Page 4 of Where You Left Me

“Right. Yeah, Ben is sick so I had to cover for him.”

“Sorry,” she said, wincing. “We took the table way up in the far corner, you won’t even know we’re here.”

“Just get them their drinks and we can go back to shooting the shit,” Maverick suggests.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for a best friend like Maverick. Between the two of us, we’ve been through it. But sometimes my sister’s sunny disposition rubs off on him and I miss the old Maverick. The one who was ready to go head-to-head with anyone who started any shit at the bar. He was my wingman. My partner in crime.

“Fine. Wait here while I fill your wine glasses,” I mutter.

She smiles gratefully. “Thanks.”

“But if you need refills, you’re gonna have to find one of my servers because I’m not coming by your table.” Behind me, I slide three wine glasses from their holders.

“Deal. But, Jones, you can’t just avoid her. She’s going to be here for a while. At least until the end of summer.”

Dread stretches across the tops of my shoulders. I spin back around and frown. “She said she was only staying until her dad was good enough to handle the store on his own again. Why would she need to stay through summer?”

Cammie’s eyes skirt away while she chews on her lip.

“Camille,” I lower my voice, using her given name.

She and Maverick share a look and I swear if he knew something and didn’t tell me, we’re going to be exchanging more than words. There’s only one time when the two of us got into a real fight—when he and Cammie started dating and snuck behind my back.

Holding up his palm he says, “Hey, man, I don’t know anything about this, swear.”

“He doesn’t.” Cammie vouches for him.

I lean across the bar and narrow my eyes at my sister. “What’s going on? Tell me, now.”

“You know Mia’s dad has to relearn everything since the stroke. Talking, walking, processing,” she pauses, fidgeting with the buttons on Maverick’s jacket, and doesn’t look at me as she continues, “He won’t be ready to co-host Bikes and Beers this year. Mia is taking his place as the event host for Base Camp Sports.”

The background sounds in the bar are suddenly blaring. The lights are too bright. My heart pounds harder.

Louder.

Faster.

As my attention draws to the Bikes and Beers promo poster on the wall past Cammie’s head, my brain plays catch-up on what this means. Mia’s dad is the owner of Base Camp Sports. He and I have organized and hosted Maple Ridge’s biggest summer event Bikes and Beers together for the past five years.

Apprehension crawls up my spine.

“I can hardly stand to look at Mia,” I spit out. “How am I going to work with her?”

Cammie shakes her head, her eyes downcast. “I don’t know.”

“Bikes and Beers is the biggest event in Maple Ridge. Me and Mr. Cappella work for weeks leading up to it. And now you’re telling meMiais taking Mr. Cappella’s place?”

“I’m sorry, bro. But maybe this will be a good thing,” Cammie suggests, and she actually looks hopeful.

“A good thing? Are you fucking kidding me with this shit right now?”

“Relax,” Maverick warns in a low voice that reminds me I’ve got witnesses.

Glancing around, I notice I’ve caught the attention of some customers. I attempt to play it off and force a smile to my lips. But all I really want to do is smash my fist into that wall with the Bikes and Beers poster on it.

I lean my elbows on the bar top. “You saw how I was after Mia left. You know the shithole I was in. How can you think this will be a good thing?”

Cammie gives me a look of sympathy. “Because you two obviously have some unfinished business to take care of. Why else would she leave town without a word to any of us?”

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