Kiss and Don't Tell(21)
“I would hope not. Good on you guys for making sure she was going to be okay.”
“Yeah, you know . . . she looks really familiar. Can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“Maybe you knew her in another life,” Dad says, causing me to roll my eyes.
“You know I don’t believe in that shit.”
He laughs. “That’s why I said it.”
“Was there a point to this phone call?” I ask, teasing him.
“Just checking on my boy, seeing if you’ve heard from anyone.”
“That’s ominous,” I say. “Am I supposed to be hearing from someone?”
“Maybe,” he says.
“Care to elaborate?”
He clears his throat, so I know he’s about to get serious. “I had a call from Josh.”
Huh, wasn’t expecting that.
“He actually called you?”
“Yeah, to say I was caught off guard is an understatement.”
“Was he just checking in?”
Dad pauses and then says, “No, he was actually apologizing.”
“Seriously?” I ask, not quite believing that. “What brought about an apology? I mean long overdue given how he’s treated you and me, but out of the blue he decides to apologize?”
“He did. He said he wanted to apologize to you as well. He needs to explain himself.”
Josh can apologize all he wants, I don’t think that’s going to change shit for me.
Josh is my half-brother. He’s been a dick ever since I’ve known him and has rejected the idea of ever getting to know me. So why the hell do I want to offer him the chance to apologize?
And why now?
“From your silence, I’m guessing you’re not open to a conversation with Josh right now,” Dad says.
“Not quite. He was a dick to you, Dad. You just accepted his apology and everything is fine now?”
“He’s my son.”
“He’s an asshole,” I shoot back.
Dad sighs. “I know this isn’t easy for you to understand, but when he does reach out to you, and he will, please, Pacey, please have an open heart.”
Yeah . . . okay.
“Sure, Dad,” I say to appease him, even though I know damn well there is no way I’ll be answering that phone call.
“Thank you.” Although Dad’s relief does make me feel slightly guilty. “Okay, well I should be going. Your mom made a play date for me on the golf course.”
I chuckle. “She’s a good woman.”
“That she is. I love you, kid.”
“Love you, too, Dad.”
Once I hang up, I toss the phone on the bed. That wasn’t a phone call I was mentally prepared for.
But knowing Josh and his track record, nothing will come of it.
At least, that’s what I hope.
Chapter Six
WINNIE
I nervously bounce my leg as I wait for my friends to answer the FaceTime call. I have no idea what Katherine is going to say, but I’m really not looking forward to the lecture.
“Hello?” Max says as his face comes onscreen. “Fucking hell, it’s Winnie. Katherine, get your ass over here. It’s your friend who’s made us sick with worry.”
Oh man, it’s already not starting off well.
Katherine snatches the phone from Max and her bloodshot eyes come into view. She has a scarf tied around her head, masking what I know is hair made insane from her pulling on it, and she looks as though she hasn’t slept in two days. Not to mention, the vein between her eyes is twitching.
Yup, this isn’t going to be a fun conversation.
“What in the fresh hell have you been doing? You were supposed to call us and tell us you arrived.” She points to her eyes. “Do you see this? See these bloodshot, horrendously ugly eyes? That’s from you. I thought you were run off the side of the road, pulled from Minnie, and then thrust into a cage until they could start making a profile of you for the black market. With those eyes and those tits, you’d sell for a pretty price.”
“Oh my God, Katherine, you need to stop it with those crime shows you watch all the time.”
“Oh . . . you think that’s fictitious? Ohhhhhh no, that’s real life, sweetheart. And what I described is the nicer version, because you’re a prime candidate. Hot and clueless. They’d snatch you so fast.”
Max tears the phone away from Katherine and says, “Dude, she was showing me some articles about captors and their captives. She had me up all night worrying about it. Then I made her buy me a cronut this morning because I couldn’t sleep last night. And you know what—that cronut, although tasty, didn’t help me forget the traumatic mark Katherine left on me last night. I’m scarred. This is your fault.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, finally able to get a word in. “Trust me, I didn’t avoid you two on purpose. There was a horrible thunderstorm last night. Rain was pelting poor Minnie, making driving visibility incredibly poor. The Canadian Rockies don’t offer much in the way of phone reception, and to add to that, the Internet wasn’t working. But the Internet finally came back this morning, so I was able to FaceTime.”