Page 10 of The Light We Lost

The judges must’ve felt similarly, as thirty minutes later, a first-place trophy was in my hands. “Congratulations, you two. I’ll sure miss seeing you around,” Heath said. “Try not to forget about us when you make it big.”

“I’m playing college baseball.” Nolan shrugged. “I wouldn’t call that making it big.”

Heath waved him off, pulling his dark hair back in a ponytail. “One day, you’re going to stand in my bar and tell me your biggest dreams came true. The whole town believes you’re going to go pro.”

Nolan’s cheeks reddened, like they always did at the mention of him playing baseball. His fingers shook, and I slipped his hand into mine as more of the town made their way over, wishing him the best. Telling him they couldn’t wait to see him on the big screen.Take care of our boy, they told me.We’re trusting you!

They meant well. They were excited. It was slim pickings in Wallowpine, and it wasn’t often you had a standout athlete like Nolan. He was ranked one of the top pitchers in the state and had a real shot at playing professional ball. I imagined the town felt invested in his dream.

But sometimes . . . I’d like for them all to kiss my ass.

“I’m ready to go if you are,” I said once we had a moment to ourselves, knowing he’d done this competition for me. “But if you want to stay, I’m happy with that too.”

He glanced around the crowded room, his throat bobbing. “You don’t mind leaving?”

I raised my trophy. “I got what I wanted. I won.”

The corner of his mouth ticked up, his words a warm caress. “Me too.” I beamed, leaning into him as he left a parting kiss on my cheek. “I’m going to go say bye to the guys real quick. I’ll meet you at the truck?”

I nodded, trailing him with my gaze as he made his way over to some of his teammates from his high school baseball team. His nerves appeared to ease as he fell into groove with the guys, all of them laughing at something he said. After ensuring Nolan was good, I walked outside to the parking lot. I pulled on the door handle to his truck, rolling my eyes when I realized I’d forgotten to ask for his keys. With a groan, I started back toward the bar, stopping when I heard a familiar voice say, “She’s embarrassing.”

I peeked around Nolan’s truck, finding Bethany and Lisa leaning against the hood of a car. We’d run around in the same crowd in school, and I gravitated toward them, stopping when Lisa said, “I feel sorry for her.”

Unease thickened in my gut, instinct telling me to leave. I knew better than to eavesdrop. But curiosity or perhaps self-deprecation had me staying put. “Don’t feel sorry for her,” Bethany said. “It’ll be her own fault when he leaves her high and dry. That’s what she gets for being a gold digger.”

The lighting was dim, but I could’ve sworn Lisa gave her an irritated look. “How is she a gold digger? They’ve been together since freshman year.”

“Yeah, but Nolan’s a good guy. He probably feels like they’ve been together too long to walk away now.”

“Maybe.”

Bethany shrugged, and I thought that might be the end of it until she said, “His mom had no problem abandoning her family. Who’s to say he won’t follow in her footsteps and leave Indy?”

Nolan pulled his truck off the highway and onto the dirt road leading to my house. But instead of driving down it, he eased off onto the side of the road. He switched his truck off, the lights flickering out with it. A mountain breeze stirred through the open windows, a warm kiss of air. It was dark, quiet. There was no one here but us.

Exactly how I liked it.

We only had a handful of nights like this left. In three days, we’d be in the city. Nolan would be attending Arizona Canyon University, where he’d be playing baseball. It was in Phoenix, only a couple of hours away, but I’d only ever known Wallowpine.

I was about to suggest we go toourspot when he asked, “Are you going to make me work for it, or are you going to tell me what’s up?” Despite the nerves in my belly, I smiled. He wasn’t one to beat around the bush—not with me. “I’mnot opposed to hard work, but you ran me ragged dancing tonight, so please let me into that pretty mind of yours.”

“Are you hurting?” I reached for his right shoulder, his pitching arm. He’d injured it this past season, strained some muscles from throwing one too many pitches. “I’m sorry. Dancing was a bad idea—”

“I’m good. The doc said so, remember?” He smiled faintly, silently assuring me he was fine. He might have been cleared by a doctor, but Nolan never liked to show his cards. Before I could further ensure he was okay, his fingers stroked mine. “Talk to me, peaches. Tell me what’s going on.”

Heat crawled up my skin. “Do you think I’m a gold digger?”

He snorted. “If you have a sugar daddy and you haven’t been sharing, I’m—” I scowled, and he cleared his throat, his lips twitching. “Why would I ever think that?”

“I might’ve heard Lisa and Bethany saying something along those lines.” I kicked off my red boots, bringing my knees to my chest. “They’re just saying what everyone’s thinking. That I’m piggybacking on your dreams, and hopefully you’ll wise up and dump me before I rob you blind.”

It was ridiculous. I knew who I was, what my intentions were. Most of all, it was confusing. In one breath, they’d tell me to watch out for Nolan, yet in the next, they claimed I was mooching off his dreams because I didn’t have any of my own. It didn’t matter what I did—sometimes it felt like the whole town was against me.

“They say anything else?” His voice was calm, steady. I wasn’t surprised. Besides on the ball field, I’d never seen Nolan get riled up over anything.

I shook my head, choosing not to reveal how they’d compared him to his mom. It wasn’t true, and bringing it up would only hurt him.

Lord knew that woman had hurt him enough.

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