Page 127 of No Headlines Please

And how much of that bullshit would be read by Delaney Sinclair?

If history repeated, I knew just how much she'd believe.

All of it.

50

The Favor

Delaney

When my phone rang from across the cabin, I nearly jumped out of my skin. My phone never rang – not unless it was Walt, who rarely called. I mean, why bother when he could holler out his cabin window?

I had my phone set to silent unless the caller was someone in my contacts, and the list was scarily short.

At the rustic kitchen table, I pushed away from my laptop and mentally ran through the list. Tessa? Maisie? Mom? Dad?

Good grief.

Not Janet?

Before leaving Chicago, she'd been oddly persistent about getting my number. And of course, I'd felt too awkward to decline, so I'd given it to her in spite of my reservations.

But she had never called, much less shown up on my cabin doorstep, which made me feel kind of stupid for being freaked out. Then again, I never did tell her where I was going.

By now, I'd been at the cabin for nearly two weeks, and I was finally settling in. I felt more relaxed than I had in ages. And yet, my breath caught when I snatched up the phone and saw the name on the display.

Maisie.

By now, it had been over a year since we'd actually talked. My stomach clenched at the memory of our very last conversation, which had turned out to be one of the hardest of my life.

I'd been trying not to panic, even as I told her as nicely as I could that I needed space to think. I'd asked her not to call me until I reached out first.

She'd been hurt. I could tell. I couldn't even blame her, since I knew exactly how I'd feel if our roles were reversed.

She'd asked why, but I didn't dare tell her. I knew Maisie. She was the nicest person I knew. She thought about everyone but herself. And the way I saw it, it was better to have her think I was a horrible friend than to put her in any danger.

But now, looking back, the whole thing felt slightly ridiculous.

I mean, here I was, safe and sound, over a year later. I hadn't been roughed up, run off the road, or cornered in some dark alley this whole time, and neither had anyone I loved.

My pulse jumped as I answered with an anxious, "Hello?"

"Delaney?" She sounded a little breathless. "I'm surprised you answered."

It was no surprise to me. Dozens of times I'd picked up the phone to call, only to stop before pressing that final button.

I smiled as I said, "It's really good to hear your voice. It's been way too long."

"Uh, yeah. I know." She wasn't smiling. "Listen, I'm really sorry to bother you…"

"It's no bother. Honest."

"Well, that's good. I mean…because I need a favor."

"Sure, anything." By now, Maisie could've asked me to drop everything and head straight to Mackinac Island, and I would've done it gladly. Plus, whatever this favor was, she was asking me, not Tessa.

That had to mean something, right?