Page 4 of Dump and Chase

“I think she’s doing fine. She finished school and works at a sports clinic. I’m not sure if it’s full-time, because she’s still living at home.”

My heart soared at the fact she’d finished school. She’d hated being “the girlfriend” and wanted more out of life. I hated that I’d kept her from that.

“Good. I want her to be happy.”

“I have no business telling you this, but she was pretty messed up when she came home. It was a good six months before she got her shit together. I don’t know what happened and it’s not my business, but she’s back on track, so try not to derail that.”

Fragile wasn’t a word I’d use to describe Tangi, but I knew what Matt was talking about. He was giving me a gentle warning that if I screwed around with Tangi’s feelings again, her friends would make sure I heard about it. And frankly, I was terrified of Jill.

“I get it.”

“Good. Now eat and try to have a good time. I gave Ava the same advice. Your dad would want you to.”

Matt was right. We talked hockey while we ate and drank, and just as I was getting two more beers from the bar, I saw her. She was with Wolseley and Jill, talking to Mom. Tangi gave Mom a big hug and my heart picked up a few beats. Her hair was lighter now. Instead of her usual dark chestnut, there were streaks of a lighter color, so subtle it was easy to miss. Her hair had the same gentle waves I’d run my fingers through so many times. And she looked amazing in her black dress, but she’d always been athletic. And then she looked over to me with those hazel eyes that sometimes looked more brown than green, depending on the light. She made no reaction at first, but then she gave a slight nod.

“Your beers,” the bartender said.

I turned my attention back to him. I grabbed the beers and glanced back Tangi’s way, but she’d moved on to the other end of the hall to see Ava. Why would she even bother to come talk to me when I’d been such an ass to her? She was better off without me.

ChapterThree

Tangi

“Ithink you should go say hello. A peace offering,” Ava said. “Let’s put the past behind us. Don’t you think my dad would want it that way?”

Ava was laying the guilt trip on extra thick. I think Ava, like so many others, had hoped that Ethan and I would eventually get back together. When I broke up with him, in many ways I broke up with his whole family, and that included Ava. I couldn’t put into words how much I missed them all.

“You’re trying really hard.”

Ava’s brown eyes, just like Ethan’s, were pleading with me. “I just want it to be over, you know?”

I knew all too well, and I’d been thinking about it for days. In the blink of an eye, we were together again, but for all the wrong reasons. I’d thought about going to talk to Ethan when I’d walked in, but Ava was the safer option. We’d been talking for a few minutes before Ethan’s name came up. With Wolseley and Jill raiding the dessert table, it was the perfect opportunity to trap me in this conversation. I sighed and gave her a hug. “Tell you what, I’ll do this for you and your dad.”

She beamed. “Good. Thank you. I’d love for it to be the way it used to be.”

That was asking too much, but now wasn’t the time to set that truth bomb off. With one final hug, I made my way over to Ethan, but not before stopping at the bar for a little liquid courage. With a glass of cold Riesling in hand, I walked over to him where he stood talking with Matt and a few other friends. They all dispersed when they saw me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if everyone in the hall was watching us.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” he said back, flashing his boyish smile, the one that always made me melt.

“You doing okay?”

He shrugged but kept up the façade that he was invincible. “It was a shock. No one even knew he had heart trouble. He’d had his annual physical a few months ago and everything was fine.”

What did I say to that? That he was lucky he didn’t have to suffer like my grandfather did, through five years of prostate cancer? That would be little consolation when Ethan’s dad hadn’t even made it to sixty. “If you ever want to talk about it, you know you can bend my ear,” I said even though I knew he wouldn’t.

“Thanks. I noticed Leah wasn’t here.”

I was hoping he wouldn’t ask about her. “She’s working. She couldn’t get out of it.” I hated lying, but it was partially the truth. Shewasworking, but I was fairly certain she could have gotten out of it if she’d tried.

“That’s okay. What’s she doing now?”

Crap. I should have changed the subject right away, but now I was stuck. “She’s a server at Newman’s.” It sounded so pathetic when I said it. Translation: she’d missed Rick’s funeral to make a few bucks.

“Oh.” He was absorbing the insult like a champ. “I’ve tried to reach out to her, but she hasn’t ever responded back.”

So he knew it was a flimsy excuse. My sister was such an asshole for missing this. “She had a hard time adjusting to things. And you know how stubborn she is. When she makes a decision about something, she doesn’t budge.”

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