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things Mack did that would involve Knight getting in his way. Yet at the same time, I had to admit that seeing Mack again did something crazy to my insides. When any sane girl would run in the other direction, I found myself wanting Tayia to turn the car around.
****
“Jonna?” Harley called my name from the other side of the dining room causing me to jump. I’d been hiding in a booth and checking my phone for the hundredth time for a call from Mack. Pathetic? Maybe.
“What?” I yelled back into the empty room and watched as Harley made her way over to me while frequently looking over her shoulder. She slid into the seat across from me and narrowed her hazel eyes as I tucked my phone into my apron.
“What are you doing?” she asked and tilted her head to the side.
“None of your business. What do you want?” I snapped distractedly, but Harley along with the rest of my family never paid much attention to my crabby disposition.
“I need you to help me do something.” When I didn’t say anything, she continued. “I need you to help me pick up a box of my stuff.”
“A box? From where? Blake and Tayia’s? Are you moving in with my brother?”
“No, no. It’s not that. The stuff is, um?.?.?.?well, the stuff is in Charleston.” She looked away nervously.
“Okay, why do you need my help? Why can’t Drew take you?”
“Because the stuff is at my ex-boyfriend’s house, and Drew doesn’t exactly get along with my ex.”
“Oh,” I replied instantly as understanding dawned on me. I knew there was no way my brother would want to take her to an ex-boyfriend’s house.
“Look, I don’t want to keep this from Drew, but it’s just a quick thing. It’s a box from my Gram’s house. Stuff I saved before her house was sold. I just want to go, grab the box, and that will be the end of it. Drew will never have to know, and conflict will be avoided.”
The pleading look she gave me, I knew, was rare for her. Harley never asked people to help her do things. She was stubborn, kind of like me. I had no doubt that if she could have found a way to get to Charleston on her own she would have, but she didn’t have a car and it was too far to walk.
“Why are you asking me to take you? I mean we are talking about my brother.”
“Because we’re a lot alike, and I know that I can trust you.” I felt the scowl on my face leave as my expression relaxed. “Plus you’re the closest I’ve ever had to a sister, and I kind of want to see what that’s like.” I didn’t say it out loud, but Harley was the sister I’d always pictured having, and it was the first time I’d even considered the possibility that we could have a sisterly relationship.
“Fine. I’ll take you.” A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
“Cool!” Harley jumped up and clapped her hands. “Let’s see if we can convince Hal to close up early tomorrow night, and we’ll go up to Charleston and be back before Drew will miss me.”
“Harley?” As if on cue, Drew called her name as he stepped out of the kitchen while shrugging on his jacket. “You ready to go, baby?”
“Yeah,” Harley answered, then turned to me with a conspiratorial wink and a quick wave before she hurried across the dining room and into Drew’s outstretched arms. He gave her a kiss on the lips, then pulled her against his side.
“Night, sis,” he called over his shoulder just before they left through the front doors.
“Good night,” I replied quickly, then pulled out my phone, no longer able to resist the urge to check for missed calls or messages. My face fell with disappointment when there was no new activity.
****
“So, has he called yet?” Tayia asked as soon as she answered the phone.
“Well, hello, Tayia. I’m doing well, and you?” I seethed with sarcasm as I flopped down onto my bed. It had been seven days since I gave Mack my phone number, and he hadn’t called. A fact that Tayia wouldn’t let me forget.
“Sorry, Jonna. It’s just killing me. Why can’t you just call him?”
“Because you know about my rule.” It was a principle I’d formed out of stubborn pride. I was never the first to call a guy. It was almost an assurance of his interest in me and that he wasn’t blowing me off. He had to make the first step. Maybe I was allowed to ignore them, but they couldn’t ignore me. Plus I wasn’t sure exactly what I was getting myself into with Mack, and as much as I wanted him to call, I was also a little terrified that he would.
“Besides, you’re one to talk. Have you ever called a guy in your life?” I mumbled as I picked at a loose string on the inseam of my worn yoga pants. I was annoyed that Tayia seemed to have all the suggestions but would never follow through on them for herself. Sometimes I was convinced that she liked to live vicariously through me.
“You’re right. There are a lot of things I haven’t done that I regret,” Tayia agreed after several moments of silence, much to my surprise. “Hey, I need to get out of this house. Let’s go do something.”
“What are you talking about, Tayia? This is Sea Whisper Island. There’s not much to do.”
