1
Logan
Secrets arethe most damning thing about small towns. Secrets andlies.
I wouldknow.
I stir my cup of shitty gas station coffee and watch another bus enter the dusty Texas depot, dropping off another ragtag group of people. They disembark, squinting into the soul-searing July sun as they stretch, probably wishing they’d forked over the extra cash to fly coach intoAustin.
If Joey had told me she was taking the fucking bus from Florida, I’d have given her the money for aflight.
I shake off the pang of regret and anger that thrums through me every time I think of her. No, if she wanted my help, she’d have returned any one of my texts in the last sixmonths.
Anxiety twists in my gut. Worry over how she’s doing. Fear that she traveled so far by herself. Irritation that I feel so helpless when it comes to thisgirl.
As the bus driver tosses suitcases from the side compartment of the Greyhound, one man picks up his bag and starts to stroll away, except he pauses, looks around, and yanks off something from hishand.
His weddingring.
See what I mean?Secrets.
An SUV pulls into the parking lot a minute later, and he waves at the driver. A pretty young thing exits her vehicle and races into his arms. I’m guessing that’s not hiswife.
I roll my eyes, a wave of anger settling in with the coffee and nerves churning in mychest.
Is it really so hard to keep your promises,asshole?
Reason two hundred why I don’t have a girlfriend—if you can’t be focused on a relationship, if you can’t be committed and faithful, then don’t have one. It ain’t thatdifficult.
Reaching over to the dash of my truck, I crank up the airconditioner.
A smack to my shoulder makes me jerk, and my buddy Patrick motions toward the clock. “For the third time, what time does her bus getin?”
My heart jackhammers against my sternum. “Ten moreminutes.”
“No offense, but you look kinda fucked up. Youokay?”
I shrug, not bothering to mention I forgot he was in the truck. “Just want to get this overwith.”
He laughs and gives me a teasing look. “I’m sure Joey would love to know that’s how youfeel.”
My hands tighten against the steering wheel, years of frustration whirling below the surface, but I shove that shit down. “Joey doesn’t know I’m coming. She thinks Tori’s picking herup.”
She asked my brother’s fiancée, who’s also her good friend, to give her a ride. If I’m being honest, it stings. But how could she ask me when she wouldn’t answer the fuckingphone?
Patrick’s eyes widen. “Dang, son. This oughta befun.”
I press the heels of my palms into my eyes, exhaustion from the last week taking its toll. “Cody wasn’t feeling well this morning, and Tori had to take him to the doctor.Otherwise…”
It pains me to finish the next sentence, so I don’t. But the truth is I wouldn’t have had a clue Joey was coming home today if Cody hadn’t gottensick.
I figured she’d be back soon since my brother Ethan and his fiancée Tori are getting married in two weeks, and Joey is one of Tori’s bridesmaids, but no one gave me any specifics. Tori’s been strangely silent on the topic of my best friend. Or former bestfriend.
Fuck.
I rub my chest, over the ache that started when Joey left with barely a word as to why. One minute we were taking holiday photos with my family, and then,poof, she was gone. She left me a vague text—something about needing to get on with her life, which really fucking confused me—and then moved her grandmother to be near their family in Florida. I knew her uncle had offered to help relocate Rosalie, but Joey never seemed eager togo.
Until lastDecember.
