Page 39 of One Little Lie
Lexi: I know Colton is pissed off right now, but he’s also starting to understand what you and Halt meant to each other. He wouldn’t let you suffer alone this time.
Lexi: None of us would. But let me remind you, GG hasn’t been wrong yet.
Exhaling deeply, I bow my head, suddenly feeling a headache coming on.
“Are you okay?” Hatty’s voice cuts through my inner turmoil.
Glancing up at him, I see he’s fighting a war, too. He wants to stay away from me, but he’s drawn to me in a way he can’t control when he thinks I’m upset.
“Yeah, sorry. It’s just been a long day.”
He narrows his eyes and gives a curt nod. Even after all these years, I can tell he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t push either, so I turn my attention back to my phone.
Rylan: I’m not sure where to go from here.
Lexi: Dance in the rain, Rylan, and let him fall in love with you all over again.
Rylan: What if it doesn’t work?
Lexi: What if it does?
“Ah, we’re here. We have to head down to the golf cart.” Hatty’s voice is rough, and I’m shocked when he holds out his hand to help me up. Judging by his expression and shaking hands, he is, too. I’m expecting him to snatch it back, but I grab ahold before he can. Skin to skin, our bodies remember the connection we once shared.
Hatty hauls me up with such force my body slams into his, and we’re stuck in time, staring at each other for what feels like hours, but it’s really only a few seconds. Clearing his throat, he drops my hand and takes a step back. It feels like being dunked in an ice bath and unable to surface. I long for his touch, his gentleness, his love.
Dance in the rain, Rylan.
Wrapping my arms around my body, I make a decision. Even if I can’t ever have Hatty as my own, I am going to dance in the rain and fight for a friendship that once made me whole.
“Ready?” His throaty voice is full of the emotion swirling around my heart.
Sucking in a fortifying breath, I steel myself for this journey. “Always. Lead the way, Hatty.”
Please don’t break me again,my seventeen-year-old self screams in my head, but I push her back. Seventeen-year-old me didn’t know how to fight for what she wanted, for what was right. I’m not that girl anymore, and it’s time Hatty grew up, too.
* * *
Hatty and I stand side by side, staring at our new home … if you can call it that. A half shelter, no bigger than twelve by ten feet in size, seems to laugh at us from its perch overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
“What do we do when it rains?”
He shakes his head and climbs up onto the lean-to platform. I stay put, gaping at him while he inspects the structure. “Ah, it looks like there’s a tarp that rolls down.”
He stares at the ceiling, and I move closer to take a peek.
“At least it looks like the roof will hold.” He pinches the back of his neck, steps forward and jumps down off the platform. “Let’s unpack the golf cart, then I’ll head back to get the rest of our stuff from the docks.”
Something Ash conveniently forgot to mention was that he couldn’t get a reservation to bring the SUV across on the ferry. Instead, he had a golf cart waiting for us. Apparently, that’s the way most people move around this island.
His phone dings, and he pulls it from his pocket. Sighing, he pushes his glasses off his face to pinch the bridge of his nose. This is his exasperated stance. I smile, realizing how much I still know about him.
“What’s wrong?”
Hatty glances up, as if he forgot I was here, and slides his phone back into his pocket.
“Ash had someone pick up the SUV. It’s registered to him, so he didn’t want it turning up any red flags for Pacen or her father.”
“So … we’re stranded?” I find this funny and don’t even try to keep the humor out of my voice.
