CHAPTER
ONE
Mira
“Oh no. You willnotbully me!”
My voice echoes through the empty car, loud enough for the red light glowing on my dashboard to hear. But it heeds me about as much as I heed it—which is to say, not at all.
“I need you to pull through for me one more time,” I say, patting the console. “Get me to Blackbird Ranch, and I promise I’ll start listening to you more.” I reach for the visor, tugging it down so I’m not blinded by the midmorning sun. “I mean, you know me, and the odds that you’re going to get regular oil changes aren’t great. But I’ll try my hardest to hit the gas station before you start screaming again if you can just hang in there for me. Okay?”
Bang!
“Ah!” I cringe as the passenger’s side of the car slams into a pothole that I didn’t notice until it was too late. Holding my breath, I listen closely for any sounds that would mean something broke. But after a solid minute of nothingness, I exhale. “I’m choosing to believe that isn’t an omen,” I mutter.
I glance down at my navigation screen and spot three little service bars.Finally.The service on the backroads surrounding Sugar Creek is hit or miss, and I always seem to forget that until it’s super inconvenient. But my elation over having contact with the rest of the world is diminished as soon as I glance at my phone.
No returned texts. No missed calls. No voicemails.
Dammit.
I bite my lip and press Hartley’s name for the twentieth time this morning. And for the twentieth time this morning, it rings until an automated voice tells me his mailbox is full.
“Come on, Hart,” I groan. “Answer your freaking phone.”
My fingers bite into the steering wheel as I glance at the clock. Practically speaking, I still have time. There’s not much wiggle room to spare, but I should be able to beat Oscar to Blackbird Ranch.
Chaos engulfs me—loud, urgent, and spiraling. Its tendrils wrap around every organ and nerve from head to toe. Because, yes, the delivery from Oscar will likely be … a situation. But therealsituation wears a cowboy hat and mustache, and he probably won’t be smiling beneath it.
Before I can hit full-out panic mode, my phone rings. I accept the incoming call before I check the caller ID.
“Hey,” I say hurriedly, hoping like heck it’s Hartley’s voice on the other end.
“Why do you sound out of breath?”
I slump in my seat as I make a right onto Shoals Road. “Hey, Markie.”
My sister laughs. “Why do I feel like you’re on an epic side quest without me?”
“Because you know me. But trust me, this is one side quest you’re probably better off avoiding. Pleading ignorance will come in handy, I fear.”
“Oooh.Sounds juicy. Do tell.”
A smile slips across my lips until it splits my cheeks.
If anyone will understand thisside quest, as she called it, it’s my sister. We’re alike in so many ways. We share thick, chestnut-colored hair, either big boobs or a short torso—it’s up for debate—and a propensity for finding ourselves in the middle of sticky situations that we should’ve seen coming. And this one is definitely sticky.
“I was headed to Patsy’s last night,” I say.
“Did you see Jasper there?”
I grin. “I thought you didn’t give a shit about Jasper anymore.”
She scoffs in disgust. I’m just not sure whether it’s at herself for asking about her ex-boyfriend, at me for calling her out, or at the failed relationship itself. Either way, a shit she does clearly give. “He can do whatever he wants. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not curious.”
I sigh, knowing all too well what she’s going through. It sucks to have broken up with a guy, regardless of the reason, and being desperate not to care. Yet you still find yourself wanting to know what he’s up to, even if it’s going to feel like a stab right to the heart.
Lucky for her, I have nothing to share. And that might be the only good thing about last night.
