I blinked. "Sorry, what?"
She smiled. "Iaskedwhat you're gonna do about it."
One thing Iwasn'tgoing to do was go off half-cocked like I had the last time. Last night, I'd shown up at his place demanding answers before looking for any myself.
Not this time.That's why I'd come straight home after work, to do enough research so I didn't make an ass of myself the second time around.
I'd also sent Griff a text asking if we could talk.
I'd done that at noon, and I hadn't heard back.
But I prayed like crazy I would. Now that I knew more, I couldn't just let it drop. I'd been blind, unfair, and flat-out rude – especially for me.
I let out a long, nervous breath. "Well…if he doesn't text me back by nine, I'm gonna go over and knock on his door."
And Iwouldbe knocking. Not pounding. Not yelling.
Just asking.
And apologizing.
Would I end up groveling?
Maybe.
He'd done so much for so little. AndallI'd given him was grief.
So, maybe I shouldn't have been surprised at what happened next. But like a ginormous fool, I wasmorethan surprised.
I was utterly shocked – and not in a good way.
75
Ghost Dock
Maisie
My voice shook as I said into my cell phone, "It's gone."
On the other end of the line, Tessa paused before saying, "You meanhe'sgone."
"No.It'sgone – the whole place – the boathouse, the balcony, that door I was pounding on last night.It's all gone."
Sounding just as confused as I felt, Tessa asked, "Gonehow?"
I swallowed hard before describing the scene. "It's like…someone dragged off the whole building and dropped it in the lake."
It was true.Under the remnants of a glorious sunset, the dock was still there – jutting out like a splinter into the shimmering water.But everything else?
Gone. Gone. Gone.
All that remained was a cracked concrete foundation, some scattered splinters of wood, and a churned-up patch of sand where weeds used to grow.
On the phone, Tessa said, "Oh come on. Are you sure you're at the right place?"
I wanted to snap at her, to say of course I was sure. But that would've been terribly unfair, considering that I'd asked myself that same question a dozen times since getting off my bike.
Had I lost my mind?
