Page 44 of Forgotten Pieces

She turns toward me holding out her glass. “Well cheers then, to your future.”

I touch my glass to hers and take a sip, my eyes fixated on her sad ones. “So what did you want to talk about when you asked to come out here?”

She shrugs, turning her gaze back to the water. “I think I just needed the company.”

“What about your friend? What’s her name... Laney?”

“If you don’t want to be here you can leave,” she says, a trace of anger in her words.

“That’s not what I meant, Tacoma.”

She rolls her eyes and continues. “Laney is great to hang out with, but she is happy here. She is a small-town girl, always will be. I’m not. I feel trapped, caged. Every day I spend here I feel the clutches of the chains tightening.”

I watch her. She is just a few inches in front of me, her back to me. And I can see the tension of this town emanating through her body. I know she hates it here just as much as I do. And now we are back here together fighting against our wills. But I know that where I will be stuck here for the rest of my life, she won’t be. “You’ll leave again. You’ll break free of the chains and fly away.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“You’re Tacoma Calloway. Nothing and no one can ever hold you back.”

She glances over her shoulder at me then, a shy smile breaking her face. I smile back at her and feel my world shifting. When I moved back to White Creek, I didn’t expect my entire life to be flipped upside down. But with this woman sitting in front of me, giving me a look I haven’t seen in years, I know that this is the beginning of something. And I am not sure if that’s a good thing.

Chapter Fifteen

Tacoma

I stare at the ceiling. I feel lighter since last night. Just a few words from Ryder Thompson and I feel like everything will get better. He has that effect on me.

Of course sometimes he doesn’t. Sometimes we are just hit or miss. Sometimes we forget all the pieces we left in the past. The ones that hurt us, that tore us apart. Or at least tore me apart. The pieces that left me a broken-hearted girl with her tail between her legs as she left for New York City. It’s kind of ironic that I came back the same way.

I roll over and look at the clock, mad I let my thoughts trail to the dark parts of our past. The light mood I was feeling didn’t last long. It’s only eight in the morning. I’m surprised I’m awake this early. I’m usually not awake until at least eleven. But that is a side effect of working in the bar industry.

I text my sister to ask if she is working at the bed and breakfast today. I wait twenty minutes and no response. Typical. She never has her phone. I don’t know what the hell she would do if it was an emergency.

I roll out of bed and go in search of coffee. I haven’t gone to the grocery store since I moved into this apartment and I only pray there is coffee left here somewhere.

No luck.

I throw some clothes on and wash my face then head downstairs to the diner to see if my sister is working.

The bell chimes as I walk in and hear the damn Sergeants start whispering my name.Have I mentioned how much I hate this town?

I flip them the bird and proceed to walk into the kitchen, but the only one back here is John, the cook.

“Can I help you?”

I turn around to see a young girl standing in the entryway. “No,” I answer as I walk past her to the office.

“You can’t be back here.”

“I know,” I smirk as I investigate the office. When I see no one, I walk past the girl again and walk behind the counter to pour myself a cup of coffee. She protests but I just head to the door that connects the diner to the bar. It’s always locked but since I have keys to the bar, I have keys to this door. I’m hoping Ivy is around so she can tell me where Rae is.

“That doors locked. You can’t go in there.” The girl pulls at my arm but since I am clearly ten years older than her and about five inches taller, she doesn’t have any luck. She goes to start protesting again but I pull my keys out and unlock the door.

“You were sayin’?” I ask as I walk into Sawyer’s. I glance back at her dumbfounded look and grin.

There is no one behind the bar, but it’s still early. I head over to the office to see if Trace is in. I nearly drop my cup of coffee on the floor when I walk in through the doorway and find Ivy bent over the desk and Trace balls deep inside of her. I am not even lying; she is at a great angle.

“Fuck,” I swear as I spill the hot coffee all over me.

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