Page 19 of Forever Mine
Her grin is full of mischief. “Won’t stop until she screams my name. Twice. See ya later, handsome.”
The screen goes black.
Opening my texts, my fingers fly across the digital qwerty keyboard as I type out a quick message to Dad. He’s on eighteen-hour shift rotations this week. One day on. One day off. Life of a county sheriff.
Me: I hate to do this over text, but Elizabeth Fairchild is here. As in here at CU. We saw her yesterday. It’s not good. I’ve got a lot to tell you. Which detective was working her case? Has he spoken to her? Have you heard anything at the station?
He’d tried to find out information on Liz. Threw out feelers to some people he knew at Fallen Brook PD and in other states. She’s been a ghost the last eighteen months. I have an ominous feeling that shit is about to hit the fan when it comes to her sudden reappearance.
When Dad doesn’t reply, I check the clock. Thirty minutes before sunrise. Enough time for me to make it up to our viewing spot if I run. Quicker if I drive. I choose to run. I blame Julien. In high school, you couldn’t bribe me with chocolate donuts to get me to do anything faster than a slow jog. But now, morning runs with my guy, having that quiet, alone time with him every day, is one of my most favorite things.
Not caring which tee and shorts I grab off the pile in the chair, I quickly dress and lace up my cross trainers, sans socks. Tucking my phone into the side mesh zipper pocket for safekeeping, I grab my keys off the dresser, and head out—only to smack right into Jayson in the hallway.
“Sorry, man. Didn’t see you.”
He rolls the shoulder I slammed into and glances past me into the bedroom. “Where’s Jules?”
“Where he always is at this hour.”
Jayson looks about as well-rested as I do. By the drawn, forlorn look on his face, it’s obvious he’s not dealing well with the Liz situation, if we can call it a situation. More like a FUBAR.
Feeling compelled to ask, I inquire, “You doing okay?”
Versions of that question seem to be running rampant this morning, and I make a mental note to ban the use ofokayfor the rest of the day.
“No.”
Should I push? Play therapist with a shoulder to vent on? Jayson tends to ‘leap before he looks’ when he’s upset. Not a good thing.
“My afternoon is free since Julien has practice. Want to get some time in at the pool?”
Pre-season training for Julien began the first of August. The weeks leading up to the beginning of classes are called “captain’s practice.” Because Julien is co-captain of the team this year, he’s in charge of the morning sessions with his teammates. Weights and cardio. In the afternoon, they meet back up for field practice. That’s not including the get-togethers, cook-outs, and other things they do to build rapport. Male bonding at its best.
Jayson scratches his head and yawns. “Yeah. That sounds good. Want breakfast?”
I trail behind him as he sleep-stumbles his way to the kitchen.
“I’ll grab a trail bar. I’m going to try to catch up with J.”
After his morning run, he comes back for a quick shower and food before leaving again to meet his team at the student athletic complex. If I don’t catch him now, I won’t see him until after lunch.
We find Ryder leaning against the counter island, completely focused on whatever he’s doing on his phone. He doesn’t even notice us until Jayson says, “Hey.”
“Hey,” Ryder distractedly replies.
Being nosy, Jay invades his space to see what he’s doing.
“Are you texting Liz?”
Ryder twists around to block Jay’s view. “Yeah. Just saying good morning.”
Scowling, Jay snaps, “I thought you said we needed to give her space and not pressure her.”
“Checking in to say hi is not pressuring her.”
Not in the mood to listen to them argue because that’s where this is heading, I snatch a water bottle from the fridge and scramble out of the condo. I’ll eat something later.
A faint lightening of the sky subtly glows along the horizon, urging me to get going. I forego stretching to warm up my muscles and take off at a crisp jog.
