Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road #1)(67)

Both Olivia and Oz stare at me as if I’m crazy then return to each other and pretend I’m not in the same room.

“Take her on your bike,” Olivia continues.

On his bike? Do either of them detect my internal scream, because I hear it. “Why can’t we use the truck?”

“Chevy needs it,” answers Oz. “His bike broke down last night and he has football conditioning.”

Oh. My biker cousin plays football. Like the real kind. Not the kind without pads in the yard that resembles sixteenth-century warfare.

“You’ll have fun,” says Olivia. “The pond has trees.”

Trees. Second tree on the left.

“What does that mean?” Oz double-takes Olivia and if it weren’t for our previous conversation I’d think she was crazy, too. Well, more crazy than usual.

“That we should go swimming,” I suggest.

A muscle in Oz’s jaw twitches and I’m curious why he’s unhappy. I thought after our bonding moment last night, we were friends. “Wear jeans over your swimsuit and some real f*cking shoes.”

He gets up and stomps out of the room.

* * *

“What else?” Mom’s drinking tea in our kitchen during this morning’s video chat and she’s pumping me for information.

“Oz and I are going swimming today. For real, who doesn’t have central air in this century? I swear to God I’m going to melt.”

Mom lightly traces her throat. “Where are you going swimming?”

“A pond, I guess.”

Her eyebrows rise past her blond bangs. “But you hate the woods.”

“I didn’t say it was in the woods.” Olivia did. And so did Oz. But me? Never mentioned it.

She sets down her cup of tea. “I was assuming that. There’re lots of woods in Kentucky and...here comes your father! Jeff, come here and say hi to Emily. I have to go. I have a meeting...”

Mom flees from her chair faster than a traumatized hummingbird.

Dad settles into Mom’s seat and he watches the direction in which Mom left then eventually turns his attention to me. He’s in a white shirt and tie, which means he has hospital visits today. “Hey, Em.”

There’s a part of me that always relaxes when I see him. “Hi, Dad.”

“What did you say to freak your mom out?” Dad’s eyes contain a spark of amusement. He’s finding this whole digging into Mom’s past thing enjoyable for some reason.

“I told her I was going swimming at a pond.”

He nods as if he knows why this pond is a big deal. “That would make her unhappy.”

“I’m tired of being the only one in the dark,” I say.

“I imagine you are.” He leans forward so that his head is closer to the camera. “Are you ready to come home yet?”

Surprisingly... “No. It’s weird here, but I’m handling it.”

“Good,” Dad says, and he looks as though he means it. “That’s good.”

A part of me feels better that he’s supporting me in this, but the other half sinks in guilt. “Hey, Dad?”

“Yes, Em?”

“I love you.”

Dad grins in a way that causes me to soar. “I love you, too.”

Good.

That’s good.

Oz

I WAIT ON the front porch while Emily’s locked in her room getting ready. A whine of hinges and Olivia joins me. She wears a top that’s more corset than shirt and a pair of painted-on jeans. She must be scheduled for another MRI. “If you don’t watch it that hospital in Louisville is going to be down an MRI tech. Cyrus will be pissed that you’re dressing up for your smart boy toy.”

“A little flirting doesn’t hurt anyone. It’s something people do when they feel alive.”

All the happiness drains out of me and I scan the yard. She’s dying. Inside her is something that is spreading and she’s dying.

“You’re going to have to deal with this,” she says. “With me. I’m short on time and miracles. I thought having the wake while I was alive would help, but I don’t think it has with you.”

“Are you having a stroke? Because you’re talking nonsense.”

She chuckles at my response, but then the lightheartedness fades. “Why aren’t you living?”

“Speak English.”

“While I love that Emily is here, and that she is because you’re doing what Eli asked of you, I’m wondering when you’re going to start living your life.”

“If it wasn’t for Emily, I’d be on that run making money for the company instead of sitting here with my thumb up my ass.” I don’t want to have this conversation. It’s one I avoid because I’ll be damned if I’ll let my anger get the best of me, so I switch gears. “You need to stop dropping clues to Emily about her past.”

She flutters her eyelashes as if she could pass for a Southern belle. “Why, Oz, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t. Eli flat-out told me he doesn’t want Emily to know anything and you go and tell her to hunt for Honeysuckle Ridge. She’s asking people about it, and if she asks the wrong person she’s going to end up in deep shit that I can’t pull her out of.”