Chapter 57
Hook, Line, & Sinker closed for a week in June after the tournament. It was a tradition they’d started the first year in the
warehouse, to give everyone time to get ready for the tourist season. The tournament was always one of its major sources of
income, and so it seemed only fair after everyone worked so hard to give them some time off.
“What are you going to do next week?” Jodi asked Mylie on the Friday before they closed. “I think Jared and I may spend a
couple of days in Little Rock.”
“That sounds fun,” Mylie said. “I haven’t been to Little Rock in forever.”
“You should come with us,” Jodi offered.
Mylie shook her head. “You and Jared should take some time for yourselves,” she said. “I don’t want to be the third wheel.”
“Jared’s the third wheel,” Jodi replied, grinning.
Mylie laughed and was surprised how good it felt. Cassie was starting to get restless, and Granny was hovering over both of
them like they were broken birds. Mylie hated the thought of Granny worrying about her. It had been a long time since she
felt like a burden to her grandmother. She wasn’t aching to go back to it.
Besides, Mylie was fine . Sure, it was hard to look out at his empty house every morning when she left for work. But soon enough, the new neighbors would move in. She hoped her first impression of them had been wrong. They were probably lovely people. And maybe, when the house was finally occupied by someone else, it would feel less like Ben’s house. Maybe the wounds she’d been picking at would finally heal.
“So?” Jodi asked. “Do you want to go with us?”
“It sounds fun,” Mylie said. “But I think I’m going to stay here and hang out with Cassie. You know she can’t leave the house
right now except to go somewhere with me or Granny. She’s about to lose her mind.”
“I can’t believe Granny didn’t ground her forever.”
“That seemed a bit unreasonable,” Mylie replied, a small grin forming in one corner of her mouth. “Allie’s grounded, too.
She’s not even allowed to use her phone. I can’t imagine how that would have felt at fourteen.”
“Remember when my mom caught us out on the pontoon?” Jodi asked. “What were we, fifteen? God, she still talks about it. I’d
never been in so much trouble.”
“I remember,” Mylie said. “You lost your dad’s anchor, and we had to pay for a new one.”
“Now the lake owns it,” Jodi said wistfully.
“The lake owns everything,” Mylie replied.
“Speaking of the lake... and the tournament,” Jodi began.
“We weren’t talking about the tournament,” Mylie said.
“Well, anyway,” Jodi continued. “Do you want to talk?”
“About what?” Mylie replied, even though she knew exactly what Jodi meant.
“Mylie,” Jodi said. “You haven’t said anything about Ben since he left. You haven’t cried, you haven’t screamed, you haven’t
said a word. It’s honestly terrifying.”
Mylie placed her hands on her desk, palms down. “There isn’t anything to talk about.”
“I disagree.”
“Nothing will change it,” Mylie tried again. “No amount of crying or screaming will change it.”
“Sometimes it just feels good to do it,” Jodi offered.
“I don’t want to,” Mylie said simply. “He made his decision.”
“Did you think you could change his mind?” Jodi asked.
“No,” Mylie said. Honestly, she hadn’t thought she could change his mind. She thought he might change his mind on his own,
but she never thought she would be the one to change it. “I just thought we had more time.”
“So, he just left again without saying goodbye?” Jodi replied. “He didn’t even ask you to go with him?”
“He asked me,” Mylie said. “I told him no.”
Jodi’s brow furrowed. “Why?”
“It wouldn’t work,” Mylie replied. “I don’t want to spend years going back and forth when I know that he’s never going to
be happy here. He’s never going to want the same life that I do.”
“Is the life he wants so bad?” Jodi asked.
“It’s just not my life.”
“I love you,” Jodi replied. “And I will always support your decisions. But I don’t want you to throw something important away
because you’re being stubborn.”
“I’m not being stubborn.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Ten years ago, you let Ben go,” Jodi said.
“He let me go, too,” Mylie said.
“You’re both idiots,” Jodi replied. “But you don’t have to be an idiot now.”
Mylie sighed. “I’m not trying to be an idiot,” she said. This conversation was making her tired.
“I know,” Jodi said. “Listen, please come with us to Little Rock. It’ll give you a chance to clear your head. Get out of town. Maybe you’ll get some clarity.”
“I’ll think about it,” Mylie said.
“You’ve got a lot to think about,” Jodi said, standing up and collecting her things to leave. “I’ll call you later, and you
can let me know what you’ve decided.”
“About Little Rock?”
Jodi shrugged. “About anything.”