Chapter Thirty-Nine
GRIFFIN
July 7th.
Jules’s due date.
One month from today.
And I felt more hopeless than ever.
I’d lie awake at night, running through the same dead ends. I could post a reel on my social media, begging her to come back. But I didn’t know if that would make things better or worse for her when DayGlow saw it. And Laney assured me DayGlow would see it.
I thought about reaching out to Jules’s friends still at DayGlow and trying to help them leave. But if the company was half as connected as Laney believed, that could make things worse for them.
Ford hired a private investigator, but he hadn’t found so much as a whisper of Jules.
I waited and prayed Jules would reach out. In the meantime, I begged my extended family to let me help with whatever they needed—any odd job to keep my mind occupied.
One afternoon, I stacked boxes of DoubleTake Beauty foundation onto a hand truck in the newly repaired barnapartment. I paused to watch Ford kneel next to Peyton as she taped up a box of eyeshadow tins.
“Hey, Peyt,” Ford said, rubbing a hand over her back. “Are you sure you want to give up? You can still do DoubleTake without her.”
“Sure,” she said softly, no fire. “I could try. But it will fail without her. Nobody wants to buy makeup from a middle-aged B-list actress.”
“Excuse me—” Ford gave her a gentle smile. “—but my wife is no B-list actress. A B-list actress doesn’t get nominated for an Academy Award. And a B-list actress doesn’t win two People’s Choice Awards.”
“Fine.” She leaned to the side, unfolding her legs. “I’m not a B-list actress, but the fact remains. No one wants to buy makeup from someone this old.”
“Aunt Peyton,” I said. “I don’t think you know how beautiful you are.”
She gave me a sad smile. “Thanks for saying that. I just…” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’ve lost all my verve without her.”
Same, Peyton, same.
Ford hiked a brow. “Verve, huh? Tally will be so proud when she hears you’ve been using that Snobby Word of the Day calendar she gave you.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I get it. But we’re storing these somewhere safe. Because I fully believe that in time, your verve will return. In full force.”
She slid her hand into his hair and pulled his forehead to hers. “Thanks, 3673.”
“Welcome.” He kissed her.
Just then, footsteps pounded up the exterior stairs. “Guys!” Anna shot around the corner, eyes wild. “Guys! I found Juliette!”
I froze. “What?”
Peyton hopped up. “Seriously?”
I jogged toward Anna, my boxes tumbling off the dolly behind me.
Ford chuckled.
“Is she with you?” I asked.
“No,” Anna said, out of breath, and my hopes plummeted. “But she’s in Honeyville.” Hopes shot back up. “At least she was today.”
My hands tugged at my hair. Jules could’ve been anywhere in the world by this point. But she was only half an hour away?
“Where?” Peyton asked. “Let’s go get her.”
