Page 58 of Call Back

My phone rang in my pocket. I expected to see Colt’s name on the screen, and even had a few choice curses prepared for him, but I saw Brady’s name instead.

“Hey,” I said as I lifted the hood of my car. “Sorry I haven’t checked in yet.”

“I was calling to see when you thought you might be home.”

Home.Brady’s apartment wasn’t home. Still, I liked the idea of having a home with someone. A peaceful, settled life. Brady could give me that, couldn’t he?

My mind shifted to Colt, but I immediately threw the idea out. Guys like Colt were dead end—I knew that.

But at the moment, I had bigger issues to deal with, like the fact that Colt had disconnected my battery cables. At least it was an easy fix. “I’m not sure.”

“Surely you’re not still at the church. I know the dinner was finished over an hour ago.”

I froze with my hand on the first battery cable. “How did you know that?”

“I’m not keeping tabs on you,” he added quickly. “It just so happens that I have a friend who goes to the church you catered. I’d mentioned that your mother owns the catering business, and he called a few minutes ago to tell me how impressed he was.”

“Huh.” That was a huge coincidence, and I wasn’t sure I liked it. I’d always been independent—even before my move to New York—and it felt suffocating to have someone monitoring my every move. Even if his intentions were good.

“So where are you?”

How was I going to explain that I would be another hour or more? I was tired of coming up with lies. I made a snap decision. “I’m not coming over tonight,” I said, grabbing one of the battery clamps and hoping I put it on the right screw. “I’m going to stay with my mom.”

“Maggie, if I pushed too hard—”

“It’s not you,” I said. “It’s just . . . you saw my mother today. It’s like she aged ten years in only a few days. I feel like I need to stay close to her right now.”

“Okay. I understand. Will you let me know when you’re safely locked inside your mother’s house?”

“Yeah.” I clamped the next cable to the battery. “But I have to clean up the catering kitchen first, so it might be a while.”

“Okay. Just be safe.”

“I will.” I hung up and let the hood slam shut before climbing behind the wheel. Closing my eyes and crossing my fingers, I turned the key, hoping Colt hadn’t messed with anything else. The engine turned over and purred.

I smacked the dashboard. “Take that, Colt Austin.”

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