Page 53 of Just Let Go

“Try hundreds,” Lucy said.

Quinn groaned.

“Sorry. We won’t say anything.” Lucy held up a hand as if that somehow solidified her promise.

“We won’t,” Hailey said. “But if anything else happens, you better come tell us about it immediately.”

“Nothing else is going to happen. Nothing but planning the Winter Carnival and hopefully convincing him to take Jaden skiing. Beyond that, I have no use at all for Grady Benson.”

No matter how good-lookingeveryone elsethought he was.

CHAPTER

12

AFTER STOPPING OUT AT CEDAR GROVEto change his clothes and take some Advil, Grady made his way back to town. Ryan had signed off on the diner, content that the work was finished, though he told Grady he reserved the right to call him back in if it turned out more needed to be done.

Which meant today, he had to work with Quinn, his “boss” for all things Winter Carnival.

His phone buzzed, and when he picked it up, he saw Benji’s name on the screen. Benji, the guy he’d always looked up to, probably since the day he was born.It should be you competing for the gold, Big Brother.After all, Benji wouldn’t have messed things up so badly. Bowman wouldn’t have dropped Benji. And to be honest, the Olympics had always been Benji’s dream, not Grady’s.

He stared at the phone until the vibrating stopped.

Seconds later, the voice mail notification dinged. He listened, the sound of his brother’s voice pulling him back to places he was usually unwilling—or unable—to go.

“Hey, Gray, it’s me.” Benji sounded—what? Worried? “I just got off the phone with the physical therapist’s office. They said the payment for the month didn’t go through. Look, man, I know you’ve hit some rough stuff lately, and I don’t expect you to always pay what the insurance doesn’t cover with these medical bills. Just let me know and I’ll get it worked out on my end. Love ya, man.”

Typical Benji, letting him off the hook.

“Don’t worry about winning the gold, man. You’re a world champion. You’ve got plenty of medals.”

But none of those medals were the ones Benji had wanted. Benji had wanted Olympic gold. It was the thing that meant the most to him right up until the day he learned he’d never walk again.

Grady threw the phone on the passenger seat. Pete said he had another month at least before his money ran out. What was the deal?

He let out a heavy sigh. He was headed nowhere fast. Between losing Bowman, his trouble with the law, and his screaming headache after the poor way he dealt with his frustration last night, Grady’s life was quickly spinning out of control.

Worse, it had been almost a week since he’d been on the slopes. Little by little, he could see his chances at getting back on the team slipping away, but he felt utterly helpless to stop it.

And helpless wasn’t something he was accustomed to feeling.

He picked his phone back up and called Pete. His manager was doing a poor job of taking care of him, that was for sure.

As the phone rang, he parked his car in front of the Forget-Me-Not Flower Shop, where Quinn and her cold shoulder were probably waiting for him.

“Grady, hey.”

“I just got a call from Benji. Said his last PT payment was denied. What’s going on, Pete? You told me we had at least a month. Maybe two.”

Pete sighed. “I guess I miscalculated.”

“Are you kidding? This isn’t a grocery bill here—this is my brother’s life.”

“I know, Grady. Let me see if I can move some things around.”

From where he sat on the street, he could see movement inside the flower shop. Quinn was pushing a large shelf from the middle of the store against the wall, and his first thought wasShe shouldn’t be doing that by herself.

“Just call me when you get it figured out, will you? I don’t want my brother worrying, and right now, he is. That’s the last thing he needs.”

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