“You threw it all away, didn’t you?” Nodding without hesitation, my smile widened when she laughed a little, straightening to shake out her blonde waves. “You don’t have to answer, but . . . how much did your dad give you?”
“The same he gave you, I’m guessing. Fifty million. It’s enough to live the rest of my life off of, and I’ve spent a little less than twenty thousand dollars so far. Why?” Lucy’s beige hardcase came tumbling down onto the belt, and I grabbed it as she adjusted her grip on Marshal. The poor lab was horrified, didn’t move- didn’t do anything but cuddle against her with his head down her shit.
“The house across the street from me is up for sale.” My brows rose at that, and Lucy blushed furiously at the heavy suggestion lacing her tone. “My place is small. My granddad bought and fixed it up for me since I’m the only grandkid. It’s really not big enough for three dogs and three people. But the house across the street is a four-bedroom, two-point-five-bath with a backyard bigger than my entire property. I just think it’s an idea.”
“Okay. I’ll consider it.” Her eyes sparkled with happiness and satisfaction, and I glanced at both my dogs before she took the lead. This airport was just like all the others, and I shook my head away from that part of my life before speaking up. “What about you? What have you done since then?”
“I redid my front yard. I told you that. I put in new grass and a nice, little walkway. I didn’t want to skimp on my backyard, though. I extended my back patio that stretches from the back door to the garage. It’s like, maybe, twenty-five feet, and now it’s six feet out instead of four. I scaled down my garden and put in a pond that irrigates my garden. It’s really nice. I also got the hammock. I’m not gonna lie, it was an impulse buy.” Lucy started to ramble, but I more than enjoyed listening as her voice thickened with achievement and pride. “I bought some new cookware and stuff, my stuff was getting old, and I didn’t have some lids, or they were getting warped. I got some really nice cast iron stuff.”
“Sounds like you had a nice time.” We exited through the doors farthest on the left, and Lucy nodded as she looked around. “Are we taking a cab to Jackson?”
“Mikayla drove me, but she left a while ago. It’s fine as long as the dogs go to the bathroom first. It’s about a two-hour drive.” Lucy started digging her phone out of its pocket on the side of her bag, still on my shoulder. “I’ll get a Lyft. It’s pretty late, and Nashville’s got some awful drunks. I’m sure if I tip enough, it’ll be an easy choice.”
“I’ll cover the tip if you pay the mileage.” Nodding again at my compromise, Lucy tapped away on her phone, and I rocked back on my heels as a stream of cars sat on the curb. Even at near midnight, the airport was fairly busy, and I glanced over at her as the bright lights illuminating the sidewalk made her hair shimmer. Her flight might’ve been awful in the traditional sense, but mine was wracked with anxiety.
What would happen when the gold dust settled? If it ever did? Was this clawing, burning need going to drain away once the monotony of life started to drag? Even if this sensation never died, would Lucy and I have a life that would satisfy us both?
“Lucy?” Her head whipped up, and I was caught in her eyes when they met mine. My mouth dried, and, for a split second, all the noise around us went silent in my ears. “Let’s bring the dogs over there.”
There was a bench, a patch of grass, and some doggy bags hanging in a box off a pole. She nodded, and we shuffled the few yards over to the island of green in a sea of concrete. Marshalwould nottake his head out of her shirt, and my dogs sniffed around the patch. When she sat down, the dark lab whimpered, and I set all our stuff in a pile while she wrestled him out of her shirt.
“I can’t believe she did that. I must’ve been ignoring her for a good minute. I had my headphones on, and she just screamed in my ear. I feel so bad. You know that Meredith initially tried to not get him to come at all, but I found out he was small enough to be able to ride with me. He’s so not used to all this.” I dropped down next to Lucy, and she managed to get her dog on her lap to pick at her shirt with a frown. “He stretched out my shirt.”
“I got my dogs registered as support animals. Most places don’t care, but it’s just easier this way. They’re really well-behaved, too, which helps.” Ketchup sauntered around the bench to sniff around Marshal, still curled up and scared, and Lucy reached to pet him. Seeing the pit get attention, Marshal lifted his head and perked his ears, and Ketchup grabbed him by the side of the face to pull him off her lap. “Ketchup is a sweetheart with everyone. Especially animals that are smaller than him.”
“I can see that.” Marshal dragged his body, becoming liquid dog in an effort to stay on his owner’s lap, and I smiled slightly. Ketchup was very gentle, but we had time before the Lyft arrived, and I leaned back to rub my head furiously. “So, I was thinking . . . do you want to come over tomorrow for a while?”
