Page 64 of Finding You

Jade frowned. “Well…yeah. You wouldn’t be upset about the car. You haven’t been since the first day or two you were here in town. You’ve been pretty blasé about the whole thing.”

“Exactly,” Avery said confidently. “But I guess she doesn’t trust us enough to share what’s really going on.”

Oh, good grief…

So with no other choice, she pulled out her phone, pulled up the Facebook Messenger app, and opened the conversation with her mother. “Fine,” she murmured, and thrust the phone into Avery’s hand and waited.

A soft gasp was Avery’s only response before she handed the phone to Ashlynn–who had the same response before handing the phone to Billie. On and on it went until the phone was back in her hands.

“Did you talk to Devin about that?” Billie asked.

“Nope. I really wasn’t sure if she’d respond, and when I saw the message last night after the fireworks, I didn’t want to ruin the mood. But I didn’t read it until this afternoon while I was sitting in my car.” She let out a long breath. “I’m thinking of responding with my phone number and putting the ball in her court. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to make the call.”

“You were brave enough to want to drive across the country and show up on her doorstep,” Billie reasoned. “I don’t think you’d have a problem making a phone call.”

“Let’s be real,” she replied. “There would never have been a showing up on her doorstep. I have no idea where she lives. I would have had to reach out to her at some point.”

“Okay, but you did that already,” Chloe said softly. “You’ve already done the hard part.”

“Yeah, but…I feel like if she calls, then she really wants to talk to me. If I’m the one who keeps reaching out first, I’m never really going to know if this is something she really wants.”

“Are you sure it’s something you really want?” Jade cautiously asked. “I know you feel you have to do this because she’s the only family you have, but…that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for you to do.”

Nodding solemnly, she admitted, “Unfortunately, I’m wondering the same thing.”

“You know there are other options,” Billie gently reminded her. “You don’t have to go anywhere. There’s nothing wrong with staying right here. For all you know, this is where you’re supposed to be.”

“That’s right!” Ashlynn agreed. “It was fate that brought you here! You could totally stay! And if you were worried about things with Devin or maybe wanted to find a place of your own, we would all help you out.” Reaching across the table, she placed her hand over MacKenzie’s. “We’re all here for you.”

And each one of them repeated that and placed their hands on hers and it was enough to make her want to cry. She swallowed the lump of emotion clogging her throat and whispered, “Thank you. I…I just don’t know yet.”

“Then take your time,” Billie told her. “And whenever you’re ready, we’re all still going to be here for you. No matter what you decide.”

All she could do was thank them again before Jade offered a change of subject. “It looks like the volleyball game it getting kind of fierce! How about we grab some dessert and go watch?”

It was the perfect distraction, and MacKenzie was the first one on her feet. “Sounds great!”

MacKenzie had opted to be strictly a spectator for this event, and Devin was kind of relieved. She was a distraction to him no matter what she was doing, but he had a feeling watching her jumping around in the tiny cutoffs she was currently wearing would wreak havoc on him.

A volleyball hit him smack-dab in the middle of his forehead and snapped him out of his reverie. Snatching it up off the ground, he looked around to see who threw it. “Seriously, dude,” Levi said, grinning, “if you’re going to sit there daydreaming like a schoolgirl, step aside and let the big boys play.”

Devin frowned and took his place to serve. “No one’s daydreaming like anything,” he argued. “My mind wandered for a minute because you were taking so long getting into position.”

Levi winked and gave him an exaggerated OK sign.

Asshole.

Annoyance worked in his favor as he served the ball. And for the rest of the match, no one questioned his attention–or lack of it. When they won–as Devin knew they would–he did his best not to appear too eager to leave the court and go seek out MacKenzie. And as if his teammates knew it, they did their best to drag him into conversations and to convince him to join the next round.

He cursed himself as he caved to the peer pressure and joined in.

He loathed himself when he did it again for a third game.

By the fourth, Devin was pretty sure he was going to be incapable of moving in the morning from the physicality of the damn game he once loved.

On the sidelines, MacKenzie sat with a group of the girls, and he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her having a good time. He figured he had a sappy grin on his face, and it was confirmed when a volleyball smacked him right between the eyes again.

“Hey!” he snapped, unsure of who exactly he was yelling at. His five teammates all looked at him innocently, but there was a definite smirk on Reid’s face.

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