Page 75 of Every Chance After

She laughs at this like she’s had similar ideas, her distress vanishing in her amusement.

“Make them regret the day they valued your body over you,” I say more seriously. “Make them regret everpretendingto be your family.”

Her hands slide to the crook of my elbows. At first, I think she’s pulling away, but she tugs my arms loose instead. When she latches onto me, I’m stunned. I’m no hugger. Aside from Mom and Elena, people know better than to try.

Even so, I wrap around her, her head tucked under my chin, and my hand laced into the soft bands of her hair, holding her close to me. She grips my shoulders like she doesn’t want me to let go. Not that I would.

For her, anything goes. I know this already. Whatever I have to give is hers to take.

CHAPTERTWENTY

Marnie

Marnie Strange,what’re you doing?I nearly stumble, leaving Grady Tripp’s impressive chest and strong,melt-me-like-butter-on-a-hot-dayarms. I let go of the poor man, blushing from embarrassment and flushed withsomething else—I dare not speak it.

“Sorry, Grady. I’ll refrain from taking advantage of you for free hugs. You’re not the hugging type, are you?”

He looks confused. “No, but it’s okay.”

“Not okay,” I argue, finger-wagging. “It’s not every day that I score the protection and help of a pirate captain. I got carried away.”

“First of all,you’rethe captain. And if I thought you were overstepping, I would’ve told you. For you, hugs are allowed. Encouraged, even. Let’s keep it between us, though. I can’t let anything ruin my Grouchy Tripp reputation.”

He makes me smile, and everything feels lighter. “Understood.”

His hands perch on his hips as he takes in the oversized, rundown convenience store behind us. “Are you sure about this? I didn’t know how bad it’d gotten. Trying to turn this place around seems like agreeing to take a nosedive into a pool of shit.”

“Wow, what creative imagery,” I chuckle. “I’m sure.”

“Truth?”

“Truth.” I don’t mention that, yes, the place is overwhelmingly awful. The clean-up alone will take weeks of hard labor. Half of his products have expired. There’s definitely a bug problem, perhaps rodents, too. And any rebranding attempt means getting Wade and company to change their ways—a feat in and of itself. Diving into a shit pit is an accurate assessment of the undertaking.

And yet, I can’t think of anything else I’d want to do, partly because challenges and special projects are my jam.Seriously.

But more than that, I want to do it for Grady. He saved my life—he should have his back. If taking this job alleviates his guilt and restores his peace of mind, then, of course, I’ll do it for him. He needs this as much as I do.

By the time we finish working out details with Wade, darkness falls, turning the swamp into black ink and gray shadows. Heading toward Grady’s truck, I pull my sweater on to battle the chill in the air.

“Hungry?” Grady asks.

“Um, yeah.”

“Marigold doesn’t like eating out on the fly, but how about we take her home and raid Mom’s kitchen?”

The question surprises me. “Are you sure she wouldn’t mind?”

He smirks. “She’ll be ecstatic. Trust me. Only let’s not mention the Wade situation. Okay?”

“Okay, why not?”

“Did you hear that Marigold? We aren’t discussing Wade or the G&G. That’s off-limits.” He peers at his sister through the rearview mirror.

“Off-limits,” she repeats dully. “Yes, Grady.”

His eyes cut to me. “Wade and Dad don’t get along. They had a falling out over a decade ago. Dad prefers us to keep our distance, and Wade is perfectly fine with that arrangement.”

I want to ask about the falling out, but it feels nosy.

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