Ellie's boyfriend kissed her goodnight and disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again... until now.
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A week before their high school graduation, Austin and Ellie parted ways with a goodnight kiss, thinking they'd be seeing each...
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"Hey, bro," my brother called from the open door. I'd been out back training Bear for the last hour and he was doing excellent, except for when he caught sight of a squirrel. After that, all he wanted to do was chase that stupid thing. He'd sat beneath a tree and barked at it until it moved, and then he ran after it again. It had taken me a good half hour to rein him back in.
"Yeah," I responded.
He chuckled. "I just had a very interesting call with your girlfriend."
I just groaned. I had avoided her calls, because I didn't know what to say. There had been so much after the murder with the agency getting involved again that I did what I thought was best, and kept her at a distance from me. To keep her safe.
But I should've known better. Ellie was not going to take that crap any more this time than she did after our accidental meeting in St. Louis.
"I think you need to call her back or she'll have your balls," my brother continued. "And I'm pretty sure she'll staple them to the wall."
That sounded about right.
"What's going on?" I asked as I threw the tennis ball so Bear could chase it down.
"Call her and find out, but it's pretty clear she misses you."
"Yeah?" I felt a smile tug at my lips.
"Maybe you should suggest that she come here, but if it's going to be another fuck fest, you should probably go somewhere else. I do not want to listen to that while I try to work."
I burst out laughing. "Is that what she said?"
"Must've been a memorable Memphis trip..." he said, and his cheeks turned pink. He actually blushed and avoided my eyes, which was a first.
"Sport?" I pushed when he hesitated, and to my amusement, his cheeks got even darker.
"Uh, huh. Yeah... actually, she thought I was you."
That made me laugh even harder. "So she let you have it?" I guessed. Not that I wouldn't have deserved it. I did.
He nodded, and a small amused smile appeared. "Yeah, you could say that."
There was a big grin on my face for the first time in weeks. Freaking Ellie. She was something else.
"Do you think it's safe for her to come here?"
"Lloyd seems to think we're safe, so why wouldn't it be?"
Everything seemed to be okay. It was like everything had just stopped after our father's death.
"Come here, Bear," I called. It was time to go inside to make a very overdue phone call.
