Page 23 of Worth the Fall
Ally.
I hadn’t been called that for almost thirteen years.
Not since the day my dad died.
Chapter Nine
I slid the emerald earrings Harrison had gotten me for our anniversary into my ear. I had five minutes to get ready before the car would be there to take me to the restaurant.
It had been a day and a half, and I still felt like I had been hit by a truck.
Despite that, Billy had edited a perfect video of Colton’s interview, mixed with parts of his flawless ride, and put it together with the Agri-Corp logo at the end. I had emailed it to Mr. Sterling that morning, and ten minutes later, he had replied with five smiley faces and twelve exclamation points.
I had to admit that it did lift my spirits to see that.
It was eight o’clock and Harrison was on his way from Miami. I decided not to go to the rodeo tonight; I had way too much work to finish if I wanted to spend Sunday with him. So I hunkered down in my hotel room and worked on my laptop until my vision was blurry.
But I had finally caught up.
I grabbed my purse and hotel key card before sliding on my black stilettos. I checked the full-length mirror on the back of the closet before leaving.
I was wearing the tight black dress that Harrison always raved over. My heels made me three inches taller than I usually am. My hair was straightened and lay perfectly on my back. Ihad used enough foundation to cover the splatter of freckles on my nose and cheeks. I looked like Chicago Allegra, my old self.
Sliding into the black car, I gave the driver the address and leaned back.
A notification popped up on my phone. I clicked on it, and my jaw dropped as I read through it.
Fifteen minutes ago, a fight had broken out in the parking lot of the rodeo arena. The fight had gotten heated, and one of the men involved had pulled out a gun. He aimed at the ground and fired, trying to scare the other man. Unfortunately, he missed the ground and hit the man in the foot.
The rodeo was cancelled while the police investigated.
The driver pulled into the Italian restaurant’s parking lot, and I thanked him before getting out. Palm trees loomed over the stucco building. It was mildly packed. I made my way inside, my dress already clinging to me in the heat.
“Welcome,” the young hostess greeted. “Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes, it should be under Ford, but I’m waiting for my date.”
“No problem. I see your reservation here, so as soon as he makes it, just let me know.”
I thanked her and took a seat in the lobby, my leg tapping the tile anxiously as I waited. To say I was overdressed would be an understatement. Everyone here was in t-shirts and jeans or Hawaiian button-ups and shorts.
“Come on, buddy, you deserve a nice meal,” A familiar voice echoed as the door opened.
I whipped my head around to see Dennis Nash, his wife,and four sons coming in. His hands were on Colton’s shoulders, rubbing them. Colton was laughing. “Dad, it’s not a big deal.”
“It’s always a big deal when a relationship ends.”
“And it’s always a big deal when we have a night without a rodeo,” one of the twins added.
The family walked past me, and I was unbelievably grateful to be invisible. Dennis’ wife, Josephine, smiled at the hostess. “Hi! We should have a reservation for Nash. I made it about half an hour ago.”
The hostess looked at her list. “Ah, yes. Give us just a second to clear off a table, and we’ll get you back.”
My heart thumped. They were going to have to come back to the lobby to wait with me. I was on my phone, looking through my emails to try to look busy.
“Well, hey there!”
I prayed their table would be ready before Harrison made it. I put my phone down to see the entire Nash family staring at me. Dennis was grinning as wide as he usually was. Josephine was holding his hand. Jimmy waved, Alan and Dean nodded awkwardly, and Colton...
