Page 50 of Puck & Make Up

Quickly, I hit his number, try to call him.

But it just rings and rings andrings.

“Dammit,” I mutter, looking at the clock, realizing that he’s probably at practice. I start to type out a text, stop.

How the hell can I explain why I left?

DESSIE: I panicked this morning and?—

I stop. Delete that because it feels very much like…

An excuse.

DESSIE: Fox. I messed up. I shouldn’t have?—

Left. Well obviously.

“Come on, Madden,” I whisper, trying to psyche myself up. Or get my brain to work enough to not say something dumb as hell.

DESSIE: I’m sorry.

“Ugh,” I whisper, but I still hit send.

It’s not enough. Not nearly. But I know I need to start there.

And then I need to get my ass back to San Jose and make this right in person.

Unfortunately, before I can turn my car around and get the hell out of here, there’s a knock on my window…

And I see my friends peering at me through the glass.

“Damn,” I whisper.

“These are really good,” I say, shoving the apple turnover in my mouth and chugging my coffee like it’s water. “That’s why I came over. I had a hankering for baked goods.”

I shove more of the pastry in my mouth as my friends exchange a look telling me they don’t by my bullshit in the least.

“Hankering?” Rosie mouths to Bailey.

“Hmm,” is Bailey’s only response.

“I’m fine, guys,” I say. “Really.” I drain the dredges of my coffee, know that I should get the hell out of here.

Back on the road. Back to San Jose.

“Liar, liar pants on fire,” Rosie says, her curls bouncing.

“What are you even doing in town, anyway?” I mutter. “I thought you were both in San Francisco.”

Bailey studies me closely. “I had to check on some things with the cattle—which you know because we talked yesterday.”

“Right,” I lie, because I had, in fact,notremembered. I set my mug down. “Did everything go okay with that?”

Her face gentles. “Yes,” she says. “But Des?—”

I stand up. “I should go.”

“We love you, you know that right, Dessie girl?” Rosie says, snagging my hand and holding me in place when I try to make a break for it. “But, honey, now that I’m not trying to rebuild a town and wade through a legal mess, I suddenly have a lot more time on my hands.” Her expression becomes shrewd. “Which is why I know you’ve been busy.”

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