Chapter 16
DELANEY
I’ve pictured throwing something at Darren more times than I can count, but I never thought I’d actually get the chance to.
The balls in my hands feel like they’re getting heavier by the second as I lightly toss them into the air and pretend I’m alone instead of in front of several curious bystanders. Darren’s eyes remain locked on my face, his focus sharp. I meet his stare and tighten my grip on the balls.
He looks far too good up there today with his tan skin and rippling biceps on display.
I didn’t think it was mandatory to be shirtless for this.
I almost wish it was mandatory to not be.
I don’t remember him being so muscled back in high school.
No, instead of his thickly packed abdominal muscles, there was a softness to him.
Now, I know one press of my palm to his stomach would prove just how firm he’s become.
Firm and warm and— No.
I swallow the excess moisture in my mouth and grip the balls tight. There’s no reason to be attracted to him anymore. Maybe if I tell myself that I’m not enough times, I’ll believe it.
Okay. I don’t think his wide chest and the bulge of his biceps when he reaches up to rake fingers through his hair are attractive at all.
And I really, really don’t like when he runs his fingers over his mustache and smirks like he knows he’s been caught doing it.
It’s so, so tacky. Who likes mustaches, anyway? Certainly not me.
“You ready?”
I jump, a curse exploding free as Daisy’s face appears in front of me, blocking my view of Darren. “Shit!”
“Oops.” She hides a smile behind her hand.
Bryce smirks and eyes me curiously before pulling Daisy back into her side.
When she smacks a kiss to Daisy’s cheek, I force myself to look back at where Darren’s sitting.
He’s leaning forward now, his back slightly arched as he slips his gaze between my group of girls, then plop his eyes back onto me.
Daisy’s perfume wafts up my nose as she leans close to my shoulder and whispers, “I don’t think anyone would report you to the authorities if your aim was bad enough you sacked him instead of the target.”
“I’d prefer to use my knee for that,” I admit bluntly.
Her giggle rings in the air. “You know what? Hell yeah. You go, girl.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Poppy says.
Bryce snorts a laugh. “As if you haven’t debated giving your brother a swift kick to the dick a few times.”
“Not everyone has the same fascination with inflicting pain on male genitals the way you do, Ice,” Poppy pokes.
With a shake of my head, I ignore the rest of their banter and dig my eyes into Darren’s, hoping for a second that I’m making him uncomfortable. As good as it should feel to stare so openly at him like this after so long, it’s unease that swims in my belly instead of happiness.
He’s watching me like he has the right to, and that pisses me off as much as it hurts me.
I launch the first of three balls too hard at the target. It bounces off the side and rolls onto the pavement before smacking into the cement blockade. My tongue grows heavy in my mouth as I squeeze the second and shift my feet until I feel steadier.
Now that Brody’s out of the water and back on his seat, Poppy follows my lead and lets go of her first ball. It doesn’t even brush the target, and Brody howls in triumph.
“Don’t get cocky now, Brody!” she shouts.
He sticks his tongue out and says, “Bring it on.”
She winds her arm back and, with one eye squinted in concentration, throws the second ball. It comes closer but still misses. Her groan is subtle enough I hardly pick it up.
Darren’s voice dances on the breeze. “Show her how it’s done, Elle.”
My breath dissipates. Curious looks stab at my back as I follow the sound of his voice. He either called me that to anger me enough that I’ll whip the ball as hard as humanly possible or to try and spark some sort of moment between us.
He’ll get the first option.
With Poppy concentrated on sending Brody into the water tank, I pull my arm back and hurl the ball at Darren’s button. It clips the edge of it, and he doesn’t so much as flinch before his seat gives out. His eyes hold mine as he falls, only disappearing once his head sinks under the water.
Blinking, I force myself backward as a weird, slimy feeling fills me. My shoulder butts into Bryce’s as I stumble. She catches me with a hand on my arm and cautiously turns me until I’m forced to look at her.
“You good?”
“Mission accomplished,” I say, putting on my best attempt at not sounding freaked out.
“Right. Want to get some mini donuts?”
“You don’t want to try dunking Darren?”
