“Isn’t that the truth?”
He clinks his beer against mine again, and we both tip our bottles back.
I know the road ahead is going to be bumpy, but I’m ready for the ride.
Nashville offersme a spot at training camp. I don’t have to accept right away, but based on the way my palms startto sweat and I nearly have a panic attack, I already know I don’t want to accept.
I don’t think I want it enough—not judging from the invisible weight that seems to lift when I make a list of pros and cons and it leans heavily on the con side.
I’m not disappointed by the offer, or jealous of Kody’s choices. I’m happy for my best friend and relieved for me. And that tells me everything I need to know. But I ask my dad if we can sit on my decision. I don’t want Kody’s dad to try to convince me to change my mind. And I don’t want to steal Kody’s thunder.
I call Clover, and she and I plan to meet up at her cabin in Pearl Bay later in the evening. Today has been intense, and while it’s been good to have the support of my dad and my best friend, I want to run it all by Clover and tell her everything that’s happened over the past forty-eight hours. I feel like my entire life has changed course, and this new path is the one I really want.
At six fifty-two, I get a message from Clover that she’s heading for Pearl Bay soon, and she’ll let me know when she arrives. But when I still haven’t heard from her by eight, I start to get antsy, especially when my text messages go unanswered. She turns her alerts off when she gets in the car to avoid distractions, but maybe she forgot to turn them back on. It’s happened before. When I call, it goes to voicemail.
“Maybe her cell died, and she doesn’t have a charger?” Kody suggests.
“She’s usually prepared for things like that.” Although if her charger isn’t in her car, it could explain the issue. “I’m gonna drive over there and see what’s going on.”
“I should probably head back to my parents’ since I have to be on a plane balls early.” Kody is meeting with the generalmanager of Philly tomorrow morning and then flying back to New York in the evening.
“We could follow you, to make sure everything is cool?” BJ pushes out of the Adirondack chair. He drove over from Pearl Lake with Kody this afternoon so the three of us could hang out before Kody leaves again for New York.
“Yeah, sure. I think that’d be good.” I don’t like the gnawing feeling in my gut that has nothing to do with my decision not to take Nashville’s offer.
The drive to Pearl Bay only takes twenty minutes, but the sun is going down, casting murky shadows over the road.
“You all right, man?” Kody asks from his spot in the passenger seat. BJ is following in his Jeep.
“I don’t know. I don’t like that she’s not responding.”
“Maybe she stopped to pick up groceries or something?”
“Maybe. That’s possible.” She hasn’t been to the cabin in a few weeks, so it’s entirely possible that she made a pit stop to stock up on essential items.
The uneasy feeling in my gut settles when I pull down the driveway and her car comes into view. “Thank fuck.”
It looks like she’s just arrived. The trunk of her car is open, her overnight bag still inside. I grab it and head for the front porch. But my blood runs cold at the shrill scream that comes from the other side of the partly open door.
38
THE EDGE OF AWFUL
Clover
Iset the grocery bags on the porch and slide the key into the lock, letting myself into the cabin. I’m not sure what to expect in the next twenty-four hours, whether Maverick will be going to Nashville, or somewhere else, or if he’ll decide to pursue another career. But whatever his decision, I’m on his side.
I pick up the bags, leaving the door open because my overnight bag is still in the trunk. I want to get the groceries unpacked first and the champagne in the fridge. I pull my phone out and bring up Maverick’s contact, ready to fire off a message to let him know I’m here and he can come by whenever he’s ready.
I pick up the bottle of champagne in my other hand and turn to the fridge, but I startle at the sound of the door hitting the wall. I spin around, thinking maybe we’re in for a storm.There were some dark clouds on the drive in, and sometimes the wind acts like a funnel in the bay, depending on the direction it’s coming from.
But it’s not wind.
It’s Gabriel.
Message half-composed, I fumble my phone, and it drops to the floor. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’d ask you the same question, but I already know the answer, so that would be pointless.” He steps inside the cabin, looking around the space. His gaze lands on the kitchen table, where two paper cranes sit in the empty fruit bowl. One from the first night we met, the other from our New Year’s celebration.
