Page 35 of One Last Chance

I looked out the window and breathed through the knot in my chest. The storm had dispersed, and sunset’s afterglow was still shimmering on the horizon. I wasn’t late, but I was damn well close.

“We have to hurry,” I said shortly. “Please get me home!”

I started shimmying into my wet clothes. Shoving my legs into my pants was an unattractive and very uncomfortable fit. By the grace of God, I somehow managed to get myself fully clothed. Kash looked down at his naked body, shrugged, and tossed his t-shirt over his head. Naked from the waist down, he turned the truck back onto the road. I stared at him as I shoved my feet back into my soggy shoes.

“What are you doing?”

“You gotta get home now, don’t you? Lights out at eight or whatever stupid thing? It’s gonna take me at least ten minutes just to get down the mountain. I don’t have time to screw with pants.”

I squealed. “What if somebody sees you?”

“They’re welcome to send me a thank-you card,” he said with a smirk.

I laughed, shaking my head in disbelief. “You’re impossible, you know that, Kash Lawson?”

“Impossibly awesome,” he said. He grinned at me and squeezed my thigh. “Anything for you, Daisy.”

My heart pounded with something like guilt. I knew I couldn’t say the same to him, not yet, and it killed me. What was I waiting for? For them to exonerate him entirely? The cops would have to find the real killer to do that, and I knew they were all done looking. Blind faith had never been my strong suit, but I knew I was going to have to make that leap eventually. Because eventually I would have a choice to make. For as long as the real killer wasn’t found, Kash would be seen as guilty in my father’s eyes. Hiding something for a few days might prove easy, but doing it forever…it just wasn’t an option.

I didn’t have time to sort out my thoughts before we were back on my street. Half of it was underwater, but Kash made it through. Before we were visible from the trailers, he shot me a glance.

“Okay Daisy, your choice. I can drop you here and you can be late, or I can drop you at your door and risk having your dad see me.”

I shrugged. “Nobody’s seen this truck in years. Besides, it’s covered in mud and looks like every other truck around here. I’ll just tell them that a regular from the library gave me a ride, it’s happened before.”

He frowned. “If you say so. Just—lie like you mean it, okay?”

“Are you calling me a bad liar?”

“Abysmal,” he said with a grin. It faded as quickly as it had come, though, as a different thought occurred to him. “Guess kissing you goodbye is out of the question?”

I could see my house then, complete with a silhouette in the window. One of them was watching for me, and it was probably Dad. I sighed.

“Looks like it.”

I knew it might have been a little sadistic, but I loved how sad he looked about not getting to kiss me, even after everything we’d just done. I squeezed his hand.

“See you tomorrow?”

He grinned. “Same time, same place.”

I was walking on sunshine all the way up to the house but controlled my expression when I got to the door. Dad was waiting, of course. To my surprise, instead of pounding me with questions, he wrapped me in a big hug as I walked through the door.

“You made it,” he said gruffly. “That was a hell of a storm. Billy’s trailer’s gone. You’re so late, I was worried you were gone too.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, heart squeezing with tenderness and more than a hint of guilt. “I couldn’t walk home in that. I waited it out and hitched a ride with a regular who was stuck at the library with me. I’m sorry I couldn’t pick up your beer.”

He waved that away. “Don’t worry about it, I grabbed it on my way home. There was a deal—anyway. I’m just glad you made it home safe.”

I hated myself for lying to him. Moments like these reminded me how much he loved me, how much pain he must be in still because of Hunter’s death. I couldn’t really blame him for being overprotective, could I? Conflict tore at my heart, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I kissed him goodnight and went to bed, resigned to crying myself to sleep.

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