Page 33 of Begin Again
Great, another thing to add to the list of things wrong with me.
“Not exactly what I was hoping for,” I say to the brightest star above me.
“Xavier!” a woman’s voice calls from the crowd.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” I whisper, and she calls again. “Fine.Fine.” I groan, rubbing my face and rolling my shoulders to compose myself before I head back into the festival. They’re not wrong when you say to be careful what you wish for, this isn’t exactly the sign I was hoping for, but it’s the only one I’ve got.
Slipping through the crowd still in the arena, I find Charlie in the same place I left her. Weird. If she’s here…then who called me? It was probably Katy. I don’t see her face in the crowd, Charlie probably sent her looking for me. When Charlie turnsaround, my heart stops at the sight of the large bouquet of lilies wrapped in brown paper in her hands and…
The annoyance rolls off me in waves as I march across the room toward the door, but something catches my eye before I reach my destination. An oversized bouquet of roses and lilies sits in the center of a round table.
Odd…I didn’t order those.
“What is that?” I ask, strolling over to the table. I hear her voice from behind me ask what I’m talking about, but I don’t turn around, too busy digging through the flowers for a card.
And when I find it, my thumb swipes across the words written on it: Thanks for an unforgettable night. Can’t wait for the next one. x
I swear I can feel the color physically drain from my face and the anxiety inject itself into my veins. My heart aches reading the words over and over again. What the fuck is this?
“What the fuck?” I finally get the words out. I turn to confront her, who in the hell is sending her flowers with a note like this?
A hand on my shoulder sends me jumping back and my chest heaves with two shallow breaths. Joseph lifts his hand and takes a step back. “Whoa, you okay, son?”
“Huh?” When I meet his gaze, I exhale, a little calmer than a second ago. Looking around, I’m reminded of where I am, and it’s not where I was being confronted with the possibility of…whatever the hell that was. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was—”
“You remember something?” He cocks his brow.
“I don’t…I don’t know. Maybe?” I rub the crease between my brows. “It’s probably nothing.”
Charlie skips up to us, practically shoving the flowers into my nose. “Aren’t they pretty? Daddy got them for me!”
“Yeah,” I say with a half-smile. “They’re great.” But all these flowers do is remind me of the words on the card.
Thanks for an unforgettable night. Can’t wait for the next one. x
Was that why no one had come looking for me? Was the woman I’d been dreaming of having an affair? Was she the reason I had been out at…What was it Cooper said? Achor? When Cooper first mentioned the name, I had no idea what he was talking about, but after some conversations with Sloan, I’ve determined Achor is a mountain a few hours from here.
Was this woman the reason I was at Achor the day I went missing?
Was this the sign I had asked for?
“Where did you run off to? I was looking for you when I—”
“I needed some air,” I say. “Got pretty crowded in here, y’know?”
Charlie nods, adjusting the bouquet before she gives it to her father, along with her hat. “Can you take these home?”
“You staying?” Joseph asks, and Charlie nods. “Xavier, you hanging around with her?”
Part of me wants to say no, I’m going back to the ranch, too, but I did promise Charlie we’d have a better date than we had been. So, I guess, I’m stuck here. “Yes, sir.”
“You’ll make sure she doesn’t get into trouble, right?”
“Of course.”
“If you’re asking if he’ll make sure I don’t run off with Coop, then you have no worries, Dad,” Charlie interjects.
“I didn’t say that,” Joseph says with a shrug.
