I glared at the wall, hoping she’d somehow feel it at her house twenty minutes away. There was only one way to get her off my ass. It would take exactly one pronoun to ensure I had my house all to myself, completely uninterrupted, for a solid twenty-four hours. The problem was, on the twenty-fifth hour, all hell would break loose, and the entire Michaels family would descend upon me like the first wave of the zombie apocalypse, starved for details rather than brains. Though, if I wanted to guarantee I didn’t get any surprise visitors while Remi was over, I had to give her something.
“Oh, no offense taken, and thanks for your vote of confidence, but I’m sure she will love my burgers.”
The line fell silent just as I’d assumed.
“Oh my God,” Cassidy breathed. “You’re having a woman over? For dinner?”
I folded the top sheet back and dragged the midnight-blue comforter up the bed. “Yeah. So call off your dogs. I don’t need Tyson or Mom or Dad stopping in to check on me tonight—or, hell, at all anymore. In fact, spread the word. Everyone should return their keys and give me some privacy in my own damn house again.”
“Wait. Wait. Wait. Is this like…a date-date?”
“I hope so. Otherwise it’s going to be real awkward when I try to kiss her.”
“Oh my God!” she shouted at a decibel I feared would wake the dogs.
When the pillows were neatly stacked on the bed, I replied, “Okay. That’s enough. God himself has now heard about my date. Give the man a break.”
“Spill it. What’s her name? What’s she do? How did you meet?”
“See, this is exactly what we are not going to do right now. I only told you about it because I need all of you to give me some space to explore things with her. Some well-deserved privacy. Then—if and when the time comes—I’ll tell you guys everything, but please just lay off and let me do this on my own.”
She let out a groan of frustration. Relinquishing control was not Cassidy’s strong suit. “Fine. Then at least tell me how serious it is.”
Really fucking serious.
Life-changing serious.
Terrifyingly serious.
“It’s all very new, Cass,” I answered. “Give me a little time to figure it out. That’s all I’m asking for.”
“Fine,” she huffed. “But whenever you’re ready to talk about her, I want to be the first to know. Tyson does not get the first call. Do you hear me?”
I chuckled. “Loud and clear.”
“Good. Now go Google how to make a decent burger so you don’t give the poor girl botulism.”
Shaking my head, I grinned. “Love you too.”
“I do love you. And in all seriousness, I’m proud of you. This is exciting. I hope your secret woman realizes how lucky she is.”
Yeah. My sister loved me. But she was dead wrong. I was the lucky one. “I appreciate that.”
“Have fun tonight.”
“Will do.”
After a round of byes, I hung up and sank onto the bed. Remi was supposed to arrive in an hour, and while I’d tidied up the back porch earlier in the day, I still had a few things to do around the house to get ready.
Most importantly…
I reached for the picture frame on the nightstand and traced my finger over the face behind the glass. Sally’s smile was bright and carefree as she sat on my lap, both of us tipsy on wine and drunk in love. It had been taken not long after we’d met, but in so many ways, it felt like a lifetime ago. We were all smiles and laughter in those days.
After the plane crash, the picture had felt like a rusty blade lancing my soul. The what-could’ve-beens taunted me every time I caught sight of her face. Half the time, I kept it tucked away in a drawer so I didn’t have to look at it. There were days when the memories hurt too much for me to breathe. But then other times, I needed to see it. Her. I needed to remember the woman she’d been before she’d disappeared so I could be at peace knowing she was no longer living in a constant state of fear.
She would have hated the way I’d shut down and allowed the darkness to consume me.
She’d wanted me to be happy. She’d said it herself. Sometimes over and over.
And this was my chance—Remi was my chance.
Guilt churned in my stomach as I stared down at the woman who would always own a part of my heart. You didn’t travel through hell with someone for them not to become sewn into the fibers of your life.
But those days were gone—just like Sally.
If I had any hope of moving forward, I had to stop looking at the past. Life didn’t move in that direction.
“I’ll find you again,” I whispered. “Somehow, someway. But until then, this has to be goodbye.” The image of her smiling back at me, a moment of immeasurable love and happiness, trapped in time. Where it would forever stay. Swallowing hard, I carried the frame to my closet and retrieved a box of her belongings tucked in the back. I’d thought about putting it away for good at least a hundred times.
