Page 27 of Fake-Off with Fate
The next text is from Mary-Ellen McCluskey. Not only is she my parents’ neighbor, who lives directly across the street, she’s Maple Falls’ chief purveyor of information.
Mary-Ellen
Bill, I don’t want to alarm you, but Alicia was throwing things all over your front yard yesterday. I didn’t contact you right away because Ashlyn came out and picked everything up. What is Ashlyn doing home? What was your wife doing? Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.
There’s no way our gossipy neighbor wants to help. More like she wants the dish so she can spread it around town.
Mayor Thompkins
Thank you so much for your concern, Mary-Ellen, but there’s nothing to worry about. Ashlyn is helping me out at the office this week, and Alicia was getting some things together for a yard sale. Have no fear, all is well!
I spend the next thirty minutes answering the rest of the texts from assorted townspeople. I don’t give them any direct answers to their concerns, but I try to let them know they’ve been heard.
I had no idea how much my dad has on his plate. If I’m going to succeed here, I’m going to have to treat Maple Falls like it’s one big closet in need of organization.
After finishing up, I’m tempted to text my mom at the airport to see how she and my dad are doing, but I don’t want to interrupt them. I’m hopeful that without my dad having possession of his phone, they might be busy chatting.
Before putting both of our phones away for the night, I do a brief check on world events. I scroll through any number of stories that make me want to take the first space shuttle out of here, when I come upon one headline that captures my full attention.
Hurricane Bartholomew Barrels Down on the Caribbean: Expected to Make Landfall Late Next Week
Shoot, maybe I should call my parents and warn them. Yet, it’s not a guarantee that the hurricane will hit Barbados. It might go north or south or even fizzle out before it reaches the land.
I decide that’s not my decision to make, so I call my mom. When she doesn’t answer, I look up her flight info on the airline’s website and discover it departed ten minutes ago. I guess there’s nothing I can do now. They’re sure to find out about the coming storm when they land. If they want, they can try to change their tickets and head home. Although, truthfully, I hope they stay and patch things up.
After all, people live through hurricanes all the time. Surely, my parents can ride out one of them.
Looking up, I realize I’m no longer alone. What in the world is Marcy doing here?
CHAPTER 14
JAMIE
I slepta little bit better last night. I only got up twice to make sure the windows and doors were locked. Now that Ashlyn planted that seed about bears breaking in, every time I turn around, I expect to find them eating porridge at the table.
After showering and grabbing a quick breakfast, I manage to get out of the house and down the drive without one bear sighting. I take that to mean today is going to go well.
As I pull into the arena parking lot, I wave to several guys. One of the things I like most about being on a team is the camaraderie. Hockey players get a bad rap for being hot heads, but my experience has been mostly positive. Except for Harry.
Speak of the devil. As I pull into the parking spot with my nameplate on it, I see my old nemesis getting out of his car. It’s not like I can avoid the guy now that we’re on the same team, so there’s no use hanging back until he’s gone.
Stepping out of my rental, I greet him. “Harry.”
He looks startled that I’m even speaking to him. “Jamie.”
We walk side-by-side into the building in total silence, which is just as awkward as you might expect. As we approach the locker room, I turn to him and declare, “In the best interest of the team, I’ve decided to forgive you.”
“For what?” he demands.
How stupid can this guy be?“For trying to poach my college girlfriend,” I remind him.
“What are you talking about, Jamie? You stole Paige from me.” He can’t be serious.
“How do you figure that? I started dating Paige the month after we started our freshman year.” I tell him, “We met at a party in our dorm.”
“Dude,” Harry says. “Paige and I had our first date the week after we moved into the dorms.”
I rack my brain to see if that could even be possible, but I can’t come up with any reason why it couldn’t. “How did you meet?” I demand.
