Page 101 of The Light We Lost

“Yes, I’m sure.” If the situation were different, there was enough temper in her tone to excite me. “After I stood there waiting for him for forty minutes like a bimbo, Evelyn called to let me know Calder isn’t coming. Apparently after she dropped him off at the airport this morning, a supermodel gave him a much more enticing offer and he couldn’t resist. He gave Evelyn the bad news when he was boarding his flight to Hawaii.”

“What a dick.”

I was about to use more colorful words when Indy said, “What am I supposed to do? The whole town thinks he’s coming. And then there’s the kids . . . They were really excited to meet him. And Evelyn already alerted the news crew about Calder, so they’re not coming.” She let out a quiet groan. “Everyone’s going to be so disappointed. Who knows if we’ll raise enough for the sports programs now.”

“It’s not your fault,” I assured her, wishing I could do it in person and not from afar. “What happened was completely out of your control. You didn’t have to run this fundraiser, so if anyone can’t see you were doing a nice thing, and would rather get their panties in a wad, then screw ’em.”

I hated the words before they’d left my mouth, but I pushed panic aside, putting Indy first. “Why don’t you catch a flight to New York? You don’t have to come back here and face them. Depending on the time of your flight, I can drive Genny and your things to you, or I can fly out first thing tomorrow and bring her to New York.”

“No,” Indy said, surprising me. “I might be pissed, but I’m not quitting. I’ve put too much into this fundraiser to walk away.” Before I could insist she didn’t owe anyone anything, she stopped me. “I know what you’retrying to do, Nolan.”

My mouth ran dry. “I’m not doing anything.”

“You’re trying to get Genny to yourself. I bet you wouldn’t even bring her back, claim she ran away or something. Sorry, but you’re gonna have to accept her and I are a package deal.”

A half smile toyed on my lips. “Caught me red-handed.”

“I’ll be home soon.” Her words were a temporary balm. “You can make up for trying to steal my cat by helping me with the fundraiser.”

“Anything you need.”

But I wondered what I’d gotten myself into when she said, “I was hoping you’d say that . . . because I need you to dust off your glove.”

Chapter Fifty-Two

Indy—Now

“If you’ve got nothing to hide, then you’ll let me search your house.”

“Oh, I’ve got plenty to hide.” I leaned back in my chair from where I sat behind the admissions table, holding Patty’s intense gaze. She raised a brow, and I did the same; I could do this all day. I looked past her big, feathered hair, seeing a line of people growing behind her. There was a mixture of strangers and familiar faces, young and old, all likely eager to get their face painted or play carnival games. I should move this along, but I couldn’t resist a good time. “Be sure to check Nolan’s house. I have two bodies hidden there, but I can assure you neither of them are Calder Rohan.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I can get a search warrant.”

I laughed, mostly at the idea of the sheriff’s department’s secretary forging a warrant. “Or you can save yourself the trouble and look online—eventually you’ll find proof that Calder is in Hawaii and not in my basement waiting to surprise you.”

Her shoulders dropped. From the Boston Falcons shirt she wore, she’d been excited to meet the star center fielder. Patty wasn’t the only one. It was barely ten in the morning, and I’d repeated at least fifty times that he wasn’t here. “Alright.” She reached into her purse. “Go ahead and give me ten raffle tickets.”

I smiled, thanking her as the high school student beside me handed her raffle tickets. “Did you want to sign up to play in the tournament?”

She scoffed and pushed her glasses up her nose, apparently uninterested in playing baseball. “No. Put me down for the pie toss.”

I laughed and added her name to the long list of people signed up for a chance to nail Sherriff Turner with a pie. I might’ve felt bad for him if he hadn’t agreed to it, assuming it would raise a good chunk of money.

I was grateful for every bit, as I had no idea how today’s fundraiser would go. When Calder hadn’t shown yesterday, I’d considered flying to Hawaii and dragging him to Arizona by his ear. Evelyn had practically given me permission to do so. But amid my frustration, I’d realized Calder’s decision didn’t affect me, and instead called the one person I knew I could rely on.

I looked to my right, heart fluttering at the sight of the players warming up on the baseball field. There was no denying people were disappointed they weren’t meeting a major league baseball player, but they seemed to move on once they heard there was going to be a legends vs. rookies game—a chance for the high school’s alumni to play the current high school baseball team.

“I’m so tired already,” Lisa said, stopping by where I was set up at the front entrance of the football field. She’d been moving most of the morning, ensuring the booths were set up and good to go. The kids on her soccer team were running the dunk tank. “I’m pretty sure the entire town is here.”

I glanced over my shoulder, and sure enough, it felt like the whole town was gathered on the football field. There was a Ferris wheel at the fifty-yard line, sandwiched between the ring toss and beer pong—but instead of beer, we’d used Mountain Dew to fill the red Solo cups. Across the field and beneath some shade, we’d set up corrals for kids to ride horses and pet llamas. Booths were scattered over every inch of grass, ranging from bake sales to apple bobbing to balloon darts. Even Grumpy Gus had a watermelon-eating contest going.

“I’m still sorry about Calder,” I told her, knowing how excited her students had been. They’d even made him signs. “I talked to his agent. She’s going to see if she can arrange for him to come down and talk to your class still.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, just as she had last night. “Like I told you, I’m thrilled I won’t have to fight Charlie over asking Calder to sign his ass.” I laughed, almost wishing I’d gotten to see that. “Besides, I should be thanking you. Without you, I’m not sure this would’ve even happened.”

I waved her off. If I hadn’t stepped up, someone else would have. The crowd of people behind me was proof of that. Before I could say as much, she said, “I’m going to walk around and get more donations. I’ll see you later?”

Telling her I’d see her at the game, I went back to helping with admissions. I signed ten more people up for the pie toss and bore the bad news about Calder twice as often. I was about to text Nolan when someone said, “You’re such a hoe.”

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