“What is it, Riss?” I ask.
“Well, since you asked ...” Her voice trails off. “Are you busy today?”
I want to tell her I am because I fucking hope I will be. My goal for today is to get Jaxi’s attention and figure out how to spend some time with her. I’m thinking that her meal as a thank-you was really a hint that she’d love more of my scintillating presence. Who wouldn’t? But I can’t tell Larissa that in case she really needs me.
“Why?” I ask.
“I just … I need you to entertain Hollis. Just take him to golf or for a drink or to a game. Are there games right now?”
“You want me to entertain Hollis? Why?”
“I don’t know. He just needs a distraction.”
I peer out the window. No Jaxi.
“What does he need distracted from?” I ask. “Work with me a little.”
She sighs. “He’s been looking for his sister, Harlee, and he can’t find her. It’s like she vanished into thin air.” Her voice drops. “The state only kept records until she was eighteen and even getting those hasn’t been easy. It’s driving him crazy.”
My heart sinks.
Hollis Hudson is one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met. A former collegiate football star, he can outrun you, show you up on family game night, and can eat and drink you under the table with ease. He’s also a talented songwriter. I don’t think Hollis even understands how much Coy thinks of him.
I knew Hollis was going to try to find his sister. I didn’t realize the search had started, nor did I know it was not going well.
“It’s driving me crazy too,” Larissa says in an almost whisper. “Can you imagine not knowing where one of your brothers were?”
“No. It would be the worst.”
“The worst,” she says, echoing my sentiments. “Anyway, could you do something with him? Help him take his mind off it for a while today?”
“For sure,” I say, biting my fingernail. “I’ll call him later.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
I grin. “I mean, you owe me one for it, though.”
“Boone!”
I laugh. “I’m kidding.”
A comfortable silence settles over the phone. I turn back to my spaghetti and see that the steam has stopped rolling off it.
“So, tell me about her,” Larissa says. I know her well enough to know a smirk has settled across her lips.
I also know what she’s suggesting.
I also know she’s not wrong.
“Who?” I ask cheekily.
“I think you said her name was Jaxi.”
Hearing her name makes me grin. “Oh, her.”
“Yeah, her. Are you into her or what?”
Not like I’d like to be.
“I mean, I don’t know how you define that,” I say, laughing. “But I’m kind of hoping to see her today, yeah.”
“Is she going to be a part of the harem?”
I snort and peek out the window again. “No such luck. She’s heading to—get this—Hawaii in a few days. I would make a good beach bum, though.”
“You wouldn’t leave your family.”
Larissa’s absolutely right. I wouldn’t leave my family and move halfway across the world for anyone. The thought is like a bucket of iced water over my head.
I do like the idea of being a beach bum, though.
“Nope,” I say, turning around. “You’re right. I wouldn’t. So that makes this slight infatuation I seem to have with her a little stupid, doesn’t it?”
“No. Not necessarily.”
“Why not?”
“Spending a few days with someone doesn’t mean you have to make over your entire life. You, of anyone, know that.”
I consider the parade of women who has been in and out of my house in the last month alone. There were the usual suspects—two women who come by on the regular because we are all young and single and why the hell not. I watched a movie, and only watched a movie, with a redhead from the beach who seemed uncertain about doing anything else. So, I bought us a pizza, we talked about her tattoos, and then she went home. Not a terrible night, all things considered. And then had a one-nighter with a blonde from the bar who I hope to never see again.
Larissa is right. Thank fuck.
“Excellent point, oh wise one,” I joke. “This is why we’re such a good team.”
“Why? Because I’m smart, and you’re not?”
“Very funny.”
I peek out the window again. This time—bingo!
Jaxi stands in front of Libby’s house and looks down at her phone. A pair of jeans hug her lower half and, on top, a lime green jacket feels like a beacon.
Signal received.
“Riss, I gotta go. I’ll call Hollis later,” I say, heading for the front door.
“Tell her I said hi,” she says with a laugh.
“Will do. Later.”
“Bye, Boonie.”
The blast of morning chill hits me hard. I shiver as I traverse the stairs down my porch. I pretend I’m heading to my car and act surprised to see her.
“Well, good morning,” I tell her.
Her head whips to mine. A slow smile spreads across her cheeks.
“Good morning,” she says. “Did you get the spaghetti I left for you?”
She turns to face me as I make my way toward her.
Birds sing overhead, and the grass is wet from the morning dew. Sunshine streams through the oak branches stretched out above us as I reach Jaxi.
“I did,” I tell her. “It was delicious.”
She smiles.
“I’m sorry for having to leave like that. My brothers never need me so I was a little freaked out about his insistence that I help him.”
I stop in front of her and take in the sweet scent of raspberries.
Her hair is piled on top of her head; her skin is fresh and clean. There’s something very straightforward about her—something real and pure—that is magnetic.
“It’s okay,” she says, her freckles shining in the light. “Libby ended up calling me and ….”
She bites her lip. She seems to be pondering something, and I wish I knew what it was. I wonder if she’s replaying a chat between her and her cousin or if she’s talking herself in, or out, of telling me something.
Finally, her shoulders fall.
“What’s going on?”
Jaxi levels her gaze
