Page 12 of Trip Through Your Wires

I hated lying to my brother but I didn’t want to tell him that I changed my flight. He knows my trips to Highland are planned down to the penny, and if he knew I’d paid a fee to change my ticket, he’d want to help, and I didn’t want that. He already helped me more than he should.

Unfortunately, this is one time where I could really use his generosity because I’d have to make up for it somehow, and my only option was to not come up next month, which sucked. I loved it here. The house Ellery bought has become like a second home. But I don’t have an endless bank account and need to be smart with my money.

“Well,” he exhales, and the static dies a bit, “that can happen when you’re doing too much. Speaking of, have you thought anymore about what I said?”

I nod and look down. “Yeah.”

“And?”

“And the answer is no.”

Move back home so I can save money. That was his suggestion a couple of days ago when I told him I was tight on money.

“You know I can’t do that,” I stop him from saying what I know he’s about to. “DCC is closer to Nana’s house than ours.”

“But living in Davenport is costing you extra money that you don’t have,” he counters.

I sigh and nod again, hating that he’s right. When grandma suggested I stay with her in Davenport while taking classes at DCC, I jumped at the chance. Being closer to campus would mean less money spent on gas. But after living with her for a few weeks, I quickly learned she needs things that her monthly stipend from grandpa’s retirement doesn’t cover. Since I hate to see her go without, it’s me who ends up buying it for her, which sometimes leaves me a little short.

It was bad enough I had to live paycheck to paycheck, but it didn’t seem right that she had to. The least I could do was buy her a box of hair color or milk when she needed it. Especially since I wasn’t paying rent or any of the utilities.

“She needs things, Trav. What kind of granddaughter would I be if I let her eat dry cereal?”

“One that could buy her a whole cow when she gets her degree which you could do faster if you worked less and focused on your studies.”

“Yeah, well, things happen and I have to work.” I hated the twist of fate that changed my plans for college, but I’d gotten over the disappointment. My life was what it was.

Maybe I should get a second job. Something I could fit in between classes. Saving more would be a step in the right direction. Man, I couldn’t wait for the day when I didn’t have to worry about robbing Peter to pay Paul. I’m tired of busting my ass, and I’m only nineteen.

“You’re smart, Jen,” Travis continues. “You should be at a real college, working toward your future so you can design those buildings you dream about.”

I lean over and peek through the kitchen’s pass through. Jake is staring out the front window with his back to me, the very epitome of a skyscraper like those I hoped to one day design. Even from here his frame is imposing; muscles in his broad back, straining against his jersey.

I swallow down the heat in my cheeks and turn back around. “I’ll get there.”

He starts to respond then stops mid-sentence. “Shit, I forgot to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” I grip the counter with my free hand. “Did the store get an extra shipment of Cool Ranch?” Man, I loved those. Dorito’s broke the mold when they came out with that flavor.

“No,” he says excitedly. “Check this out. They found a body on the beach.”

The moment he says it, my heart thumps once, hard against my ribs. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” he shoots back, static on the line spiking. “And there’s more.”

He fills me in on the details I already know thanks to my eavesdropping on his chat with Caleb. But then he tells me something I didn’t know and a chill shoots down my spine.

“What do you mean Richardson is coming to Cherry Cove?” I grip the phone tight.

“Caleb’s mom overheard the Chief talking. Said he should think twice about the idea, considering how many people want a piece of him for what his son did.”

Another chill shoots through me, sending goosebumps down my arms. Chrissy, Mary, Carlie, Laura, and Meg. Girls I’d known all my life that were believed to have gone missing but turned out to be the target of Royce Richardson’s maniacal mind.

“But why?” I swallow, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat. “Richardson is a wanted man. He wouldn’t risk his freedom.”

“He would if he thought the body may be his son.”

As soon as he says it, I nearly drop the phone. “Is that what he thinks?” I ask, digging my nails into the receiver’s hard shell.

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