Sweet Liar (Candy #2)(75)

I rolled my eyes but I got his meaning. He was forgiving his mother slowly, the same way I was forgiving him. I understood why he had to lie when we met, and why he couldn’t warn me that they were after my father. But understanding had more to do with logic. Forgiveness was pure emotion, volatile and unpredictable, working on a schedule all its own. I was glad Jonah was getting there, but I suspected I’d already made it to the finish line.

Before leaving for Glenn Valley, we stopped by Theo’s house to say good-bye. We’d timed our departure so we could catch him just as he and his family were leaving for the airport. We turned into his driveway to find him and his father loading suitcases into the car.

“Taking everything you own on this trip?” I asked Theo with raised eyebrows. Their hatchback was buried under luggage.

“We’re only going for two weeks, but apparently women need three suitcases worth of crap for that amount of time. I’ve only got one bag. Same for my dad. The rest is Heather’s and my mom’s.”

“That’s right,” Heather said. “Our extra bags are filled with tampons and bras.”

I chuckled, but Theo looked slightly uncomfortable as he eyed her luggage. The fact that Heather was traveling with them could have been awkward. Theo and Heather had just become friends—well, more than friends—and now she was going on a family vacation. But they all seemed comfortable around each other.

“I must be dying because they said yes.” That was how Theo explained why his parents had agreed to let Heather come along. I figured he was probably right about that.

“I’m still looking through those files,” Heather said close to my ear when I hugged her good-bye.

I only nodded because Theo didn’t know, and getting my hopes up didn’t seem wise, but they were impossibly high anyway. I was praying she could somehow pull a rabbit out of those files and make a miracle happen. So far, through her parents, she’d managed to remove the threat of Victor—at least for now. And maybe forever, I hoped.

When I hugged Theo, he felt more substantial in my arms than he had when he came to visit me at Thanksgiving only a month ago.

“Can’t call you my girl anymore,” he said, grinning as he released me. “Got a real one now.” Looking smug, he put his arm around Heather’s waist.

I frowned. “I thought I was real.”

“Not like this.” He waggled his eyebrows as his hand moved down to squeeze her hip.

While I made a face of mock disgust, Heather elbowed him good-naturedly.

We all made jokes and smiled, and said all the typical good-byes that were expected of us, but I was on the verge of tears the entire time. Every day Theo had was precious, and now he was leaving for two weeks. Who knew where I’d be in two weeks, or what might happen between then and now?

“I know he’s a good friend,” Jonah said once we were back in the Jeep, “but is he a good guy? This thing with him and Heather is going awfully fast.”

I wasn’t surprised he’d asked that. I could tell by the look on his face when Theo grabbed Heather’s hip that something had triggered Jonah’s sense of protectiveness.

“He’s the best, and I agree, it is fast. But I guess it had to be.”

“Heather’s going to get hurt either way,” he said.

“She wants to save him. She may not realize it, but I think she already did in a way.”

Jonah took my hand and held it to his lips as he turned onto the highway that would take us back to Glenn Valley, and whatever awaited us there.

***





I held my phone in my hand.

“Ready?” Jonah asked. “Turn it on.”

A mile over the Glenn Valley town line, Jonah decided it was safe for us to turn our phones on. Within seconds, they were each dinging like crazy. As my messages lit up, I saw Lea’s name the most, followed by Theo and Alison Hoyt, which surprised me.

I went to Alison’s messages first. She apologized repeatedly for telling Victor anything, and asked me to call her.

“What is it?” Jonah asked. He tried to hide it, but I could feel the tension rising off him the closer we got.

“Nothing important. What about you?” He was reading something on his phone, which he should not have been doing while he was driving.

He squinted at me before shaking his head, but the tense look on his face said something was worrying him, probably messages from his father.

“Could you text Lea?” he asked. “Maybe you could go to her place or meet her somewhere. When I’m done talking with Heather’s folks, we can go to your house together.”

I eyed him curiously. “You don’t want me going to Heather’s with you?”

Jonah glanced at me. “I’d rather talk to them alone. They might not feel comfortable talking about your father in front of you.”

I frowned, not liking the idea of splitting up. Considering how tense he was, I was worried about him.

“Text Lea.” He prompted, his tone firm.

I picked up my phone and realized she’d texted me over the past few days, several times. “Oh no.”

“What is it?”

“She is throwing a big New Year’s party. She sent a list of things she wants me to do to help. That’s a little pushy, don’t you think?”