AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Crawford hadn’t been as insightful as David would’ve liked, but he had proven useful. If nothing else, it had convinced David he needed to reach out to his old boss.
It was time to track down Captain Phillip Stockton to see what he had to say.
11
Cassie yanked at the hem of her shirt as a gentle breeze ruffled her hair. They were standing outside a café, but for all she knew, she could’ve been on stage with three spotlights trained in her direction. “I’m nervous. Are you nervous?”
“No,” Laura replied. “Why would I be nervous?”
Cassie tried rubbing the sweat from her palms. “We haven’t seen him in, like, fifteen years.”
“Yeah, that’s why we’re meeting him for brunch.”
“Why aren’t you nervous?”
Laura put a hand around Cassie’s shoulder. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s going to be the same old Michael.”
The Michael she remembered was hilarious but cutting. He didn’t beat around the bush. He was kind and generous and loved with his entire heart, but that often got him into more trouble than he could handle. “That’s what I’m nervous about. Same old Michael. A lot has happened to me in the past decade. In case you forgot.”
“I didn’t forget.” Laura gave her one more squeeze and let go. “Besides, you’re the one who wanted to do this.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to be nervous.”
“Well, it’s too late to back out now.” She gestured with her head. “There he is.”
Michael was hard to miss. He was six-foot-three with blond hair and blue eyes. He had the body of a dancer—muscular but lean—and wore a Hermes scarf with just about every outfit. Cassie had never seen him wear anything she’d consider a faux pas, and he looked both put together and casual.
“Ladies, ladies.” Michael hugged Laura and gave her a kiss on the cheek and then did the same to Cassie. “You both look incredible, holy shit. California is treating you well, Laura, but where’s the tan?”
“I’m Irish, Michael. I only have two settings—undercooked and overdone.”
He threw his head back and laughed. Several people turned around. “Oh my God, I missed you girls.”
They entered the Funky Brunch Café and asked for outdoor seating. Once they had their spots and ordered their breakfast, Michael leaned forward and put his chin in his hands. “Okay, tell me everything.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Laura asked.
“Oh, God. Graduating high school, I guess? Cassie, you stayed here for college. We met up a couple times. Laura, you came back from California once or twice. It’s been at least ten or fifteen years.”
“Definitely more than ten,” Cassie said. She broke her life into two parts—Before Novak and After Novak. Michael fell squarely in the Before Novak era. He seemed to pick up on the reference, but kept his mouth shut. Maybe she’d be able to get through this meeting without reliving everything.
“Yeah, closer to fifteen.” Laura sounded wistful. “Let’s see, what’s happened to me? Went to college. Changed my major three times. Landed on psychology and had to take an extra year. My parents weren’t too happy about that, but they would never say that to my face. Got my master’s and a job right out of college. I’ve been practicing ever since. I have a gig at an established clinic. Pays the bills and then some. Kind of a dick boss, though.”
“Oooh, that sounds amazing. Have you had anyone crazy come through? Any Jokers to your Harley?”
“No.” Laura laughed and brushed her curls over her shoulder. “I mostly deal with people who have anxiety and are recovering from a trauma.”
Cassie stiffened. She hadn’t known that was her sister’s area of expertise.
“Oh, come on. You’ve got to have some juicy stories. Everyone in California is crazy.”
“Including me?”
“Including you. There’s just the good kind of crazy and the, you know, clinical kind.”
The arrival of their food interrupted them, and Cassie breathed a sigh of relief. Did Michael think she was crazy? She had anxiety and depression and PTSD, but she had spent years working through them. She understood they were an illness, but that didn’t make her weak or worthless.
Still, it hurt to think maybe Michael didn’t see her the same way.
