Page 87 of All Autumn
I exchanged a shocked glance with Jenn. “And you’re just now telling us?”
“What was the point? None of you liked her, and I can’t say I blame you.”
“So we could have come to the funeral,” Jenn said. “So we could have been there for you.”
“Damn it, Savannah,” I said. “That’s the kind of thing you tell your best friends.”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t like she and I were close. Besides, Jackson handled the arrangements, and it was so over-the-top that it was embarrassing.”
What she wasn’t saying was that Jackson wouldn’t have wanted us there. “Savannah, exactly what’s going on with you?”
“How’s Adam?” She wrinkled her nose. “Ah, I mean, how are Adam and Connor?”
Yeah, right. That wasn’t what she meant at all, and she was going to avoid answering me. “Same as always.” I took a deep breath, knowing I was going to ask an unwanted question. “Are you happy, Savannah?”
She plastered her fake smile on. “Why wouldn’t I be? All my dreams have come true.” She held up her wrist, looking at her watch. “I have to go.”
Jenn grabbed her hand. “We’re worried about you. Remember the promise we once made that we’d always be there for each other? It still holds true.”
Tears gathered in her eyes. “I know. But I’m okay, and I really have to go.”
She wasn’t okay. “Swear you’ll call us if you need us or when you’re ready to tell us what the hell is going on in your life.”
“Autumn,” Jenn said, warning me that I was pushing too hard.
I shut up, but it wasn’t easy. After a tight hug for both Jenn and me and telling us how much she loved us, she was gone. She might as well have been a ghost.
“Did you notice how bitter she sounded when she said all her dreams had come true?”
Jenn nodded, and the worry in her eyes reflected what I knew was in mine. “Yeah.”
“At least we got to see her, but I’m more concerned for her than ever.”
“Yeah, me, too.” Jenn sighed. “But I don’t know what to do about it if she won’t let us in.”
Neither did I, and I didn’t like feeling helpless.
44
~ Connor ~
“No way amI letting anyone wax my chest.” I pointed the neck of my beer bottle at Dylan. “And stop laughing. You, too,” I said to Adam. “And don’t try to claim that either one of you are going to do it.”
Dylan laughed harder. “Full disclosure. Mary’s not getting near my chest.”
The thick Angus steaks and the oversize baked potatoes with all the fixings Dylan had fed us had been great. Our stomachs full, we were chilling on the back deck of the log home Adam and I had built—well, Adam had built it, but I’d found the perfect piece of land—for Dylan and Jenn. The view looking down over the valley was spectacular. The lights of the town of Blue Ridge Valley glittered below us.
“Amen to that. She’s not getting near mine either,” Adam said. “Although, I still think it would be fun to hear Connor scream when he got his hair torn off his chest.”
The mere thought sent a shudder through me. I pushed up from the lounge chair and glared at my twin. “The hell, bro? I put my tiny little hands over your ears when we were still in Mom’s womb every time our dad put his mouth on Mom’s stomach and sang to us. Remember how much that hurt your ears? Where’s the loyalty, man?”
Adam smirked back at me. “I also remember you kicking me every chance you got.”
“You do not remember anything of the sort.”
“I absolutely do. By the time we popped out, I was black-and-blue all over.”
“And even after all these years, you’re still crying about it.”