She shakes her head, letting her hand drop. We both ignore the sound of water splashing. “I prepare other torture methods. ”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“Good.”
“Mini donuts sound good,” I relent.
She leans into Daisy and whispers something that draws her fiancée’s attention. I smile at her, and she returns it before nodding and cheering Poppy on with her last ball.
“My treat,” Bryce tells me before leading the way out of the fenced-in area.
Caleb offers me a high-five as we pass him. “You should join the station’s softball team, Delaney. That was one hell of a throw.”
I flash a half-smile. “I’m going to pass on that. But thank you.”
“Worth a shot. Darren refuses to join us, too.”
“He’s never been one for sports outside of football.”
“Alright, we’re leaving now. Make lots of money for the town today, or you’ll answer to me, Caleb,” Bryce threatens.
He salutes her and hands a few balls to Eliza when she drops money into the cash box. “You got it, boss.”
“Leave the women alone,” Eliza scolds him before handing the balls off to the next person and grinning at Bryce and me.
“You go enjoy yourselves! I’ve got a few sourdough loaves for sale in the market.
Tell them I sent you, and pick which one you’d like most. Don’t let them try and trick you into paying! ”
“We’re not robbing you of sourdough, Eliza,” I say lightly, reaching behind Caleb to pat her back. “I’ve watched a few sourdough videos online, and it looks complicated. You deserve your money’s worth for the effort.”
“Oh, it’s not that hard. Starter, flour, salt, and water, darling. You’re more than welcome to join me the next time I bake a few loaves.”
“I’ll take you up on that sometime,” I say before stepping back to Bryce’s side and waving. “We’ll see you later.”
“Enjoy the day, ladies. ”
“Bye, Eliza,” Bryce says.
“She’s the nicest person in town,” I declare once we’ve made it away from the line of people.
“That’s why everyone loves her.”
“I worry about her getting taken advantage of sometimes.”
“She’s tough as shit. I wouldn’t put too much thought into that.”
“I’m sure Brody would bubble wrap her if he could,” I joke.
“She and Anna would have matching bubble suits.”
The sweater I slipped on before leaving the house this morning is thick enough to block the wind from chilling me to the bone as we wander down the blocked-off street.
We pass the Beautifully Bold studio, then the Thistle and Thorn hair salon.
Poppy and Anna best friended so hard that even their businesses are side by side.
Bryce gives the handmade lemonade stand a side-eye. I roll my lips to hide my smile when I see her ex’s mother handing out overpriced lemon juice and sugar drinks from behind it. The scent of mini donuts slaps me in the face, and then my stomach is growling.
“Dunking your ex into an ice bath must work up an appetite,” she notes bluntly.
“Amongst other things.”
“Donuts or sourdough? Your choice.”
Both would be a good start. “Donuts.”
Without another word, Bryce butts her way into the line, not leaving room for me to join. I watch her suspiciously enough that she clarifies, not giving a shit about anyone overhearing.
“I’ll buy them. Daisy loves the sugar, so it’s a safer bet to get the biggest fucking bucket there is. I’m sure the guys could use something, too, after their cold baths.”
Drawn by her voice, the teen boy in front of her turns back and gazes up at her with wide, lovesick eyes. When she looks forward again, she jerks her head in surprise .
“Can you back up?”
“You’re beautiful. Single?” he asks, the corner of his mouth curled into a smirk.
It’s impossible not to laugh out loud at the visceral unease that explodes on Bryce’s face. The poor kid clearly doesn’t realize that he’s dangling himself above the open mouth of a venomous snake because he doesn’t turn to leave like he should.
“You’re a child.”
“I’m sixteen. Pretty much an adult, babe.”
“Go get your donuts before your mom comes looking for you,” Bryce says, tone as flat as the brim of his snapback hat.
He closes his lips, cheeks growing red. I almost feel bad for him as he spins around on his heels and, in a flash, is at the window of the donut truck without so much as speaking another word. Bryce glances back at me with a disturbed expression that makes me laugh.
At least he knows what to look for to tell if a girl isn’t interested now.
