Page 223 of Haunted

Maybe talking to Alli would be therapy.

If he could talk to her, then there was no reason why he couldn’t talk to—

“Sol?”

He let out a sigh. “Yeah, I went back. And things were going well… until I ruined it all.”

“Is it fixable?”

That was what he loved about Alli. She was solution-oriented.

“I don’t know,” he said. Which was a lie, becauseabsolutelyit was fixable.

He just had to bare his soul.

“Well, are you at least going totryand fix it?” Before Sol could answer, Alli plunged ahead. “This guy is important, isn’t he?”

Butch was right there in his head, that hat shading those amazing eyes, the same ones that had captivated him back when Sol was seventeen. Butch smiled, and warm light made his face glow, the warmth of the setting sun as they stood beside a paddock, the air rich with birdsong.

“Yes, yes he is.”

“Then ask him to come with you at Thanksgiving.”

He blinked. “Seriously?”

“I said you could bring a guest, didn’t I?”

His pulse raced. “I… I can’t.”

“Why not?” A heartbeat of silence. “Sol Davenport, you just told me he’s important.”

“I know.”

“Thendosomething. How many chances at happiness do you think we get in this life? Not enough to let one pass you by, I’ll tell you that much.”

And there it was, the kernel of truth he’d been searching for.

I thought it had passed me by. I hadn’t expected a second chance.

Liam stared at him from the photo, and Sol could hear his voice in his head.

Then grab it while you can, babe. Sub, lover, friend—he’s the whole package. What are you waiting for?

It was a question Sol couldn’t argue with any longer.

“Sis, I’ll see you next month, okay? Gotta go.” He hung up, his heartbeat rapid. He opened a window on his laptop and typed in United Airlines. His phone rang again, and he half-thought it was Alli, but the number showed up as unknown. He clicked on Answer, then loudspeaker. “Hi, Sol Davenport here.”

The brief snatch of silence that followed had him thinking it was a wrong number, until a familiar voice filled the air.

“Good afternoon.”

Sol’s hands were suddenly clammy. “Hey, Robert. You were the last person I was expecting to hear from.”

“Yeah, I can believe that. I was calling to give you feedback we received about your sessions.”

Okay, that was surreal.

“I see.”

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