Page 55 of Edge of Unbroken

“Well, he obviously didn’t care that it wasn’t Sunday when he called you at the ass crack of dawn, did he?”

Vada makes a good point. The skin on the bridge of my nose buckles as I scrunch it, weighing my options.

Obviously the prospect of hearing Ronan’s voice mid-week is enticing. It zaps little jolts of giddy excitement into my stomach like I’m a kid on Christmas Eve. But can I risk it? If we continue to skirt the rules, are we setting ourselves up for a complete halt of his phone privileges? “Okay, but it’s only like six a.m. where he is. And what if I inadvertently call his grandparents’ number?” I ask. “I don’t think they’ll be as willing to let me talk to him if I keep calling him on days he’s not actually allowed to talk to me.”

“If his grandparents answer you can just hang up.” She nudges my shoulder. “Come on, Kitty Cat, just a quick ring to tell him you love him.”

I exhale loudly, releasing the breath from my chest as though I’m a pressure cooker. “Oh fine. You’re such a great influence on me.” I dial the number Ronan called me from a few hours ago.

“Just continuing my duties of making sure you listen to your heart, just like I did when you and Ran first got together.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I say as the phone rings.

“This is Randi,” a girl’s voice answers the phone, and I know for sure I didn’t accidentally call Ronan’s grandparents.

“Oh, uh, hi… sorry, I… I must have dialed the wrong number,” I stutter.

“No, wait, is this Cat?” the girl asks. I can hear the smile in her voice, which sounds soulful and smoky.

“Yeah, I… Sorry, who’s this again?” I continue stammering. I already forgot what she said her name was.

The girl on the other end of the phone laughs. “I’m Randi. Sorry, Cat, Ronan was with me last night, but he’s not this morning.”

My insides twist unnaturally, visions of Ronan and some faceless girl with a sensuous voice flitting through my brain. I look at Vada for help, but Randi stops laughing abruptly. “Okay, that came out totally wrong. I didn’t mean it like that,” she says. “Ronan and I just hung out for a little bit last night, and I made him call you after he told me how much he missed you. He’s obviously not with me right now because, well, he’s just not. He should be at home, or on the ranch. He’s probably working.”

“Got it,” I say, unsure of what to do next. Do I just end the conversation? Hang up?

“But, listen, just have your phone at the ready, because I plan on forcing him to break those stupid rules on calling you anytime I see him.”

I instantly feel more at ease. “That would be great.”

“Great. If I see him around, I’ll let him know you called me back. Have a good day, Cat like the feline,” she says, her voice a mixture of whiskey and smoke, and hangs up the phone.

I blink at the darkened screen. “Well, that was… weird,” I say when I set my phone to silent and put it back in my pocket.

Vada looks at me with one eyebrow raised and her lips pressed together.

“What?” I ask.

“You know that was Ran’s ex, right?”

“No, I didn’t. Really?” I ask, feeling uncomfortable again.

“Yep. Stevie told me about her. She and Ran dated for about a year.”

A lightbulb comes on in my head. “Oh, wait, Miranda?” I ask, and Vada nods. “Ran told me about her,” I say with a nod to myself, realizing that the Miranda I had envisioned in my head doesn’t match the voice I just heard. I pictured someone like me, I guess, someone a little more reserved, inexperienced—if you want to call it that—but this girl sounded worldly, mature,sexualperhaps. Now all I can imagine is a beautiful siren, a luscious body, an angular face with sultry eyes, and my chest squeezes.

“Yeah? Did he also tell you that his ex has a reputation?” Vada asks me meaningfully as she pulls into the school parking lot and stops the engine.

I furrow my brow. “What do you mean ‘she has a reputation?’” I ask as Vada and I climb out of her car. This does absolutely nothing to ease the prickly feeling on my scalp.

“It means exactly what you think it means,” she says. “She’s quite a bit older than Ran and was known for… you know.”

I thread my eyebrows together. “Jeez, Vada, if this is your attempt to make me relax this morning you’re failing miserably,” I say. “Plus, this poor girl. Don’t you hate it when people say shit like that about girls? Nobody would bat an eye if a guy ‘has a reputation,’ but just because it’s a girl she’s suddenly a hussy or whatever. And even if she was, I trust Ran. So he’s hanging out with his ex, who cares. He’s all alone in Montana; what’s he supposed to do?”

“Woah, don’t be so touchy, Kitty Cat. I just thought I’d give you a heads-up,” Vada says, and stalks toward the entry doors.

I know I’m probably overreacting, but to be honest, the fact that Ronan hung out with his ex-girlfriend, who’s apparently older than him and maybe a bit more promiscuous than me, does worry me. After all, Ronan and I haven’t seen each other in over two months, and we barely get to talk.

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