“I’ll call our lawyer if you don’t answer.”
Ethan sighs so loudly that Seth and I both have to cover our mouths to smother our laughter. My eyes meet Seth’s, and I feel a flicker of camaraderie.
“It depends,” Ethan says finally. “But Arizona is a one-party consent state, so if at least one person in the conversation is aware they’re being recorded, then it’s legal.”
Seth and I grin at each other.
“What do you think?” Seth asks after he hangs up.
I stare past him, out the windshield, my heart thudding. Even though it’s miles away, I can feel it, as I always do. Sagebrush. I never questioned why I have such a strong awareness of it, but maybe, just maybe, its magnetic pull has always stayed with me for a reason. Maybe because I’m meant to go back. Maybe because that’s where my heart is, with Logan.
Fear claws up my spine. So does something else—something fiercer.
Everything I want is there if I’m brave enough. A chance at a real life. A chance to make this right. A chance to stop running. And above all, Logan.
“I think…” My throat tightens. “It’s time to return to Sagebrush.”
Thirty Three
Sierra
The place is a zoo. Can one call a cave a zoo? A subterranean habitat, maybe?
Either way, Blackstone Cave is. It’s packed with locals and out-of-towners here for both the open mic and the very rare acoustic performance from Futon Drift.
I can’t tell whether it’s good or disastrous that we didn’t insist on limiting tickets. The last event was quieter, more romantic. This one is chaotic, buzzing with people eager for their moment in the limelight under the limestone.
“Do you think it’ll be too loud for my phone to pick up our voices?” I ask Seth nervously. We practiced on the drive back to Sagebrush together, both our approach and with my phone tucked into my bra to see if the sound would be clear enough.
“Try to get him to a quiet corner?” Seth says. “If it’s too loud, we can’t try another ambush another time. We probably only have one shot at this.”
Mayor Ortiz is already on the makeshift stage, giving the opening address.
“It’s my honor to open up this event,” Mayor Ortiz says. “We want to thank Compass Mountain Tours for hosting it and generously donating fifty percent of the proceeds to the Sagebrush restoration project. We’re almost at our goal of excavating and restoring our most famous—or ratherinfamous—brothel, an important landmark—”
“Sierra! Seth!” Emily somehow spots us in the crush.
She stands in front of me, for probably the first time, utterly speechless. Then she grabs me and crushes me in a hug. “You little bitch! Leaving me to pick up the slack over the past week!” But she doesn’t sound or look angry; instead, she hugs me again. “Does Logan know you’re here?”
“Not yet. Where is he?”
“No idea. It’s crazy in here, right? Who knew my dumb brother had an eye for what bougie people like?”
Nearby, the designated stage area is brightly lit and equipped with a small sound system. Cole helps Mayor Ortiz off the stage. For a moment, I wonder if something is going on between them—they spent a lot of time together at Scott’s party too.
Then I have no time for idle gossip. Emily hands me a stack of notecards with a speech—one I wrote over a week ago—written on them.
“Anyway,” she says, “Logan chickened out on emceeing this thing. He wants me to introduce the participants, but that’s my personal definition of hell. If you want to make it up to me for dropping off the face of the earth, you can go up there.”
“It would certainly get Dawson’s attention,” says Seth. “We may never find him if we lie low.”
Dawson and everyone else’s attention. I’ve slunk around the town a couple of times and went to Scott’s party, but this is the most exposed and vulnerable I’ll be yet: on stage, everyone recognizing me and recalling all my mistakes.
Jules and Logan seem to think I’m brave. But am I brave enough to dothis?
Yes, goddamn it. Live fast, die young, Sierra.
Nerves race through my veins as I step onto the stage. I lift the heavy microphone. It’s cold and smooth, and it feels foreign in my hand.
