Page 136 of How You See Me
“Mmm.” She nuzzles closer. “Where do you want to settle down?”
I place a hand behind my head and stare up at the endless, dotted sky. “Somewhere with privacy, obviously.”
“Obviously.”
I kiss her head. “Views I’ll never tire of and close to both our families.”
“Well, Richmond can’t check two of those boxes. Guess we’re heading to the Shenandoah Valley between Richmond and your mom’s house in Northern Virginia.”
“You don’t care where we go?”
“No,” she answers quickly. “I just need you, a place to paint, and a short drive to the people we love.”
I press another kiss to her temple, my heart mending. “That’s all I need too.”
???
My eyelids burn, like I’m back in the desert, scorched and defenseless under a punishing sun. I squint, cracking my eyes open, but it’s too bright—way past sunrise.
That never happens. I always wake before the city does.
Blinking against the glare, I pat around blindly for my phone. Nothing.
Shit.
I must have left it in the van. Last night, the only thing on my mind was Josie—her love, her passion, the unfiltered way she whispered my name the second we parked.
I shift to climb over her toward the ladder.
“Where are you going?” she mumbles, half-asleep and tugging at my shorts to pull me back down.
“To find my phone. I must have left it inside.”
She yawns. “Is something wrong?”
“I just don’t want to miss any updates.”
That awakens her fully. She sits up, the blanket drifting to her lap. “Okay. Let’s go find it.”
We climb down together, and it doesn’t take long to find it right where I left it on the dash.
I flick on the screen, and the world stops spinning.
I can’t breathe. The van suddenly feels too small, the air too thick.
Three missed calls. One voicemail.
“Hayes,” she says again, gently easing the phone from my hand. “Who’s Raidyn?”
“The oldest of my sisters.”
“She called three times last night.”
“I know.” My pounding head falls into my hands. My body rocks, trying to absorb a thousand unspoken fears. “I can’t . . .”
“There’s a message. Want me to play it?”
“Yes,” I whisper, though my head shakes.
