Page 18 of Once Upon a Boyband
I stare at the screen for a moment, but I can’t really expect Laney to respond. She’s driving. I don’twanther to respond.Andnow I’m worried about her being distracted by my texts when she should be focusing on the road.
Adam
Also, I know you’re driving. Sorry. Please don’t wreck.
I drop my phone onto the center console of my SUV,then head back to the rescue, thinking about Laney the entire time.
Sarah isn’t going to believe I’m actually putting myself out there. Not that I’m getting ahead of myself. I like talking to Laney. But we haven’t even been on a date yet. The point is, I haven’t even been interested in trying inyears.
And now I’m interested.
When I make it back to Hope Acres, Sarah’s car is still gone, so as soon as I’m out of the car, I pull out my phone.
I quickly check to make sure I didn’t miss a text from Laney, then I call Sarah.
She’s a grown woman. Mostly responsible. And I’ve never been strict about making her keep regular work hours. She manages the rescue’s finances and handles our website and social media accounts, both things she can largely do from anywhere, so I don’t really care if she comes and goes as she pleases.
But who else will keep up with Sarah if I don’t?
She finally picks up on the fourth ring, sounding breathless but alive. “Hey! Are you okay? I just saw all your texts. Do you still need me to come get you?”
“I’m fine. Back at the rescue,” I say dryly. “Where have you been?”
She hesitates. “Um, on a date, actually.”
“In the middle of the day?”
“Why not?”
“Because normal people work in the middle of the day.”
“I ran out of things to do,” she says. “Everything is caught up at the rescue, and Jake was available for lunch, so I took off. Sorry I missed you, though. I put my phone on silent when we got to the restaurant, and then we just fell intoconversation so easily, and anyway, you know how it is. I’m glad you’re okay.”
I will myself not to worry simply because Sarah spent the entire afternoon with a man I don’t know. She goes on lots of dates, though maybe that’s part of why Idoworry. I would love to see my sister settle down with someone nice, someone reliable with steady work, their own apartment, but so far, she’s mostly fallen for guys who are the exact opposite.
She calls them mysterious and exciting.Free spirits.
I call them irresponsible freeloaders.
We have agreed to disagree on this point.
“Tell me about Jake,” I say as I drop onto the front porch step. Goldie gets to her feet, struggling with her hips as she does, then wanders over and drops her head onto my knee. I wince at the reminder of Goldie’s age. She isn’t getting around as easily these days. “Are you still with him now?”
“I’m home and alone and totally safe,” Sarah says with practiced patience. “Not that you would have any reason to worry if wewerestill together. You’d like Jake. He’s a doctor.”
“Yeah? How did you meet him?”
“You know Mandy, the volunteer who comes out on Thursdays to walk the dogs? He’s her cousin. He just finished his residency down in Charleston and moved here to work with his uncle, who owns Lawson Cove Family Practice. He’s living in this tiny studio above his uncle’s garage, but only because he’s building a house and it isn’t done yet, so don’t you dare hold that against him.”
“Why would I hold that against him?”
“Because you have a ridiculously high bar for the men I date. But Adam, I really like this one. Somehow, he manages to check all of my boxes while still being all the boringthingsyouwant him to be. Like, he plays the guitar, and he took a gap year in between undergrad and med school so he could hike the entire Appalachian Trail, but also, he works hard and has a car that’s paid for and he loves his mom.”
“He sounds perfect,” I say.
She sighs. “I think he might be.”
“So it’s funny you went out with him today,” I say. “Because I actually met someone too.”
