Page 25 of This Memory
“You haven’t spoken to Brystol about it?”
“Um, no. You were the first person I called. And Eve is here, listening to our conversation.”
“Hey, Evelyn,” I said, scrubbing a hand down my face. When had I become the adult in the room?
“Hi, Gavin. I’m so glad we called you first. We’ve just been on cloud nine since Brystol told us yesterday. By the way, thank you for going with her. She said it helped having you there.”
My brows shot up. “She did?”
“Yeah,” Denny added. “She was grateful you were there.”
She clearly hadn’t told them everything.
“No problem. Listen, it’s been one hell of a day, and I just got home. I’m going to jump in the shower and head to bed.”
“It’s only seven,” Evelyn said. “You’re going to bed this early?”
“I’ve got to work tomorrow, so, yeah.”
“Well, how about we have you and Brystol over for dinner Friday night? Just the four of us can celebrate?” Evelyn asked.
“I wish I could, but I have plans I can’t back out of.”
“Oh, no worries. We’ll celebrate another time.”
The disappointment in Evelyn’s voice nearly broke me. Nearly. “Sounds great. I’m so happy for you both. I really am.”
“Thanks, Gavin. We really do appreciate it,” Denny said. I could practically hear the smile in his voice.
“You bet. Talk to you guys soon.”
We exchanged goodbyes, and I ended the call. I dropped my phone to the sofa and stared blankly into space. This was going to be a long nine months.
Nothing was better than fall in Upstate New York—in Moose Village, to be exact. The leaves were starting to change color, the temperatures were in the upper to lower sixties, and the evenings were cold. My brother James hated the cold, and I wasn’t a super fan of it, but I did love it when the temperatures turned crisp outside, and you had to wear a light jacket or sweatshirt.
I was dressed in my uniform and observing the fun.
“Gavin, you’ve got to see the maze set up at the Hamilton farm.”
Turning around, I smiled and held a hand out to Kian. “You guys been already?” I asked as I looked around for Kian’s girlfriend, Cadie. She’d been known as Cadie Waterford when she first moved to Moose Village, but shortly after everyone found out she’d been on the run from the mob in Boston, we also discovered her real name was Katy Reynolds. She was still going by Cadie…and was still under FBI protection while she waited to testify against her old boyfriend’s family at the trial.
“Yeah, it was fun. About gave Cadie’s protection officer a heart attack when he lost sight of her, though.”
I smiled. “Have you seen James or Declan?”
He shook his head. “We just got here.”
“Where’s Cadie?”
“The toy store, checking in on Brystol. I’m sure you know the news.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
“That’s a crazy-nice thing to do for a friend.”
“Can’t argue with you on that.”
Kian looked around at the booths lining Main Street. At The Green, a small carnival with rides and games was set up, and live music was also going until seven that night.
