Page 15 of Here and Now
What if he’s not who he says he is?
Rationally, I know this sounds ridiculous. I mean, he’s from Ember Falls. He grew up here. His family is here. He’s a freaking high school principal and isn’t in the same business Edward was.
I know this.
However, I trust nothing.
“Worked, mainly.”
“Ahh, so you’re a traveling barista?” he jokes before taking a bite of his ice cream.
I laugh and do the same. I opt to lean back into our cover story and the things Quinn has laid out for me. Stick to the script.
“No, I gave up the rat race to come to a small town where I could focus on what matters—Kai.”
“There’s a rat race for baristas in Tennessee?”
“You’d be surprised,” I say, looking away and hoping this will end the inquiry.
“I’m sure I would.”
“Mom! Mom! Can Ethan come over to our house?” Kai asks with a hope I wish I didn’t have to squash.
“Not today, buddy. We have boxes everywhere, and I have to go to work soon.”
His face falls. “But . . .”
“Maybe in a few days, once we’re settled more and the house is more put together,” I say, trying for a consolation.
“Fine,” he says, clearly dejected.
Miles speaks up quickly. “Listen, Ethan isn’t going anywhere, and he’s going to stay with me whenever his mother goes into labor. Maybe we can have some meetups at the rink and other things I’m going to be doing to keep him from being super bored with his old uncle.”
I chuckle, but that seems to mollify Kai. “Really?”
Miles nods. “Absolutely. I think it’ll be fun ...”
But the way he looks at me at the end of it makes me wonder if he’s saying fun for Kai and Ethan or fun for him.
three
Miles
Ifinish my eight-mile run in record time. I have sweat pouring off me, but I don’t care. I feel great. I could do another eight miles if I had to.
Running makes me feel alive. I shut everything, and everyone, off. All I focus on is myself and my breathing.
There’s a rhythm, a cadence, that forms and allows me to escape my thoughts and worries, focusing only on the pavement.
I’m stretching, reaching to the sky, opening my lungs, when I hear a loud whistle. “Hey, hot stuff, you single?”
I laugh and turn to see Everett hanging out of his truck window. “Only for you.”
He chuckles. “Are you coming to practice tonight?”
“I’m always at practice.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s because you have no life.”
