Page 186 of Never Let You Go

“You should get back to work. Bake us some bread.”

“Not until I find Alexandra.”

“Will you get back to work when you find her?”

“That I will.”

“Even if she doesn’t want to be with you?”

The image is fixed, now, showing us the pub’s ceiling again. “She’ll be with me.”

There’s shuffling noise in the background. The image swerves around again and then becomes dark. “Come on,” Justin says, “let me help you.”

Sarah’s phone rings, interrupting the video. It’s a New York number that looks familiar. Sarah picks up, and Barbara’s anguished voice fills our earbuds. “Sarah, are you with Lexie?”

Sarah hands me the other earbud. “Hey, Barb, it’s me. I’m with Sarah. We’re on our way to the city.”

“Thank god you’re back! What were you thinking, disappearing like that for almost three weeks?”

“What are you talking about? We’ve been gone two weeks, tops. Meeting is—when is the meeting again? June 30?”

“Exactly. Tonight. At five.” Toni—? What’s today?

Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit.

I check the time on Sarah’s phone. That’s in three hours.

“Where are you right now?” Barbara asks.

I look out the window. “We’re… crossing the Hudson.”

“To Grand Central?”

“Yes.” We were going to take the subway to Brooklyn from there, but looks like we might need a change of plans. If the meeting is tonight. Which it always was. I just lost track of time. I guess the Appalachian Trail has a way of making you lose track of time.

“Okay. I’ll send a car for you at the station,” Barbara says. “You need to go to Red Barn Baking directly.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? You sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t have a choice, right. The rest of my life starts today. Might as well get on with it.”

“Do you need me to bring you some clothes?”

I look down at my bare legs, my sandals, my dress. At least I shaved. I washed, conditioned, and braided my hair. I’m not wearing any makeup, but I have a nice tan. I shrug. “Sure, why not. Maybe some eyeliner and mascara, too. If you can. More importantly, can you give me an update on the law firm you found?”

“They’ll be meeting with you first thing tomorrow morning. That’s all I could do. I don’t have a timeline or pricing yet for everything you want to do.”

“Great. No problem. How about the consultant?”

There’s a silence on the line. “That was tougher to figure out, but I think you’ll love who I found.”

“Wanna tell me about them?”

Her voice is a little distant, as if she’s talking away from the phone. “I don’t have time right now, sweetie. I still have a lot of paperwork to prepare for the meeting, and Robert isn’t exactly helping. But don’t worry, everything will be all set. See you later!” The line goes silent. Barbara signed off. She’s busy.

The phone reverts to Christopher’s video.

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