For the next five minutes, I hang back and wait for Bryce to order the donuts. When she rejoins me by the curb, it’s with a yellow, plastic bucket in her hand. She swings it dramatically once she notices I’m watching.
“Hope you’re as hungry as your stomach made you out to be.”
“I’m starving,” I confirm.
“Want me to pop the top before we get back? I can’t guarantee Daisy will share once we do.”
Laughing, I look back in the direction of the fundraiser set up. The line’s still as long as it was when we left, but now . . .
“Was Darren only staying for a few minutes?” I ask, stomach tightening.
“Don’t worry about him. I can tell him to get his own.”
My breath slows. “He’s not there.”
“What? ”
Bryce grows alert as she sneaks around someone walking in front of us to get a better look at where only Brody’s sitting above a tank of water. Caleb’s still there guarding the gate and money box, and there’s a red ball rolling along the pavement beside Brody.
I catch the tilt of Caleb’s head as he leans to the side and steals a quick look through the crowd to the left of him before doing the same to the right.
“Did he have other plans?”
And why does it matter so much to me? The sooner he’s gone, the better. That’s the way I should be feeling. Knowing that I’d see him today had me nervous pacing all morning. Yet here I am, searching this crowded makeshift fair for any sign of him the way I did the halls at school this week.
There are kids blowing bubbles, a dog hopping beside them that’s snapping its teeth, trying to pop each one, and an elderly couple watching them with warm eyes, all a few feet from us.
Too many conversations are happening at once to try and pick apart a specific one, and even though I’m close to Bryce, I worry I’ll lose her amongst the crowd beside and behind us.
It’s obvious that there are more people here than usual.
The town’s population isn’t this impressive.
I’d bet all of Oak Ridge is here in addition to some Calgarians who’ve come down to participate in dunking the Brody Steele.
It’s good publicity for him and fantastic help for the whole fundraising thing.
But the number of people clogging the street makes it harder to find Darren. Not one voice sounds like his.
That used to comfort me. Right now, it makes me want to climb the back of one of these downtown shops to get a better view into the street. Maybe I’d be able to find him that way.
“He doesn’t have Abbie this week, so I doubt it,” Bryce says, her voice drawing me back through the door I’ve opened in my mind.
“Maybe he went to the bathroom.”
Bryce’s grunt is noncommittal. “Maybe. ”
“Do you know where he is?” I ask, picking up the pace when the gap between us grows.
“No. But I have a feeling in my gut.”
“A bad one?”
“One I always get when Sasha’s involved.”
Just hearing her name hurts. It’s a sucker punch to the chest, winding me as I strain with the urge to shut down and run away.
As if sensing that, Bryce slows back to a regular pace and softens her voice slightly. “Take the donuts to Daisy. She’ll be chomping at the bit for them by now.”
I straighten, sending her a sharp look. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to see if I’m right.”
“About . . . Sasha doing something?” I ask, hating the way her name sounds.
“What I feel for her isn’t very pro-woman, Delaney.
She’s a happiness-sucking leech who I have no doubt showed up here and started something with Darren just because she wanted to be an asshole to him in front of his friends.
Maybe I’m wrong and Darren just skipped off to take a piss, but I want to check for myself before joining everyone again. ”
“I can always hit her over the head with the donut bucket,” I blurt out.
My eyes flare wide as Bryce whips to the side, her mouth parting around a shocked laugh.
“I think I forgot how fun you can be, Della.”
It’s an innocent comment that sparks something in me that I’ve yet to distinguish.
Something that nearly tugs loose a version of myself that I thought I’d lost. I’ve felt hints of it over the last year, starting when Daisy moved back to town and all but held my hand as I was invited into the group of her, Bryce, Anna, and Poppy.
It’s grown over the months and is now almost encouraging me to open up further.
“I think I did too,” I admit on a weighted breath .
Bryce’s eyes lower to the bucket of donuts before rising. “I’m offering you an out because we care about you. Today’s about fun. Not drama.”
I should ask her to clarify who she means by “we,” but instead, I pop the lid off the bucket and get us each a donut.
Bringing mine to my mouth, I say, “You’re not going alone. I’ll risk it.”