“Hey, Cook, can you help me with the VR stuff?”
“I can try. I think Ramon knows more about those though.”
“Oh, okay, thanks!” She vanished back into the staircase, likely making the educated guess that since Elise and Lila were on the sun deck, Ramon would be somewhere nearby as well.
Somehow, fifteen minutes later, I found myself sitting on the entertainment room couch, laughing at Violet who was playingBeat Saber.
Halley came in and sat next to me, and soon after I was forced to play a round, too.
Okay, I knew some people used VR games for exercise, but this was anactualworkout for me.
I was laughing and sweating by the time I’d gotten through “Believer” by Imagine Dragons, mostly because I couldn’t help but to sing along with the song as much as I could without losing my breath completely.
The easy mode wasn’t too bad, but I was done after one song. I took off the mask and realized Elise and Lily had joined us and were standing there, looking amused. They burst into applause, and I shook my head at them while handing over the headset and controllers to Violet.
“There. I think I need a shower and a nap after that.”
“This looks fun,” Elise said. “Can we try it too?” she asked Violet.
I looked at her, but she didn’t seem bothered, so I decided to leave them be. I was prepared to subtly intervene if I saw her feel awkward about something like that. At least this would be just as hard on her sister and Elise as it had been to both of us.
I slipped out of the room and went down the staircase to head to the staff quarters.
* * * *
By the time mid-July rolled around, I was so done with yacht life. I craved solid land under my feet, and when Elise told me I was welcome to use the band’s jet to fly from Miami to Chicago if I wanted, I accepted that just because I wanted to get home sooner.
When I landed in Chicago, it was early morning, but time zone hopping even as little as I’d done it during our travel back to LA was messing with me. Time had lost its meaning, so I just went and found the first bus that would take me to Joliet and called it a day. I ended up in Shorewood, a bit closer to the rescue than I’d originally thought because the bus drove past, but I still had about ten miles to go.
Normally, I would make sure Sierra knew I was on my way, but I was so damn tired of the traveling and just…everything, that I felt like not letting anyone know I was there.
Since the weather was nice and not too hot, I hopped off the bus in Shorewood and started to walk. When it was safe to do so—and for a guy my size, it was in surprisingly many places—I liked to walk. Time was a factor, of course, but right then I had all the time I could need.
Walking centered me in a way only cooking in a good kitchen in total silence could. I wore my usual boots, jeans, a T-shirt, and had my bag slung over my shoulder with my army style jacket hanging from it. I’d be dusty as fuck by the time I made it to Twin Star, but nobody would mind.
I didn’t need much money, so most of what I’d earned during this job went into my bank account. I’d put some in Samira’s college fund account and send some to Jude as well. I knew he wouldn’t like it, but he didn’t have the kind of funds I did—even though I was far from rich myself—so I got to make things easier for him.
He’d messaged me once, telling me that he’d made contact with Danny, but that it hadn’t gone well. He was still on his twin’s trail though, and I wondered if he’d ever stop looking.
The closer to Twin Star I got, the more relaxed I felt. There was a certain relief in realizing that it still felt like I was coming home even without Ruth there.
Now, Sierra had assured me that Lake was a great guy and didn’t want anything to change for the worse, and I trusted her judgment. She had great instincts when it came to people, so I chose to trust her on this.
The last couple of hundred yards made me feel like running, but I was too tired and an adult. I concentrated on walking briskly toward the familiar sign, while ignoring the fields on either side. The nature reserve across the dirt road from Twin Star was located past some fields, so there really wasn’t much else than what had been Ruth’s property, now Lake’s, to look at.
As soon as I stepped onto the driveway, I saw all the dogs in their usual places, scattered around the edges of the yard ahead.
Rose noticed me first, which alerted the rest of the Golden Girls, and finally Bucky.
I chuckled, feeling joy pour through my body as they got to their feet and approached me at very different paces.
Bucky all but bowled me over in his enthusiasm, and I dropped to my knees in the dust to give him a hug. All the dogs surrounded me, and Blanche got into my personal space, making me fall over, and then I was on my back, being licked to death by pit bulls.
“Come on, guys, don’t step on anything vital.” I laughed as Dorothy stepped halfway across me, her front legs on my left side and her back legs on my right, meaning that I was thoroughly stuck now.
“It’s okay,” I heard Theo say. “That’s Cook.”
I hadn’t noticed the kid until I carefully glanced toward him while gently pushing the dogs away. I got to my feet and shook myself like a dog, then grabbed my stuff, shaking the dust off my bag and jacket, too.
