Page 71 of Two Chances

I glanced at the clock in the TV’s lefthand corner beside scrolling top stories.Two minutes until my cell’sDo Not Disturbshut off.Hurrying into the bedroom, I located my phone on the bed stand.

Teresa had texted me late the night before, looking for Alex, but I hadn’t received the notification.

I put through a call immediately, shuffling back into the living room.The story on the TV had ended.

“JJ—did you see the news?”Teresa said by way of greeting, her voice broken.

I slumped onto the edge of my couch, swallowing hard.“Yeah.”

She sobbed in my ear, and I couldn’t even find the words to offer comfort.

Chapter29

Kellen

Waiting sucked ass.

JJ and I kept in touch in the time after he’d left me alone at the cabin, but no long phone conversations or video chats occurred.Considering I spent most of the time up at the camp with no cell service, I couldn’t complain about our lack of communication.

The only thing I wanted and looked for was that he’d left the message I yearned to read.That he’d ended shit with Alex.That he was coming up to see me.Be with me—be mine fully once the jury decided Joseph’s fate.

The last text JJ had sent while I’d been in the sticks without service gave me hope when I’d first seen it after parking at the farm.

I miss you.

While my chest ached over similar feelings, I was torn.He’d sent the words almost a week earlier and nothing since.

He’d had more than enough time since that message to talk to Alex about going their separate ways—whatever the fuck that truly meant.Weeks, actually, since JJ had claimed that was his plan.

But he hadn’t.

My fingers itched to reply that I missed him too, but goddamnit, I had to remain firm.JJ needed to prove himself before I started slinging around sayings likeI miss you toothat revealed my vulnerability and broke down my walls even further.

I couldn’t allow myself to get to that point until I knew without question that JJ was fully on board—alone—with no Alex clinging to the back of his mind or still holding a piece of his heart.

A forecasted storm threatened to move in on the jury’s third day deliberating the Delaney case, and I’d grown agitated enough with the silence from JJ that I decided I was done sitting on my hands and doing nothing.Being passive never gained a man anything.

My parents had told me I needed to do what was best for me, and that meant being proactive and getting answers so I could figure out the rest of my life and enjoy Thanksgiving without the emotional turmoil of not knowing where JJ and I stood.After a lunch with my parents of leftovers from dinner the night before, I planned on heading out from the farm for Boston.

I’d winterized the cabin then drove to Nodhead Falls the afternoon I’d left since I wasn’t sure when I would be back.It all depended on JJ and what he’d done—ornotdone.I just needed to get out ahead of the storm before it swooped in and hit New England.

But the daytime show Mom had playing on the TV in the background cut out with a breaking story about one of Boston’s most prominent families that had made national news.

Joseph Delaney III had been found guilty on all accounts.

I shot off a text to Mason, aFuck yes!I knew he had to be feeling.For the first time in days, I actually grinned.I also looked forward to catching up with him, seeing firsthand the weight that had to have dropped off his shoulders.Mason had been a mere shell of his usual easygoing self since spring and the incident with the Delaney kid, but I’d seen hints of the old Mason thanks to his boyfriend Jasper and the new job.But finally being free of the stalking and fear for good?I would have my friend back, the calm and confident man I’d known for five years.

Excitement for him made me feel the best I had in days, and I wanted to get on the road.

Mom had other ideas, needing to pack up some food for my trip.Make me a fresh batch of cookies to take along.When I hopped on 95 South, the overcast evening had dissolved into black.I didn’t need to see the threatening clouds in the night sky—I could feel the storm hovering low, and instinct demanded I hurry.

Rain started falling before I crossed into Massachusetts.Sleet smacked my windshield as I hit the 495 intersection.Roads quickly growing slick, I slowed along with the rest of the brave souls on the highway.

A four-car pileup stalled my progress for over an hour between exits, and I was stuck waiting for the road to be cleared.At least the snow the weathermen had called for never swept in.A dozen smaller accidents littered the roads and berms before I made it to Everett.I got there in one piece, exhausted from the tension of driving in shitty weather and the late hour.

The following morning was Tuesday, so I knew I wouldn’t be catching up with JJ until later in the afternoon after he got off of work.Yes, I wanted to see him and get our talk over with, but I wasn’t about to call him at midnight and drag him from his bed.He had to be exhausted from the case he’d been working on most of the summer.

I had daydreams about him telling me he’d finished with court, had spoken with Alex, and still had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving.That he would agree to join me and my family when I asked.

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