“How could I forget it?”
“Well, it’s back in play as soon as his dad figures out we’re home.”
“You make it sound so ominous.”
A frustrated breath escapes me. “That’s because it is. But we have a plan. It’s just going to take a while.”
“And you think this ominous father figure is going to lock you down somehow?”
“Without a doubt. So, fill me in on your life, bestie, before we can’t get caught up anymore.”
The waitress returns with our drinks and takes our orders, the sun glinting off the Mississippi and rippling light across the room, a periodic halo around Walker when I glance his way, needing to assure myself he’s still there.
Emma takes a sip, and I turn to listen to everything I’ve missed.
She fills me in on a summer of helping her dad spay and neuter pets, of vaccinating calves and lambs for new ‘city try-hards,’ as she calls them. She mentions a few close calls with the local farmers, and how she and her dad had to double as ‘peopledoctors’ when they were too stubborn to drive a county over and see a real one.
And she mentions an unusual number of visits to various bluegrass concerts, which has a grin pulled all the way across my face before she works up the courage to tell me what I already know. “Oh, and um, Jansen’s sister and I are a thing now.”
My squeal has the people at the tables near us twisting in surprise, but I’m on my feet and dragging Emma into another crushing hug. “I’m so happy for you! Are you happy?” I pull back, and she’s nodding, her pink hair falling over her shoulder.
“So fucking happy.”
“Then we need to celebrate,” I announce, finishing my drink and motioning for the waiter, ordering a second for us both.
Emma shares her story, and I tear up, hearing how perfectly everything has gone for them. And when the waitress returns with our drinks and our food, I hoist my glass in the air. “To happy endings.”
Emma giggles, then joins me. “To happy endings.”
When I drink, the bubbles taste like joy incarnate.
Chapter 48
Jansen
Evie squeezes me like she’s trying to kill me, and to be honest, it might be what she’s aiming for. “You’re a piece of shit, baby brother,” she mutters against me, then yanks me even closer before finally letting me go.
“Happy to be back,” I risk, not sure what tact to take, already wary of this reunion. I spent all afternoon researching Switzerland, but it’s not like I’ve ever actually been there. And Evie is a “take no prisoners” kind of person. As far as I know, only my mom and I have ever gotten away with fucking up around her. Everybody else gets a single chance, and then they get the boot.
“So, tell me about your escape to the mountains,” she says, sitting on my bed like she owns it, one of the practice locks in her hand as she idly picks it.
“It was totally unexpected. I’d forgotten I’d even applied,” I say, knowing that it’ll sound honest. It was entirely unexpected.
“You stole one of mom’s cats. And abandoned me with your girlfriend’s friend.”
“Yup,” I say, Flufflington crawling across my shoulders before curling himself around my neck like a scarf, his heat as good a cover for the sweat that coats me at her interrogation. “Sorry about that.”
“Mom was pissed.” Of course she was. “Don’t animals need, like, health records and like, pet visas to travel?”
“Do you really think I told them I brought a cat with me? Especially when I didn’t realize I had him?”
“And he made it through security?”
A lie. I need a good lie. “There was some commotion with the sniffer dog while my bag went through the x-ray machine. They must have missed him.”
She squints at me as she pushes her bangs to the side, her sister-lie-detector at full power. “Right. And you brought him back...how?”
This one I looked up. “I went to the embassy and explained everything. They gave me special papers for him.”
