Lincoln grunted. “For real? When did that happen? Is she staying?”
Marcus squinted, though the sun hadn’t yet risen into his view. “I guess she’s staying for a few months. Her grandmother asked me to help out with a few things, and I… I just don’t know.”
The line went silent for a long moment. “So that’s why you don’t want to come to Callahan’s Christmas party.”
“No. I just don’t want to go, okay?”
“Fine, geez.” Another long pause before Lincoln spoke up again. “Dude, you know you can talk to me, right? I won’t judge you or anything.”
“Yeah,” Marcus said. “I know.” He tightened his hold on the steering wheel, then relaxed. “I guess I’m trying to figure out if it’d be worth it to make her tell me what happened. I never figured out why she left or if I did anything to hurt her. And there’s this part of me that…”
“You still care about her.”
Marcus didn’t have to verbally confirm with his friend. They might not have been super close back in high school. In fact, they weren’t exactly close now. But Lincoln was the guy Marcus could call when he needed to vent to someone who couldn’t be family.
“I think you should go for it.”
Marcus huffed out a laugh. “Go for what?”
“The girl. Try to get her back.”
Marcus shook his head. “I never had her.”
“But you wanted to,” Lincoln pointed out. “No one spends that much time with a girl if there isn’t something there. Don’t they always say that friendship first makes the best relationships?”
“She doesn’t think about me that way. Or at least she didn’t. And she definitely doesn’t now. She moved across the country to steer clear of me. Can’t get any clearer than that.”
“Maybe there’s something you’re not seeing. She’s back. Like you said, now’s the chance to finally get some answers.” Lincoln was actually making some sense.
“Thanks, man,” Marcus murmured.
“Anytime. And seriously, if you change your mind, the party is on Saturday next week. Maybe you can convince the ice queen to come.”
Marcus rolled his eyes. Wynter was anything but an ice queen. She was just… quiet. To everyone but him.
He arrived at the Delaney household with a toolbox he’d swiped from the barn. This time he didn’t linger in his truck before he trudged up to the house. Huh. A Christmas wreath hung on the front door, with silver bells and red ribbons. He looked around for signs of any other decorations. His eyes snagged on the icy walkway, and he placed his toolbox on the porch before heading back to his truck for an ice scraper and shovel.
One hour later, the sidewalk and walkway were clear and he was knocking on the front door.
Wynter opened the door immediately, her face flushed and strands of her dark, curly hair framing her face. She’d cut it to her shoulders, and when he’d seen her at the lighting ceremony, she’d straightened it. This look on her reminded him so much of when they were younger. Wild and untamed.
She sucked in a breath when she saw him as if she’d forgotten that he’d been planning on coming. Then she caught sight of the sidewalk. “Did you…”
“It’s just a sidewalk,” Marcus said as he pushed past her. “Where’s Nora?”
“She hasn’t gotten up yet.”
He turned, finding Wynter leaning against the closed door. They stared each other down for several long moments. What hewouldn’t give for her to come clean and tell him how she was feeling. All he wanted was the truth. What happened?
The question was on the tip of his tongue when he heard shuffling down the hallway. Nora appeared clad in a warm-looking pajama set, and that was when he noticed how much colder it was in this home than his own.
He frowned as he glanced toward the fireplace. “Is your heater working?”
“It’s on the fritz. I have someone?—”
“I’ll set a fire and then take a look at it. What kind of heater is it?”
“Gas,” Wynter offered. “But you don’t have to?—”
