AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This is exactly why I answered the phone. To make sure you understand something. You’ve got no part of this. We were all blindsided. He knew how hard you worked for that savings, and he gambled it away. That boy is dead to us. You hear me?”
“Has he talked about paying you back? Is he going to do anything about it?”
“Sure, he has. But how do you think he’s going to do that?”
“More gambling,” her mom called in the background.
“His mommy called and said she’d pay us back.” Her dad didn’t like weakness, and Ian, an only child, had grown up the focus of his parents. “I told her, ‘No, you pay Grace back.’ He only got fifteen grand from us, but what he stole from my daughter took a lifetime to save up. I don’t know how he can live with himself.”
“I know. Me neither.” And here was her opening. “But I’ve found a way to pay you guys back.”
“You’re not paying us anything. You didn’t do this.”
“Just listen. I have an opportunity to work at a music festival in Calamity. It’s a food truck, and the owner made fourteen thousand dollars last summer.”
“Who told you that nonsense?” Her dad’s disbelieving tone reinforced his view that outsiders couldn’t be trusted.
“The man who runs the festival. Dad, I can make real money doing this.”
“Well, if you do it, you do it for yourself. Not us. You’re the one who lost her savings.”
Huh. He didn’t seem to mind her staying. “I’m not going to argue with you. I’m telling you that the first seven grand I make goes to pay you back for the wedding.” Anything extra would cover the rest of his losses. But… “You’re okay if I don’t come home?”
“Of course, I’m not okay. You think I want you out there all alone, so far from your family? What if you get a flat tire, and we’re not there to help? What if you get attacked by a bear? And who the hell’s gonna make croissants as good as you? But you’re a grown woman, and you make your own decisions. All I ask is that you stay in touch, let us know you’re all right.”
“I will. Thanks, Dad.”
Once she disconnected, she knew it was time. She had dozens of texts and missed calls from Ian that she’d ignored. She wanted this summer so badly, and she didn’t want to head into it with baggage, so she hit the green Connect button.
It rang four times, and just when she was about to give up, her ex answered breathlessly. “Grace?”
“Yes.”
“Aw, babe. I’m so glad you called me back. I was losing my mind. I’m sorry. You know that, right? I’m so fucking sorry.”
In that moment, they were ten-year-olds racing their bikes on the Duff Island loop.
They were teenagers, and he was sneaking into her room to be alone with her, even though he’d come to visit her brothers.
The moonlit beach would always be associated with him because that was where they’d had their first kiss, their first gropes, and their first sex.
She’d cried over him, missed him, hurt him, loved him, hated him, wanted him, and avoided him. He’d been her best friend, her lover, and the man who’d broken her heart one time more than he’d healed it.
It was well and truly over. “Okay.”
“Look, I know you. I know your voice. You’re pissed, and I get it.” He let out a huff of breath. “You’re right. I have a gambling problem. I’ll join a program if that’s what it takes.”
“Ian.” She said it gently. “Getting help sounds like a good idea for you but don’t do it because you think we’re going to get back together.” She weighed the next two words in her heart and knew they carried no doubt or hesitation. “We’re not.”
“Don’t say that. I fucked up. I know that. You have every right to hate me. And when you come home, we’ll talk. My parents and I worked out a plan to pay everyone back. Text me your flight information—”
“I’m not coming home. I’m staying in Calamity for the summer.”
“What? No. You can’t do that. What’s your family supposed to do without you?”
“Hopefully, they’ll be able to keep the woman they hired while I was supposed to be on my honeymoon. And if not, it won’t be too hard to find a replacement. It’s just muffins.”
“Ah, come on. You’re mad atme. Don’t take it out on them.”
