Page 20 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
Eyes wide, she gripped my arm. “Why’s he here?” she whisper-hissed. “Did I—I didn’t tell him about Nate, did I?”
While I knew I should worry about what Donnie may or may not know, I couldn’t find it in me to care. Not when my head pounded so hard I could barely keep my eyes open.
I patted her head or went to pat it but missed it entirely and instead sank into her pillow. “You stay here while I caffeinate and find out what he knows.”
She groaned again. “Yellgooseif he plans on killing me or Nate so I can warn Nate to go into witness protection.”
This time, I hit my target and clapped my hand over her mouth. “Too many words, Ry.”
She giggled, and when I didn’t move, she licked my palm. I threw a disgusted look at her as I wiped my palm on her shirtsleeve.
“Tell him I like him,” she said. “Like him like him.”
“Like who?” Donnie leaned against my doorframe, tall enough his head almost reached the top, carrying a mug of coffee and a glass of water.
I pushed myself out of bed, tangling my feet around the blanket enough that I fell on the floor. With a stupid smile,Donnie kneeled beside me and handed me my steaming mug.
“I love-hate you,” I hissed.
His smile only grew, making his pretty-boy green eyes twinkle.
“Stop smiling,” I grumbled, but my annoyance disappeared with one whiff of the hot brew.
He tapped my nose the way he’d been doing since Ryenne and I were in diapers. Not that I remembered that, but it had been one of Mom’s favorite memories of one of my oldest friends.
“So?” he asked when he stood back up, rubbing the scruff on his chin that grew overnight because clean-cut Donnie hated facial hair.
Warily, Ryenne took the glass of water he offered her while pink blossomed on her cheek. “What do you know?”
“What do I need to know?” He quirked up a single brow.
“Not a damn thing.” I looked at him over the top of my mug, enjoying the taste of the coffee on my tongue.
Enough sugar and cream to take away the bitter bite but not so sweet it made my eyes water. Absolute perfection.
“If you ever decide law enforcement isn’t your thing, you could try your hand at being the best, most well-known barista in Colina Verde,” I said.
After Donnie helped me up from the floor, he sat on the edge of my bed while I lay back down.
“You girls had quite the party last night,” he said.
“Seems like it,” I agreed. “How’d you end up here?”
“This one”—he tipped his head toward his sister—“text me worried about you because she couldn’t get ahold of you. Took me a bit to get here with all the snow. . .”
“Snow?” Ryenne and I questioned in unison.
He pinched his lips together as he stared at us.
“I’m too tired to see if you’re screwing with us,” I said with a contented sigh.
With another questioning look, he stood and swiped my curtains open. Snow fell. Actual snow fell. In the middle of spring. In south-central Texas, where it rarely snowed during the wintertime.
No. It wasn’t possible. Except it was. Unless. . .
I grinned at my idiot friend.
“That’s good.” I croaked out a laugh that I immediately regretted. “You almost got me.”
