Page 65 of Pick Me This Time

The color drained from his face, but at least he wasn’t so shocked that he couldn’t move. Fast as lightning, he reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, dropped a wad of cash on the counter, and then was next to me.

We ran back to Eric’s truck, launching ourselves in and slamming the doors behind us. I pulled away so fast that mud and water sprayed behind us even as we were still buckling up. It was fucking freezing, but I barely felt the cold.

“How far along is she?” he asked urgently. “Do you know?”

“Nope. Sorry. Eric called to ask if I knew where you were,” I explained. “All he said was that Daphne is with Rachel at the hospital and that we needed to find you. Give him a call real quick. Just to tell him that we’re on our way.”

Jake groaned. “I can’t. There’s no cell reception out here tonight at all. The storm must’ve knocked it out.”

“Shit,” I muttered, pushing my foot down on the gas. “Okay. Never mind. Just keep an eye on your phone. We should get reception soon. Allisburg was still on when I left and we should be crossing into our own territory soon.”

“How did you find me?” he asked, his phone in front of him as he obsessively checked for reception.

“Dan,” I explained in just that one word. “It’s no wonder we couldn’t reach you. You’re going to have hundreds of missed calls when that thing comes back on.”

“I can’t believe she’s in labor,” he murmured, almost like he was talking to himself. “The one fucking night when I get stuck out of town and she goes into labor. What are the odds?”

“Probably pretty good,” I said, trying to remain calm for his sake. It was still raining cats and dogs, coming down so hard that I could barely see the road ahead, but I kept my eyes wide open while also trying to keep him from going into a tailspin. “It’s not your fault, man. You were at work. What happened to your truck?”

He sighed. “It’s been giving me problems for a couple weeks. I’ve been meaning to take it to Eric’s for him to check what’s going on, but I never got around to it. Guess I should’ve made it a priority, but I’ve just been trying to get as much work done as I could before the baby comes, you know?”

“It’s really not your fault,” I repeated slowly. “I’d have done exactly the same thing. When you’ve got work to do, you’ve got work to do. Especially when you’ve got a baby on the way, I’d imagine.”

“Yeah.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Fucking work. Life was so much easier to navigate before we had to start making our own money, am I right?”

I chuckled. “I hear that. Been there, done it, got the T-shirt, the beer mug, and the ball cap.”

Pausing for a beat, I wished I could look at him while we had this conversation but I couldn’t take my eyes away from the road. At the same time, this was the perfect opportunity to try and mend what I’d broken between the two of us.

“Speaking of which, I’m sorry about missing your wedding,” I said. “I’m also sorry I never even reached out to explain after. That wasn’t cool.”

When he didn’t reply, I took it as a cue to continue. It was a race to the hospital, but perhaps this way, the air could be clear before the baby was born. I also figured it was a decent way to distract him from losing his mind with worry.

“I should have called,” I said. “At the very least, I should’ve checked in after your honeymoon or asked Eric to video call me on the day so I could congratulate you.”

“Why didn’t you?” he asked, his voice gruff. “It was the most important day of my life so far, man. It would’ve been nice to have heard from you.”

“I know.” It was about time I took proper responsibility for it. “It was a shitty thing to have done and I really am sorry. All I remember is that work was crazy, I was still trying to prove myself, and I was at the office pretty much around the clock. None of which is an excuse. I still should’ve made an effort.”

“You canceled at the last minute,” he reminded me.

I blew out a breath through my nostrils. “I did. I think somewhere at the back of my mind, I knew before then I wasn’t going to make it, but I lost track of time. I’m sorry, Jake. You’ve always been there for me. I should’ve been there no matter what was happening at work.”

He kept quiet for a long minute, the cellphone light in the dark interior of the truck telling me that he was still checking for reception and that he hadn’t passed out or something. Waiting him out, I focused on getting him to the hospital in one piece.

If I could just do that, it had to count for something. Right?

“You were one of my best friends,” he finally said. “One of the only two guys I wanted to stand up with me that day. It fucking sucked when you didn’t show up, but I get it. It was only a couple years after your mom died, you hadn’t been home since at all, and probably just threw yourself into your work.”

I grunted. “Still not an excuse.”

“No, it’s not,” he agreed amiably. “It does give it some context, though. For what it’s worth, I’m not pissed at you anymore. Especially not now that you’ve actually apologized.”

“I should’ve done that a long time ago too,” I said, needing him to know that I was ready to face up to everything fully. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

“Just get me to the hospital,” he said. “And try not to disappear on us again when you leave here, North. We know that your life is in Manhattan now, but that doesn’t mean that Allisburg just doesn’t exist anymore.”

“I know,” I said after hesitating for a beat. “I’m going to be better, Jake. I promise. I’m going to try my best to do better this time.”

Exactly how I was going to do that, I didn’t know yet, but ultimately, if there was anything I’d learned while I’d been home, it was that I needed to do better. My dad would fade into nothingness and my friends would never forgive me if I didn’t.