Page 66 of Inevitable Love
Based on my sister showing up with my mother in tow, maybe it’s time to take the olive branch she’s extended and see if things can be different moving forward.
I offer Savannah a smile. “I’d like that.”
“Wow,” LaTisha says, wide-eyed and slack-jawed as the mess that is my family marches out to a swanky luxury vehicle. “That’s your family? Are you, like, loaded?”
“Me? No. Them? Probably.”
She begins boxing up the rest of the orders. “You seem a whole lot happier than them.”
“I’m getting there.” Aside from the giant, gaping hole Jackson left, it’s not a lie. I help her finish the packaging and prep them for delivery. Maybe someday I’ll find true joy again. Until then, I’ll have my little shop, my friends, Jules, Kate, and Alice, and now hopefully I can add my sister to that list. Maybe I’ll be okay after all.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jackson
My second cross-country drive feels a helluva lot different than my first. Sure, it’s the same Jeep, packed to the gills, just like it was on the trip out. The same endless stretches of highways, same cheap hotels to catch some sleep along the way.
The main difference? This time, my old crew, my friends, are checking in. Talking to me through endless miles, keeping me awake, and helping to pass the time.
“Hello, jackass. Are you awake?” Kate’s voice rings through the speakers.
“Don’t be a dumbass. If you’re tired, don’t push it. Pull over. Make it easy on the poor bastards who’d have to come cut you out if you wreck. Be smart, Kermie,” Cal chimes in.
“Man, I fucking hate that name,” I grouse.
“That’s the only reason we use it. But we can also start calling you jackass regularly, if you’d rather.”
It’s the middle of the night where they are, and luckily for me, they’re awake after a call, filling me in on whatI missed, giving me shit about the most ridiculous stuff. The call came in response to my message to them both that I needed to talk to them when I got back to town.
“I probably deserve that,” I admit. “Wait. Kate, are you on the engine with Cal? How are you two together?” Then I yawn. It’s going on fourteen hours of driving today, and I’m looking for the next hotel to stop at. If I can’t find one, a parking lot will do for a couple of hours.
“Yeah, we’re on rescue this week. Leo is off, so Chief let me ride with pretty boy over here after I told him I’m thinking of going for my fire cert.”
“I never knew you were interested in being a hose-dragger.”
“Yeah, well.” Her shrug comes through in her voice. “I got to thinking after you left. Started wondering if maybe I shouldn’t see what else is out there.”
“Tell her, Jackson. There’s nothing better out there. That’s why you’re coming home,” Cal interjects.
“Actually, he’s coming home to get his girl,” Kate retorts. She’s not wrong. I just don’t know how I’m going to go about it. When I mention as much, Kate asks, “Well, have you talked to her? Does she even know you’re on your way back?”
“Well, no.” The leather of the steering wheel creaks under my grip. “I haven’t called because I don’t know what to say.”
“Oh, for god’s sake. You said it yourself, multiple times, might I remind you, that you and Mags were best friends. Lemme tell ya. Best friends talk shit out.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Uh, yeah. It is,” she argues.
Cal scoffs in the background. “Kate, you’re saying this to the man who didn’t even tell us he was leaving until itwas a done deal. Didn’t reach out for a whole two weeks after he left but hits us up on his way home because he’s bored and needs entertainment. Communication isn’t in his wheelhouse.”
I sit higher in my seat as the anger in his tone washes over me. I deserve it. I did wrong by them. Maybe it’s Cal laying things out so matter of fact that makes it click. I’ve hurt my friends. They weren’t just my coworkers, even if it took me leaving to understand. We were friends. Wearefriends. And I’ve treated them like shit this whole time because I’m a damn coward who can’t face his emotions.
“Dammit, Cal. Now he’ll do his Houdini act again.”
They continue arguing with each other as if I’m not listening in on the other end of the phone line.
“Cal’s right.” My voice is low, and neither hear me. I try again. “Kate, Cal’s right.”
