“Alec, this is my friend Asha.” I stepped aside so I wasn’t blocking the doorway and glanced at her. She had a hand pressed to her chest, and her entire face had taken on a ruddy complexion. I begged her with my eyes to behave. “Asha, I’m one hundred percent sure you don’t need an introduction to know who this is.”
“No, nope. Definitely not. Hi, I’m Asha…and you already know that because Felicity just introduced me. Crap. I’m totally rambling now, aren’t I?”
Boomer, who was standing behind her with his arms crossed over his chest, snorted. “Was that rhetorical, because I’d be happy to answer for you. Yes, you sound like a dumbass.”
Asha momentarily shifted her attention from Alec and whipped around to deliver a well-aimed glare at Boomer.
I quickly jumped in before they bickered. “And this is my other good friend, Boomer,” I said. “Boomer, Alec.”
Boomer did one of those brusque chin nods as a way of acknowledging Alec before saying to me, “We need to leave soon. I’m going to start the car.” Then he blew past us as if the house were on fire,dragging Asha behind him.
“But I didn’t get a chance to talk to him,” Asha complained as they stepped off the porch.
Alec, who’d been silent this entire time, finally spoke. “You’re going somewhere.” There was no question in his tone, only disappointment.
“Yeah,” I answered, my throat tight. “Something happened with my sister, and to be honest, it completely slipped my mind that you were coming.” Saying those words out loud were difficult, but he deserved to hear the truth.
For one who’d been forgotten, Alec took my confession in stride. “You mean Rose? Did you find her?”
His concern was as surprising as it was comforting, and a small smile lifted the corners of my lips. “Not exactly,” I answered. “When I was getting ready this morning, I found a collection of letters hidden in my mom’s room. They were from Rose. She’s been writing to me since she ran away.”
“So these letters…” Alec said as a frown crossed his face. “Your mom kept them from you?” He shook his head as if that was the most despicable thing he’d ever heard.
“I’m not sure.”
“Is that where you’re going then? To talk to her?”
“No, I’m tracking down Rose. At least, I hope to. Her last letter was sent from San Francisco, so I’m taking a bus there today to see if I can find her.”
Alec’s face remained passive as ever, but he swallowed hard. “I see.”
“I’m so sorry, Alec.” I wrapped my arms around myself and stared down at my feet. “I was looking forward to going to the party withyou, but this is really important—”
“Felicity,” he said, holding up a hand to stop me. “It’s okay. If she were my sister, I’d do the same thing.”
“So…you’re not mad?”
“No,” he said. “This is something you need to do.”
The tension in my shoulders dwindled. I was glad he thought so. The truth was, I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about Rose until I had some answers, but at the same time…there was a heavy feeling inside my chest. Part of me knew that by going after my sister, I would miss out on something that had the potential to be amazing. Something like him.
“Um, Felicity?” Asha said, running up the front walk. She cast a quick glance in Alec’s direction before saying, “I hate to interrupt, but we have a problem.” She pointed over to Boomer.
The hood of his truck was propped up, and the toolbox he always kept in the back was open on the driveway next to him. He was rummaging through it, presumably trying to find a tool to help stop the smoke billowing out of the engine. Whatever was wrong, it didn’t look good.
Shit, shit, shit! This can’t be happening.
I stepped off the porch and dashed over to Boomer. “What happened?”
He looked up from his work. There was already grease smudged across his forehead. “This truck is ancient. That’s what happened.”
“Can you fix it?” I bit my lip and prayed for the answer to be yes.
“Just because I’m good with mechanical stuff doesn’t make me amagician, Fel.”
“But I can’t be late for the bus.”
Sighing, Boomer used his shirt to clean the grease off his hands. “And I’m supposed to drive Kevin to T-ball practice tonight. Doesn’t look like either of those things is going to happen.”
