Page 57 of Forever Endeavor

Her fists balled at her side. “Because you would’ve stopped me!”

“Damn right I would have!”

She fumed. “Why can’t you trust me?”

“I did trust you, and now look at the mess you’ve made!”

“Calm down, Sonny,” Cal interjected. “I told Billie the story because she needed a little inspiration for her writing. It’s fine. This is as much on me as it is on anyone.”

“You’re fine with having your mug seen by millions of people? Are you nuts, old man?”

“Don’t talk to Cal like that,” Billie snapped. “You have a problem with what I did, then take it up with me.”

“First, you skulk around town looking for my ex-wife, and now you troll the fucking Internet chasing a ghost from Cal’s past. Why can’t you just leave things alone?”

“Why can’t you see that I’ve only been trying to make bad situations better?”

“You’re not! Your life is a mess, so instead of burying your own troubles, you go digging around in other people’s dirt.”

“Mylife is a mess? I’m not the one cramming my pitiful existence into a storage container, so fuck you very much.”

“Both of you, cut it out! Now!” Cal hollered. The room fell silent except for the TV still playing in the background.

Seething, Billie pointed an angry finger in Sonny’s direction. “I’ve heard enough of your bullshit. I’m going upstairs, packing my things, and moving down to the lake. And don’t you dare follow me or show up uninvited at my door. I don’t want to see you.”

She stormed up to her room. Who the hell did he think he was going off on her like that, anyway? She’d apologized to Cal for the major fuckup, but she owed nothing to Sonny. In record time, Billie crammed her clothes into her luggage and stuffed the rest of her belongings into shopping bags. Determined to make her escape in one trip, she gripped totes in both hands, tucked one under each arm, and slung yet another over her shoulder, all the while dragging the rolling suitcase down the stairs, whap-bang, whap-bang, whap-bang.

She surveyed the living room. Sonny was gone. Cal remained in his chair, in a trancelike state as he flipped TV channels, methodically changing one to another every few seconds.

“I’m so sorry, Cal. Please believe me. I never meant for this to happen,” she said softly. “Are you okay?”

“I-I’m not sure to tell you the truth. Half an hour ago, I was a complete nobody and now even Wolf Blitzer knows my name. It’s so bizarre. And now…now you tell me someone I never thought I’d see again might only be a text message away? It’s a lot to process.”

“I’ll let you know the minute I hear anything from that reporter. In the meantime, if there’s anything I can do to help make things better, anything at all, don’t hesitate.”

“And what about Sonny?”

“Forget him. I can’t talk to him when he’s like this.”

“Funny, he said the same thing about you. If you want to help, then stop worrying about me and go smooth things over with him. You’ll find him in the yard cramming his pitiful existence into that storage container.”

Sonny

Women, fuck.There was always a too-high price to pay for getting involved with a girl like that. At this rate, he’d probably be bankrupt within the year. Billie had a shitload of nerve pulling that stupid stunt, especially after promising she wouldn’t embarrass the family. But nooo, she went ahead and did it anyway on a massive, nationwide scale.

Whap-bang, whap-bang, whap-bang. She teetered down the front steps like a bag lady in search of a three-wheeled shopping cart. Sonny kept his head low and pretended he didn’t see her. If she was coming out to beg him for a lift to the cabin, she’d better think again.

She rolled to a stop outside the container where he was stacking boxes. “Can I borrow the keys to your truck?”

He refused to look her way. “No.”

“C’mon. I’ve got to take this stuff down to the lake, then I’ll bring it right back. Swear.”

Sonny dropped the box in his hands and it landed with a thud. “Why should I believe you? There’s more holes in your promises than a leaky boat.”

“Wow, you really have some serious trust issues, don’t you?”

What nerve! “Look who’s talking. If you’d trusted me in the first place, we could’ve avoided this whole mess.”

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