I placed the treat in my fingers and slowly raised my hand. Clyde followed the movement like a champ and plonked his butt on the ground. I clicked the movement with the device in my left hand and gave him the treat. “Good boy. We’re gonna have you doing tricks in no time.”
My phone buzzed on the counter, and I picked it up, sliding my thumb across the screen.
GRAE
I need a girls’ night and I’m not above begging. Take pity on your sole single friend and go to Dockside with me tonight? There’s a band… And I’ll buy your first drinks…
I didn’t have time to type a reply before another text appeared.
WREN
Only single friend? Uh, Maddie? Did you forget to tell us something?
I winced. I hadn’t exactly had time to bring Grae and Wren up to speed, and it felt weird to talk about all that with Nash’s sister.
GRAE
Yup. Maddie’s on my schnitzel list, so that means she has to come. If she can stop banging my brother long enough to make it to the bar.
She inserted several very colorful gagging-face emojis after her text.
ME
Schnitzel list?
GRAE
Don’t try to trick me into cursing. Then I’ll really be mad at you.
I couldn’t help laughing at that.
ME
I can meet for a drink tonight.
GRAE
Several drinks.
I stared at my phone, but before I could type out a reply, Wren voiced my question.
WREN
Everything okay, G?
There was no response for several seconds, and then one popped up.
GRAE
Fine. Just need to let off some steam with my girls.
That didn’t exactly sound fine, but maybe we’d learn more tonight.
WREN
We’ll be there. Just tell us what time.
The sound of a key in the lock had me looking up. I’d been so distracted by Grae’s texts that I hadn’t even heard a car pull up. Nash opened the door and stepped inside.
Clyde let out a low woof and jogged over to Nash. Apparently, his apprehension around Nash had melted away. Nash gave the dog a good stroke, then strode toward me. He slid his hand beneath my hair and tipped my head back. His mouth stopped just shy of mine. “Good day?”
I fought the urge to stretch onto my tiptoes and close the distance between us. “It was great.”
“No Adam sightings?”
I shook my head, still waiting for the contact I’d desperately missed all day.
“And no other trouble?” Nash pressed.
I pulled back a fraction, taking in his face. To everyone else, he would’ve looked perfectly relaxed, but I saw the tiny lines of strain around his eyes. “What happened?”
Nash sighed, his hand dropping from my neck. “Let’s sit down.”
No good conversations started that way. My stomach twisted as Nash guided me toward the couch. He pulled me down so I was right next to him, not giving me an inch of personal space.
“Just get it over with,” I whispered. Better to rip off the Band-Aid in one pull.
Nash’s hand found the back of my neck again, kneading the muscles there. “I saw your dad today. He’s out. Law called the prison, and he was granted an earlier release than they originally planned.”
A lead weight settled in my stomach. Jimmy was out. I didn’t like to call him Dad, not even in my mind. He hadn’t earned the title. I swallowed the bile trying to creep up my throat. “Okay.”
“He was served the order of protection before he left prison, so he knows he has to keep one hundred yards’ distance.”
“That’s good.” And it was. But I couldn’t feel the good. I’d gone numb, that pins-and-needles feeling sweeping across my body and into my bones.
“Mads.”
“Hmm?”
“Look at me,” Nash said quietly.
I couldn’t get my eyes to obey.
Nash shifted so he filled my vision. “He’s not going to hurt you. I won’t let him.”
The eighties cover band belted out Don’t Stop Believin’, and the crowd sang it right back. I maneuvered through the throng of people to the corner booth. Setting down the three drinks, I slid onto the seat. “I almost lost an eye getting these. You owe me.”
“You’re an angel goddess,” Grae said, placing a smacking kiss on my cheek. She punched something into the insulin pump on her hip and then downed the cocktail in a single chug.
Wren and I gaped at her.
“G,” Wren began. “You better start talking.”
She shrugged. “What? I told you I wanted to blow off some steam.”
“You didn’t say you wanted to get blackout drunk, which is what will happen if you keep doing that.”
Grae was petite. With her white-blond hair and almost elfin features, she was absolutely gorgeous. But her tiny frame would not be able to handle a ton of alcohol.
She scowled at Wren. “You sound like one of my brothers. It was hard enough getting you two away from Holt and Nash. I don’t need them speaking through you, too.”
Hurt flashed in Wren’s eyes.
