Page 83 of Take Me Away, Cowboy

“Can I at least help store this shit?” Steve said, gesturing to the scraps of wood and nails that littered the ground beneath them.

“Nah. Leave all this here—I’ll clean up what can’t afford to stay out tonight after I grab some dinner. Go nurse those headaches. See you all tomorrow around nine?”

“Yep. You’re a good man,” Steve said, motioning to Brad to load up. It was the second time that day Owen had heard that from someone close to Paige.

Not good enough.

“I’ll be there in a sec,” Brad told his friend. He turned to Owen. “I’m sorry about Paige. She means well, but this town has always gotten the best of her.”

“No apologies necessary. I’m a big boy. I knew the risks when I picked things up with her. I just hope it isn’t awkward here, you know, with us.”

“Not at all. She’s a big girl, too. She can handle us as friends, or she can keep her distance.”

Owen nodded in agreement. The last thing he wanted was her to keep her distance, but wouldn’t say as much to her brother.

“See you in the morning,” Owen said, heading home with the rum from Aurelie, avoiding the path he and Paige had made. He was torn about wanting it to grow over, erasing the summer from his memory and wanting to pave the damn thing so he never forgot it. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to put Paige fully from his thoughts, path or no path.

With that thought in mind, Owen went to the liquor cabinet, pulled a rocks glass from it, topped it with ice, and filled the glass to the brim. He settled on his porch, the chill of the fall air wrapping around him. Now that the weather had cooled, he’d start in on the deck with more than just half interest.

Time to start fixing his life.

The warmth of the liquor spread through him, down his throat first, then to his limbs, and he closed his eyes, imagining it was Paige’s warmth that surged through his blood instead. The smell of the coconut rum made his heart race and to keep himself from looking up at her window, Owen closed his eyes and succumbed to the darkness.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Decision

Paige noticed thefresh rake marks down the length of her driveway when she came home from the grocery store. She’d given the gravel hell the way she’d peeled out of there earlier, but hadn’t cared at the time. Now it looked like the driveway was brand new.

Had her mom done it? She hoped not, especially since she had enough on her plate without Paige adding her juvenile temper tantrum to the mix. But who, then? Owen’s truck wasn’t there, so it couldn’t have been him, could it?

She made her way upstairs, the ingredients for her key lime pie in bags. The scent of the key lime juice spread to all corners of her small apartment, reminding her of the islands, of when she would bake for Aurelie and her mom after a bad hospital visit…

Shit. Aurelie!Where was she? She should have shown up by then. Paige hoped she hadn’t tried to come by only to find everyone gone.

Dammit.

Paige dialed Aury’s number, impatiently tapping her foot on the tile floor while she waited to see if her friend would forgive her enough to pick up. It went straight to voicemail, so she shot off a text.

Call me when you get this. I’m an ass for not being here earlier. Forgive me and tell me where I can come get you.

She didn’t even know where to start—Jules and Vernes? Hours had passed since Aury had shown up there. She could be anywhere between there and the farm.

Shit, shit, shit.

Paige put the phone down and stared at the thirty key limes she still had to juice. Paige got to it, desperate for her hands to stay busy so hopefully her mind would follow.

She sliced, juiced, and tossed the rinds of the limes on repeat until her wrists cried out under the strain. She couldn’t stop there, though. She mixed the egg yolks, condensed milk and whipping cream, taking her frustration at how seriously she had botched everything out on the filling of her pie. She dabbed her finger in the mixture and put it to her lips. Tears of frustration came unbidden, the result of too much strain in too short a time.

At least her pie was good. Not great, but almost.

She added her secret ingredient, tasted again. It was perfect, the one thing she could always count on going right.

Paige put the pie in the oven and checked her phone for the umpteenth time. Nothing. She found the paperwork she’d asked Carly to send her regarding her daughter’s labs and checked her watch. Fifteen minutes left to bake.

She’d let the pie cool and head to the hospital to ask Miranda for the privileges she’d need to work on Carly’s case. Maybe she’d get lucky and run into Aury somewhere in town. It was Banberry—how many places could she really be?

Paige sprinted through a shower since she resembled a wild animal the more of the day that passed by, applied the bare minimum of makeup she’d need to pull off semi-professional, and dug around in her closet until she found a pantsuit from when she’d applied to med school. It was old, but still in fashion, and better yet, was only slightly snug in the thighs, which Paige attributed to her runs on the beach in Turks.

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