“Of course, I do. There’s some things we should talk about, Lucy.” Those same questions I asked myself reflected in her eyes, and I reached over to caress her cheek and neck. “We’ve been avoiding it.”
“Yeah. I know.” Ketchup finally managed to drag Marshal off Lucy’s lap, and the chocolate lab tucked his tail between his legs as he desperately clung to hers. Sriracha positioned himself between my knees, and I reached to rub his head as all the questions we never asked floated around us. “It’ll be a little easier once we get some sleep. We still have a long drive to Jackson. I really would invite you to my place, Mateo, but that’s just a lot of anxiety.”
My lips quirked up at the apologetic tone, and I shook my head as I twirled a lock of her hair around my finger. After the past few days, I didn’t fault Lucy. Even without that factoring in, I wouldn’t blame her. The truth was that we were basically strangers and being held captive together didn’t really change that.
24
Lucy
“It smells good. What are you making?” Stumbling into the kitchen as Mikayla stood over the stove, I hid my yawn behind my palm, and she glanced back at me with a smile. Tiredness glued the soles of my feet to the tiled floor, and I sat down heavily in a chair to slump over the table. “Mateo’s coming over in a little bit. He just texted me that he’ll be here in ten or so.”
“Cool, there’s enough for him.” I wasexhausted, in my soul, after that disaster of a trip, and relief slithered through my veins when Mikayla didn’t immediately bombard me with questions. Just before one a.m., I dragged my butt through the front door and practically fell into the sofa.At least it’s a good sofa so my back doesn’t hurt.“How’d it go last night?”
“How’d what go?” Twisting to cast me a knowing look, Mikayla wagged her spatula around wordlessly, and I scrunched up my face. “You mean my mom? I got her kicked out of the airport. She screamed in my ear when I ignored her, and I accidentally stepped on Marshal.”
“I texted you saying she wasn’t leaving with the rest of us. That sucks, Lucy.” I only groaned softly at that, and Mikayla turned back to her eggs and bacon to carry on the conversation by herself. “The flight from Honolulu to San Diego wasn’t too bad, I didn’t think. That grouchy, old bag talked a lot of shit, but at least she wasn’t saying that horrible stuff to Seth. The whole flight— how Seth was going to be miserable and she was never going to forgive him and blah blah blah. How she wasn’t going to take him back in when his life falls apart. It’s like, dude,you’re his mom,why are you saying that? He never wanted to be a lawyer, but she saw how much money Marissa made, and he felt so bad about giving you that ring that she picked out.”
“Really? I didn’t know that?” Surprise heightened my voice, and my best friend nodded furiously, her loose bun wiggling all over the place. “I mean, I knew she picked it out, but I didn’t know he felt bad about it.”
“That thing was fucking ugly, Lucy. I’m just sayin’ that trying to control someone else’s life never goes well, so why is she pissed?” I didn’t have an answer, and Mikayla didn’t wait for me to think one up as she flipped the bacon. “Plus, if she wants to blame someone besides herself, why is she blaming her son and not you? I mean, it makes no sense at all. If shit happens, you don’t blame your own kid. It’s always someone else’s fault, right? And after all that crap she said, she really had the audacity to grumble that she should’ve made you break up years ago.”
“What did you say?” I had a great many ideas what Mikayla would’ve said after listening to all that for six hours, and she snorted roughly. The smell of bacon and eggs clung to my nostrils, and it only intensified when she pushed down the bread into the toaster. My mouth watered, and I glanced at the clock on the stovetop briefly; Mateo would be here any minute, and excitement fluttered through my chest.
“I told her that if she kept her big-ass nose out of it, y’all two would’ve broken yourselves up when you were still in high school. That’s what I said, damnit.” She practically growled, my best friend whipped around, and I blinked blearily as her face tinged red. “And you know what she said to me! She said I needed to mind my own business!”
The doorbell rang, saving me from Mikayla’s intensity, and I sluggishly stood up to head out of the kitchen. The sun poured through my front two windows, and I popped open the door to smile at Mateo on the other side. Gesturing him in wordlessly, I glanced down automatically, but no pit bulls replaced his feet.
“Where’s Ketchup and Sriracha?”
“I left them at the hotel. I didn’t want to bring them in after what happened to Marshal last night. How’s he doing?” His consideration warmed my chest, and I nodded firmly as I shut the door behind him.
