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Nothing, though. Radio silence from both of them probably wasn’t a good sign but I had to go pick up my car and maybe—maybe now that I was back here in person, Morgan and I could pick up our friendship where we’d left it off.
I didn’t dare let myself hope for anything with Billie, even though I really, really wanted to. But I had to respect her answer. I had been four years—she’d be twenty-two, just out of college. Maybe she didn’t even live in Canyon anymore. Maybe she had moved somewhere else. I wasn’t sure which possibility was worse, seeing her and having her not want anything to do with me, or not getting to see her at all because she’d moved away.
The Adams house looked exactly how I’d remembered it, and my heart warmed. I’d spent more time here growing up than I had at my own place, honestly. I knocked on the door, nostalgia hitting me like a sack of bricks to the face, and found myself unexpectedly hoping that Mr. and Mrs. Adams would be home as well so that I could hug both of them. They’d welcomed me in and hadn’t judged me no matter how much trouble I’d caused, treating me like their own son. They were family to me more than anything.
The front door opened, and Georgia Adams answered.
I gave her a small smile. “Heya, Mrs. Adams. I know it’s been a while—”
“Pike!” She gave me a warm hug. “Oh, honey, where the hell have you been all these years? Come in, come in! Let me get you something to drink, you want some coffee?”
I followed her into the kitchen, looking around. The place looked about the same now as it had four years ago, except that now there were pictures of Morgan and Billie with their degrees hanging on the walls, and a few medals of Morgan’s on the mantle. On the refrigerator was a note that said in all capital black sharpie letters, CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!
“We’ve missed you so much,” Mrs. Adams said.
“Well, I missed you all too, Mrs. Adams…”
“No, none of that, you’re an adult now. You can just call me Georgia. We’re family, after all.” Georgia winked at me and got the coffee ready. “So, tell me, any reason why you haven’t sent me a Christmas card the last few years?”
“I’m sorry M… Georgia. I enlisted in the army, actually. Didn’t Morgan tell you?”
Georgia scoffed, bringing the coffee over. “That boy never tells me anything. He could get married and he wouldn’t tell me until after the wedding had happened.”
“Where is Morgan, anyway? He doesn’t still live here?”
“No, he moved into his own place a mile away, a few years ago. Billie still lives here, though. She only just graduated so she’s taking some time to figure herself out. You know how it is, clearly.” Georgia laughed. “I have to say, Pike, we never picked you for a grunt type.”
“Me neither, but I just needed to feel a sense of—of discipline and of not having to make choices for a while. I really didn’t know who I was or what I wanted out of life and being in the army took me out of my own head. And it’s not like I had a lot of options, with student loans and no family and all.”
Georgia nodded. “I understand. Of course. And have you figured yourself out?”
“I think so. I’ve got a stronger sense for it, anyway. Is, uh, is my car still here?”
Georgia gave a small laugh. “Why yes it is. It’s out back, right this way.”
She took me around the back, and there under the tarp was my baby. I’d restored her up from nothing, and even though she’d just been sitting there for four years, she looked beautiful as ever—at least to me.
“I try and dust her off now and again, make sure that there’s no raccoons nesting in her,” Georgia said with a smile. “Here’s the keys.”
“Thanks, Georgia, I appreciate it. And I’ll take her off your hands now.”
“No worries at all, honey. I’ll just be inside if you need me.”
I frowned as I looked at the car. She looked beautiful, and Georgia had kept her dusted off as she’d said, but she also didn’t look as well-maintained as I’d thought Morgan would keep her. Morgan loved cars. Loved taking care of them, restoring them, just as I did. We’d basically built this car together. It didn’t seem like him to just leave her under the tarp for all this time.
Unlocking the car, I slid into the driver’s seat, glancing into the back. Fuck, this was the first time I’d been in this car since—since just about the time Billie and I had been in there.
I could still remember feeling fuzzy headed and buzzed, half in love with this bold, sexy girl, and wanting to taste her more badly than anything else, or anyone else, in my entire life.
