Page 41 of Jack Raider

I had no idea I was about to start a legacy.

17

Tessa

One week later,I was halfway through grading a stack of spelling quizzes at the kitchen table when Max walked in holding… my shoe.

Just one.

“You missing anything?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I glanced down at my feet—one shoe.

“Sorry,” I said casually. “I don’t usually lose my shoes,” I lied.

His mouth twitched. He held out the shoe. I took it very responsibly and set it on the floor next to my foot, as I glanced down at someone’s misspelled version ofadventure("advenchur").

“Was that in the fridge?” I asked.

“Front porch. On the grill.”

“Oh, good. I was afraid it might be somewhere weird.”

He folded his arms, that quiet intensity of his making the air shift. “You know I started a list, right?”

I blinked. “A list?”

Max turned and pointed at the corkboard above the coffee station.

Sure enough, right between a calendar and a map of Frasier Mountain was a sheet of notebook paper titled:

“TESSA LEFT THIS HERE”

DAY ONE: sock (refrigerated), keys, charger, apology note

DAY TWO: wallet (bread box), sunglasses (lamp), notebook (porch)

DAY THREE: spoon (bathroom), granola bar (laundry basket), bra (garage doorknob??)

I gasped, then burst out laughing. “You’ve been documenting my trail!”

“I figured if you ever went missing, we could follow the clues.”

I clutched my stomach. “Max. This is the most passive-aggressive love letter I’ve ever seen.”

His ears pinked slightly. “It’s not a love letter.”

“Mmhm. Let me ask you something.” I leaned forward over the table, grinning up at him. “Did you throw any of it away?”

He paused. “No.”

“You returned everything.”

“Yes.”

“Organized it by date and location?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

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