It’s not okay.
Shit, I shouldn’t have done this.
Yet I’m not leaving.
My feet are planted with only the bar between us.
“You okay?” I have to ask.
“Yeah.” She nods again, a bigger movement this time. “I’m, uh…” Licking her lips, she gives me a weak smile. “This is my last shift. I’m heading… home.”
My eyebrows rise. I wasn’t expecting that. “To Colorado Springs?”
“Yeah.” She looks pained saying it. “Thought I’d catch up with my family again. Maybe do a road trip to New York. I don’t know.”
“I take it Jed and Tobin got away okay.”
She smiles, brushing her teeth over her bottom lip. “They looked really happy. Won’t be surprised if one of them proposes by the end of the year. They definitely have… permanent energy, you know?” She threads her fingers together, shaking her hands in the air to demonstrate the vibe, and I get it.
“They’re a great couple,” I agree. “Endgame.”
“Definitely,” she squeaks, and I quickly change the subject.
“How’s Nix doing?”
“She’s hurting.” Dani whips the dish towel off her shoulder and starts wiping down the counter. Her movements are fast and erratic, her brows dipped in concentration. “She’s moving into a house in Nolan. Spending the summer here.”
“You didn’t want to go with her?”
“I just need to get out of here,” she clips.
I press my lips together, nodding and not saying a damn word.
“Oh! Um…” Reaching into her back pocket, she pulls two tickets out, and I immediately recognize them. “Here’s your…” She holds it out for me.
“You can keep it.” I shake my head. “I’m sure there’s someone you can invite. Maybe your sister. Or one of your brothers.”
“No.” She winces. “You should take it. They bought it for you.”
Reluctantly, I reach for it, my fingers closing over the card Jed and Tobin printed the QR code on. “Are you gonna come back for it?”
She shrugs. “I’m not sure.”
“Yeah, me either.”
“We promised we would.” Her voice is so small it’s hard to hear, but I catch what she says, and for some weird reason, a spark of hope ignites within me.
Is she saying she’ll be ready by then?
Will August 9 be the day I get her back?
We’ll meet up at this Nolan U concert, and everything will be set right again?
Don’t go there, man. Don’t cling to something that probably won’t happen.
Let her go!
Let. Her. Go.
