Page 140 of Dark and Dangerous

He shakes his head. “I can’t tell you what to do, Jace,” he says. “I can’t even tell you what therightthing to do is. You’re in a position most eighteen-year-olds—hell, mosteveryone—will never find themselves in, and I don’t envy you…”

“But?”

“But this seems like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity… on both ends. Both Texas Tech and getting your grandpa better. It’s just a damn shame they both happen to be at the same time.”

“Yeah,” I sigh out, even more confused now than I was when I got here. I stand, offer my hand between us. “Hey, thanks for listening. I really appreciate it.”

“Any time, son,” he says, shaking my hand. “I mean it.”

Harlow

Dad catches me in the laundry room when he re-enters the house through the back door. It was the only place I could think to hide out and eavesdrop, and now that I have, I almost I wish I hadn’t.

Jace got the call from Texas Tech while I was with him, and he never once mentioned it or even showed any signs of its importance. He carried on, focused on his grandpa, while the weight of his future bore down on his shoulders.

“How much of that did you hear?” Dad asks, offering his arm for me to tuck myself under. Which I do.

“All of it,” I mutter, frowning up at him.

He leads me to the living room and onto the couch, his arm around me the entire time. I think about Jace, about the life he’s lived, and the constant dark cloud that’s hung over him since his parents died. And then everything he’s been through since. For years, he’s put up with his grandpa’s abuse, simply because he felt like he could take it. But slowly it chipped away at parts of his soul he’d hidden so well, and now he’s here. At a crossroads. Where he must somehow choose between his dreams and his responsibilities, and “It’s not fair,” I choke out.

“I know, sweetheart,” Dad says, stroking my arm. He stares at the blank television, his mind lost, while I stare at him. “It’s really not.”

“He’s so close to his dreams…”

“Yeah,” Dad agrees, finally facing me, revealing the redness in his eyes. “He’s closer than Harley got.”

I nod, sniffing back my emotions.

“You miss him, huh?”

I don’t know if he’s talking about Jace or my brother, but either way, the answer’s the same. “So much.”

Dad brings me closer, looking ahead again. “He’s a good kid, Harlow.”

“I know,” I whisper, and finally release the tears I’d held onto. “He’s the best.”

87

Jace

From behind the counter, I give a curt nod to Hailey as she waves goodbye. She’s worked at the rink for a couple of years now, but we’ve always worked different shifts. Until I decided I could no longer be around Harlow in any capacity and switched out their shifts. Dumb move on my part, but pride and pity can make you do some stupid things.

“Jonah!” I call out. “Are you going to be much longer?”

“One minute!”

I’ve just shut down the computers when the rink door opens. “Sorry, we’re closed,” I say, looking up to see Lana walking toward me. “Oh, hey.”

“Hey, sweetheart.” She stops on the other side of the counter. “I’m just meeting a few people here, but I left my keys at home. You mind hanging back until we’re done to lock up? No more than ten, maybe fifteen minutes.”

“Everything okay?”

“Absolutely. Just a last-minute emergency meeting.”

I raise my eyebrows, questioning, but she just smiles, moves to the dining area.

Turning around, I lean against the counter while I pull out my phone and unlock it. The Texas Tech Men’s Basketball Instagram page is still up from when I was on it last, and I continue to scroll through the posts. It’s been six days since the offer now, and I have until tomorrow to give them my answer. The problem? I’m still no closer to making a decision.

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