"Is it really possible for people to live without social media? That’s not a thing, right?”
“My grandparents don’t have it. Well, except that one time we made Grams one so that we could find out what the knitting ladies were up to a few summers ago.” We tried to infiltrate their Facebook group. They have that shit locked down tight. Grams didn't even make it in. They really are cutthroat.
“Shit, I forgot about that, and we never found out.” How did that slip my mind? I also can't remember what we were even trying to find out.
“Normally you’d say this, but I’ll give it a go. Tinsley, focus.”
"Right, sorry. But I can't find him on social media."
We both keep digging until I get a text from my mom checking in. I tell her I'm good, but then a picture pops up from her, making me growl.
"What?" Katherine peers over my shoulder. "Oh noes. Someone caught your climb down of shame."
"That doesn't roll off the tongue right."
"Ladder of shame?"
"I need to head home." I roll off the bed. "Besides, I was fixing the lights on the house."
"If you say so."
I pull back on the boots that she brought for me. "You keep digging and I'll be in contact."
"Roger that." She gives me a mock salute.
"And don't do anything without me."
"You got married without me!"
"I said sorry. How long are you going to keep harping on it?”
"Fine, I won't break into town hall without you."
"Thank you," I sigh. "Was that so hard?"
"Kinda." She shouts after me, but I'm already heading out the door to face my parents. What do I tell them? I glance down at my ring. I might have to take this off. When I get to the house, I shove my left hand into my pocket as I enter through the front door.
"I'm—" The word "home" dies on my lips when I see Pierce sitting in the living room with my father, my mom bringing him a mug and plate of cookies.
"It's about time you got here." Mom gives me a bright smile. "Don't even think about it," she warns when I lift one foot. "You're not going anywhere."
I puff out a breath. I'm starting to think it's Pierce messing with me and not the other way around. I'm not so sure how much I like it when the shoe is on the other foot. I'll need to step up my game.
Chapter Fourteen
PIERCE
When Tinsley’s father knocked on my door, I didn’t think I’d be returning with him to his home. Especially with his daughter's heels and dress still on the floor of the hotel room. The pile of tulle and sparkly shoes was unmissable. Tinsley has a way of leaving her touch everywhere she goes. Even the bed had specks of glitter from the body spray she was wearing.
Her dad entered my room and glanced around before telling me that I needed to come and meet his wife. That had been all he said. A man of few words with a daughter that has so many of them. Tinsley must take after her mother.
“Thank you,” I tell Piper, taking a sip of the coffee she brought me. She had insisted I call her by her first name, saying Mrs. Blake made her feel old.
I wouldn't have guessed her to be over forty, with blond hair, the same as Tinsley. They bear a striking resemblance, and it’s a peek into my future. As for her father, he's a big man with dark hair and eyes, with a full beard that has some gray in it.
“So, Pierce.” Piper sits down on the couch next to her husband. His attention is on the television, watching a football game. The season is over, but New Hope didn’t get the memo, orthey don’t give a shit. They really do march to a beat of their own. One that us common folks can’t hear. “Any family?”
“Just me.” Piper’s face falls at my response.
