“Yes.” She lifted one shoulder. “I get the feeling Lucas needs to focus on something. Without River around, he feels lost, I think. Perhaps keeping the clinic open will give him a much-needed purpose.”
“I see.” In spite of myself, I felt sorry for Lucas. Loving a lunatic couldn’t be easy, and he did seem smitten with River. To be fair, even as self-centered as River was, he too seemed to love Lucas. They had the oddest relationship. I still had no idea what it was exactly. “I guess I’ll just focus on my own problems.”
She wrinkled her brow. “You should focus on how exciting it is to be moving into your new home very soon.”
“Right,” I muttered, still feeling agitated.
Her expression softened. “You can’t control the future, Max. No matter how much you fret about things.”
“I know. Still, it’s difficult not to worry. The future is so uncertain right now.”
“Isn’t it always though?” She shrugged.
I grunted because she had a point. “I just want things to go smoothly for a while. I feel like my life has been chaos for the last few years. Moving here didn’t change that either. It’s just different chaos.”
“Maybe that’s the lesson,” she said. “You can’t run from life, so you might as well just face it head-on and go with the flow.”
She was right. I was going to give myself an ulcer trying to protect myself from what came next. Perhaps it was best to simply roll with the punches. Maybe if I got hit enough times, it wouldn’t hurt as much. I was certainly off to a good start.
Chapter Twenty
Royce
When I arrived at Breakaway Bikes, it was late afternoon. I’d been too busy with paperwork and phone calls to get away any sooner, but I definitely wanted to talk to Quinn. When I walked into the little shop, the bell over the door jangled. Behind the counter, Ivy stood, scrolling through her phone. She glanced up at the sound of the bell and gave a tiny gasp when she recognized me.
Tucking a golden strand of hair behind her ear, she gave me a tentative smile. “Hi, Sheriff.”
“Hello, Ivy,” I said as I neared the counter. “Is your father around?”
“No.” She shifted uneasily. “He had to go deliver a bike. But he should be back soon to help me close.”
“I see.”
“I… I can tell him you came by?”
“Do you mind if I wait?”
“Oh, well… I guess that would be okay.” I got the distinct impression she’d have loved to slink off into the back room. Perhaps she was just shy. Lots of kids her age didn’t know what to talk about with people my age.
“How’ve you been?” I asked politely when an uncomfortable silence fell.
“I’ve been okay.” She laughed nervously.
“That’s goodto hear.”
Silence.
“Uh, how’s school?”
“Fine.” She set her phone on the counter, facedown. Maybe she thought because I was a cop, I’d be nosy?
“I heard it might rain later tonight,” I said, still valiantly fighting the awkward silence.
“Is that right?” She glanced around the room, avoiding my gaze. “Well, we need the rain.”
“Absolutely.”
More silence.
