she also wasn’t going to lie. “No,” she said.
“I understand you giving me the cold shoulder here. I deserve it. But I came over because I thought you might not know that Tag lost his phone.”
Ally’s knees went weak with relief. “No, I didn’t,” she said calmly, careful to keep her expression blank. She wasn’t going to give away even a fraction of how she felt about Tag to his sister, not when Shay didn’t approve of Ally or her traditional healing techniques. She had every right to disapprove of their relationship, but Ally wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing Ally’s insecurity.