I shifted in my seat so I was facing Grae. I knew her brothers were overprotective. It was natural given that she was the youngest, and there had been a time when they’d almost lost her. I was sure it hadn’t helped that Nash had insisted on dropping me off tonight, talking to the bouncer, who was an off-duty cop, and showing him my father’s and Adam’s photos, insisting they not be let in. But something else was going on with Grae.
I met her stare. “You gonna tell us what’s really going on, or are you going to keep griping at friends who love and care about you?”
Grae’s eyes flashed for a brief moment, and her shoulders slumped. She glanced at Wren. “Sorry for being a biznatch.”
Wren bumped her shoulder against Grae’s. “Forgiven. As long as you tell us what’s wrong.”
Grae ran her finger along the rim of her glass. “Caden’s back.”
“To visit his family?” I asked. Nash hadn’t mentioned it, which seemed odd, but we’d had a few other things going on lately.
She shook her head. “I guess he moved back for the foreseeable future. Nash said something about him helping out with the resort.”
“I know you’re not his biggest fan, but you can just avoid him, can’t you?” Wren asked.
Grae’s jaw tightened, then sawed back and forth, her back teeth grinding together. “He always talks down to me. Like I can’t handle my own life. He’s not my brother. He’s not even my friend. Not anymore. It pisses me off. And now he’s going to be back on SAR and around all the danged time. I just—it was easier when he was in New York.”
“What happened?” I asked gently. “You two used to be pretty close.”
We’d all run in a big group: Grae, Wren, Caden, Nash, and Holt. We were all only a couple of years apart in age, so it made sense. Caden seemed to look out for Grae the same way Nash and Holt did, but it hadn’t pissed Grae off back then.
She shifted in her seat, staring down at her empty glass. “I honestly don’t know. One day, it was like he just didn’t want to be my friend anymore. He put up this wall. Started acting like he knew what was better for me than I knew myself.”
Wren turned to face Grae. “I’m sorry, G. I didn’t realize things had been that hot and cold with you guys.”
Grae swallowed hard. “He just makes me feel…I don’t know, like he’s assessing every life choice I make. And I fail every time.”
That had my back stiffening. “Tell him to take a long walk off a short pier.”
The corner of her mouth kicked up. “That easy, huh?”
“No one gets to make you feel bad about how you live your life.” I knew what that felt like, and no one deserved to live that way, especially not someone as amazing as Grae.
A look of bone-deep sadness swept across her face. “He used to be the one who made me think I could do anything.”
The grief in her voice made my chest ache.
A second later, she shook it off. “You know what? Screw him. He doesn’t deserve my energy.”
Wren grinned. “Damn straight.”
Grae straightened her shoulders. “Let’s dance.”
I laughed. “Dancing cures all?”
“It can’t hurt.”
We slid out of the booth and made our way onto the dance floor. We shimmied and shook, jumped up and down, and pulled moves that I should’ve been embarrassed about but wasn’t. We laughed and didn’t let any guy break up our amazing threesome.
Sweat dotted my back, and my side began to ache. I leaned into Wren and Grae. “I’m going to get some water and air. Be right back.”
“Want me to come with you?” Wren asked.
I shook my head. “I’ll be back in five.”
I made my way to the bar and snagged a bottle of water. My gaze caught on a familiar face as she downed a shot. My mother’s hair was plastered to her face, and this obviously wasn’t her first drink. As recognition dawned, her eyes narrowed on me. “What are yooooou doing here? You don’t even like fun.”
I sighed. Things obviously weren’t going well in paradise if she wasn’t home with my father. “You can’t ruin my happy buzz. Not tonight, Mom.”
I turned to leave, but she grabbed my elbow. “You embarrassed your father. Serving him with a restraining order? Who do you think you are?”
I wrenched my arm free of her hold. “Someone who will do whatever it takes to protect herself.”
I made a beeline for the doors to the back patio. Most of the crowd had stayed inside, but a few couples were making out, and some people were smoking. I moved farther away from the small crowd and closer to the water.
The lake had always been a place of comfort for me. Something about the smooth surface could soothe my most ragged edges. I took a deep breath, pulling in the pine air.
I couldn’t let my mother get to me. She hadn’t earned that right.
A twig snapped, and I turned. Something collided with my temple. Pain bloomed. And then I was falling into the darkness.
