And that was exactly what I did. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close. “That’s okay,” she whispered in my ear. “Everything will be okay. I’m here and I’ll take care of you.”

Later, she was able to coax me out of my car, and we cuddled in her bed. I didn’t tell her about my fight with my father, about his harsh words, and the way that shame, guilt, and rage swam inside me. I didn’t need to. She knew it and she knew I wasn’t ready to talk about it.

She also knew that her hands caressing my back up and down, her body pressing against mine, her throat humming a nonsense song, and her lips pecking lightly at my face were the best remedy of all.

“Hey, Ryan.” Noah snapped his fingers in front of my face.

I shook away the haunting memories. “Yeah?”

My boss stared at me, his brows furrowed. “I was saying maybe you should go on your break now, before, you know—” He gestured to the wall in front of us. “—you tear the house down.”

I opened my mouth to tell him to go fuck himself, but closed it again, my jaw tight. The guy was right. I needed a break. I took my bandana from the back pocket of my jeans and wiped my forehead.

“Fine,” I snarled, walking past him.

I halted beside my car with no idea where to go or what to do during my break.

Then, something slipped in my mind. Luke was probably at the tracks, training. I hadn’t been there in four years, but for some odd reason, I wanted to go there now. Just to sit there and watch him. I hoped that no other bittersweet memory would creep in on me during the rest of the day.

I slid inside my Mustang and braced myself to see one of my best friends living my dream.

Chapter Twenty

Jessica

When I woke up Thursday morning, Mama was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, Luna circling her, asking for food, but what surprised me was seeing Jason up. He was already dressed as if he had an appointment that early.

“What’s going on?” I asked, sitting across the table from him.

He didn’t raise his eyes from his laptop. “Did you look out the window?”

“Nooo.” I stood, walked to the door, opened it, and gasped. “Oh my …”

The yard was a mess. The storm had pluck out bushes and flowers. The tree house had lost several boards. A part of the fence was broken, and another part was leaning as if it would fall at any moment. The swing on the porch had fallen from its hinges, and the table was upturned.

I stepped out and looked at the street. Fallen signs and trees. The houses around the neighborhood looked just like ours.

“Wow.” I closed the door and sat back down as Mama brought pancakes to the table. “I heard the wind before falling sleep, but I could swear it wasn’t that bad.”

“It was,” Mama said, returning to the range. “I woke up around three in the morning when a branch struck a window in the living room.”

I poured coffee in my mug. “The window is broken?”

“Yes,” Jason answered, handing a piece of pancake to Luna. She settled at his feet, probably expecting more food. “The entire city is in chaos.” He turned his laptop so I could see what he was reading. The browser was opened on the local town news and the headlines didn’t sound great. Several parts of the town were without power. Schools, local shops, and restaurants were so damaged that they were closed. One neighborhood across town had been hit the worst of all, and most of the houses had their roofs damaged when a tree had fallen.

I reached over and opened one of the articles. “Oh no …”

“What?” Jason tilted his head to the laptop and read the article with me.

But Mama was now working on some dough and couldn’t read it. “What is it?

“The Habitat for Humanity site,” I said. “The houses are gone. Most of them are flat on the ground because of the windstorm.”

Standing, Jason fished his phone from his pocket and went outside to call someone. I could guess who it was. Luna shifted her attention to me. I browsed the other articles and ate my breakfast, giving a piece to Luna here and there, pretending I wasn’t interested in Jason’s conversation.

When my brother sat back at the table, I was dying to ask him what he and Ryan had talked about. Instead, I shoved pancakes in my mouth, even though I was already full.

Thank goodness, Jason didn’t torture me too much.

“Ryan is at the site right now,” he said. “The supervisor estimated that to make up for what they lost, Ryan and the rest of the crew will have to work until sunset every day, including weekends, for the next two months.”

“That sucks,” I whispered.

Mama opened the oven and checked on whatever was in there. “If only they had more helping hands.”

It was as if a lightbulb had turned on inside my head. “We can help.”

Jason stared at me. “What?”

“Look around. Our damage is nothing. We can clear the yard and fix the fence and the window in a day. Tomorrow, we can go to the Habitat for Humanity site and help them. We can take our friends, and invite our neighbors.”

“Do you have any idea how to build a house?”

“No, but I don’t need to build the entire house. I can help with little things. Besides, as far as I know, most of the people who work on these community service projects are volunteers. They also didn’t know how to build houses when they started.”

“Jess is right,” Mama said. She was now standing behind me. “We might not be able to do much, but any extra pair of hands helps.”

Jason looked from Mama to me, a little wariness in his eyes. “All right. Tell me about your plan.”

***

Ryan

I sat beside my Harley and sipped my Coke. I wanted to drink a beer, but I was too tired, and knowing I would have to be up early in the morning, I didn’t want to get a hangover. It was the first evening in six days that Noah had let us out earlier.

I planned on going to bed early, until Jason showed up at the garage.

“Hey, man,” he said.

“What are you up to?”

“Nothing much.” His expression was closed, as if something was bothering him.

“What happened?”

“Well.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I have something to show you.”

I stood. “Okay.”

“Not here. Come on.” He walked out of the garage and headed to his bike.

“Hmm, dude, I’m not going with you on that bike.”

Jason leaned against my car. “Drive, then.”

I grunted. “Does this have to be now? Today?”

“Yup.”

Letting out a lot of expletives under my breath, I grabbed my car keys and closed the garage door.

I slid in my car and turned on the ignition. “Though Officer Mike is being a little more lax because I’m working at the site until late, my curfew probably stands tonight.”

Jason looked at his cell phone. “So we have two hours. That should be enough.”

“Where to?”

“St. Anna’s Park in Columbia.”

“A park? Seriously, J-man, what do you want to show me?”

Jason stared ahead. “Just drive.”

The drive from Lexington to Columbia didn’t last long, but the tension and silence in my car bothered me.

I parked my car in a parking space across the street from the park, right behind a familiar truck. Jessica leaned against the truck, watching the basketball courts.

I glared at Jason. “What the hell?”

Without answering me, Jason slid out of my car and walked to his sister.

Swearing again, I exited my car and approached them. Jessica handed him the truck’s keys.

“He won’t leave me here,” she said to Jason. Then she looked at me. “Right?”

I just shrugged.

“Okay. My job here is done,” Jason said. He stopped by my side and clasped my shoulder. “Keep calm.”

Shit. “When you say stuff like that, I know I won’t be able to keep calm.”