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I don’t look at Gage. He had his reasons for being upset with me.
“Hopefully, you’ll make me change my mind about you,” Luke says. “I’m getting good vibes from your showing up here, and you have my gratitude for that. I’ll give you two time to talk.” He nods toward Gage. “Let me know when you’re ready to leave.”
Luke squeezes Gage’s shoulder before walking out of the room.
I pull away and turn to face Gage. “If you have somewhere to be, I don’t want to keep you.”
Pain closes over Gage’s face, and his voice shakes. “I need to go to the station and talk to the detective in charge of the case.”
“Oh.” The word pops out of my mouth.
Does he want me to leave?
He slides his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You want to come with me?”
I wipe away my tears. “Of course. I’ll be at your side whenever you need me.” I point to my outfit. “You mind if I change real quick?”
He shakes his head and shows me to a bedroom down the hallway. I set my bag on the bed next to another one that I assume is Gage’s. He lightly kisses my cheek and leaves the room without saying a word. I have so many questions to ask him, but now isn’t the time. I change out of my dress into a simple summer dress before going to the restroom to wash my make-up off.
Gage and Luke are waiting for me when I return to the living room, and Gage’s hand stays on the base of my back when we follow Luke to his SUV. Gage slides in the backseat next to me, and I grab his clammy hand in mine after we buckle our seatbelts.
“I owe Hudson one hell of a wedding gift for your bailing to come here,” Gage says.
I shake my head. “You don’t owe him anything. They understand.”
“Did you tell them about Andy?”
I swallow. “They know who Andy was, but the details aren’t my story to tell.”
He blinks. “Kyle?”
“He knows about Andy and helped me find you, but that’s it. He needs to hear everything from you.”
A stressed breath pulls from his chest. “I have some explaining to do. My dad … he told me why you broke up with me.”
I squeeze his hand. “Let’s not talk about that right now, okay? Our problems don’t need to be fixed in one day.”
My stomach curdles when Luke turns into a back parking lot of what I assume is the station. He slips out of his seat and meets us outside, and we walk in as a team with my hand in Gage’s, and Luke’s arm swung over his shoulders.
All eyes are on us, and I scan the room to find faces filled with empathy, pain, and fear. These people were coworkers to both him and Missy and also most likely knew Andy. Their hesitation is evident, and a few gain the courage to head our way and hug Gage.
We crowd into the detective’s office, and he shuts the door behind us.
I sit down next to Gage, and Luke settles against the wall.
“I wish I had more for you,” the detective tells Gage. “The medical examiner told me she’d call the minute the autopsy report was finished. You’re my friend, so I promise to pass along all information as soon as it comes, okay? Give me a day, and I’ll have more answers for you.”
I expect Gage to fight for more information, but to my surprise, he only nods. I’m not sure if he came looking for answers or wanted peace of mind that the body hadn’t been identified yet. He wants to know but doesn’t. It would answer his questions but set him back.
When someone goes missing, there’s still the hope of seeing them again. That faith ends when they’re confirmed dead. Your wish turns into dust, and the fear that you’d never hug them again is validated.
I spot a mob of camera crews in front of the station when we leave to head back to Luke’s, and it gives me a bad feeling in my chest. It doesn’t hit me that the reporters were at the station for Andy’s story until we get to Luke’s house. News vans and reporters with microphones swarm Luke’s front yard when we pull up. They want someone to answer questions about Andy.
That someone most likely being Gage.
Luke parks in the drive and peeks back at us with a distraught look on his face. “Looks like Andy’s story went viral.”
My attention moves from the crowd to Gage. Every muscle in his body is tense.
