Page 79 of Wrecked for Love
I sighed. Why? I knew Noah had been close to Logan. Back when we were kids, my best friend had a habit of ratting me out to Noah anytime I tried to keep a secret from him.
But still. I was his brother. Why not call me?
And the timing? It couldn’t be a coincidence. Years of silence. Then I had dialed that so-called wrong number, and now he reached out?
“Don’t hold it against him, El,” Logan said, reading my silence. “He wasn’t ready.”
“I get it,” I muttered. “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting.”
“Yeah, well…give him time.”
Anticipation coiled tight in my chest. “What did he say?”
“Not much. The call lasted a few seconds. He just asked about you.”
“You didn’t tell him about Claire, did you?”
“Of course not. Didn’t wanna burst your love bubble.”
I huffed a quiet laugh. “Think he’s considering coming back? Did he give you any hint?”
“No clue.”
I drummed my fingers against the wheel. “You have his number?”
“Yeah.”
“Send it.”
Logan sighed, taking his time to reply. “All right, all right. I’ll text it.”
I exhaled. Maybe calling Noah would be easier with Claire by my side, introducing her to him, bridging the gap. But first, I hadto warn him. Buffaloberry Hill wasn’t a place he should return to. Not yet.
As I pulled up at the hardware store, I spotted Paul locking up.
“Hey, Paul, is Claire still here?” I gestured toward the back, thinking she might still be in the stockroom.
“Nah, she left a while ago,” he said. “Hey, is she okay?”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Annette mentioned she hasn’t been feeling great lately.”
That stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t like Claire to keep something like that from me. Sure, she’d been low on energy, but I hadn’t thought much of it.
Paul double-checked the lock, then added, “One of your guys came to pick her up.”
“What? Who?”
“The new one.”
“Fritzy?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. I met him before—Hank brought him by the other day. Between you and me, your foreman wasn’t too impressed with the kid. Said he had a bit of an arrogant streak.”
I told myself there had to be a simple explanation. That by the end of the day, it’d all turn out to be a prank from the boys or some surprise I didn’t see coming. But my gut said otherwise. “Did you see where they went?”
Paul caught my nerves. “Uh…no, sorry, man. I left them in the stockroom after she said she was heading home.”
