Chapter 9
When I woke in the morning, it was to a stream of text messages from Wes.
Wes: Thank you for helping me back last night.
Wes: I feel like total crap today, but I think I’d feel worse if you hadn’t been there.
Wes: I have a bad feeling I was a terrible drunk. I’m sorry if I offended you at all!!! Forgive me?
I smiled and responded right away.
Me: Nothing to forgive. You were fine.
Me: You did offer to be my rebound though...
He didn’t reply immediately, and I hopped in the shower while I waited. Cress was completely passed out in bed. She hadn’t come home until late, so I didn’t expect her to wake up any time soon. As soon as I was dressed, I checked my phone again and found a new message from Wes.
Wes: Wow, drunk me has game. Who would have thought?
I chuckled under my breath and started to type a reply, but another message from him arrived before I could hit send.
Wes: Seriously though, I’m sorry.
Me: You can stop apologizing. You were in pain and had too many drinks. I’m sure I was in a far worse state last weekend.
Wes: Yes, you did voluntarily dance.
Me: Please don’t remind me.
Wes: I’ll never speak of it again.
I smiled down at my phone, glad Wes was in good enough spirits that he could still joke around with me.
I let out a sigh as I remembered why he was hurting.
Why we both were. My encounter with Noah last night hadn’t made me feel any better about our breakup.
It was clear he was in pain over it—perhaps as much as I was.
That only made me want answers more. Answers I was hoping to get from Matthew when I visited New York next week.
At least, that was the plan. First, I had to figure out if I could get my father to spare some time to meet with me while I was there. It was after 9 A.M., so it wasn’t too early to give him a call. Now was as good a time as any.
I went into the bathroom and closed the door so I wouldn’t wake Cress up before I dialed his number. It rang three times before there was an answer.
“LaFleur residence.”
It was hard not to be disappointed. I’d been hoping to get straight through to my father, but apparently that wasn’t possible, even on a Saturday.
“Hey, Caldwell, it’s Isobel.”.
“Good morning, Miss Grace.”
“Is my father around?”
“I’m afraid not. He’s at the lab and will be unavailable all day.”
I let out a sigh.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
I was about to tell him no and hang up, but then I wondered if maybe he could be of some help. Caldwell probably knew my dad’s schedule better than Matthew himself.
“Actually, yeah. I was wondering if my father has plans on Friday next week? I’m going to be in New York for a school field trip and was hoping to see him.”
“I’m afraid Mr. LaFleur has meetings scheduled at his office all day on that Friday,” Caldwell replied.
“Well, I was thinking of staying the weekend too. Has he got any time then...”
“While he’s in New York, he plans to work every day, even the weekends,” Caldwell replied. “His schedule is extremely tight at the moment, but I believe he’s allotted some time to come to Weybridge the following weekend. Is that suitable for you?”
I let out another sigh. “Yeah, that’s fine.” Apparently, seeing my father was like trying to schedule an appointment with the doctor. You had to book it weeks in advance, and even then, it was near impossible to get in.
“I will inform Mr. LaFleur that you’ll be in the city. If any time opens up, I’ll be in contact.”
I didn’t hold out much hope. “Thanks, Caldwell.”
I hung up the phone feeling defeated. I knew it was just one extra week of waiting to see my father, but the questions churning inside my gut were killing me.
I wanted answers now. Not weeks from now.
There wasn’t even any guarantee my father would come back to Weybridge when he planned.
He was always so busy, and there was every chance he’d get caught up with work and stay in New York.
A light knock sounded at the door as I exited the bathroom, and I turned to see Anna barreling into the room.
She was all dressed for the day and looking wide-awake.
It was like witnessing a miracle. I’d never seen Anna look so peppy first thing in the morning.
Let alone on a weekend when she’d been out drinking the night before.
“Are you ready?” she asked me.
“For…”
“Your driving lesson, obviously.”
I’d forgotten she’d offered to help me drive my new car. A part of me had hoped she’d been joking and would forget all about it.
“You’re here first thing in the morning to teach me how to drive?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep. I have serious regrets over the guy I kissed last night, and I keep visualizing it every time I close my eyes.”
“You kissed Angus again?”
“Ugh, I wish. Angus I could stomach.”
I shook my head. “Who did you kiss then?”
“Please don’t make me repeat their name. It only makes it more real.” She scrunched up her face in disgust.
“Okay. We won’t talk about the mystery kisser from last night.
” I didn’t particularly want to talk about my night either.
I’d practically fled the boathouse party after Noah confronted me about the rebound list, and then Wes had actually offered to be my rebound.
Last night was certainly best forgotten.
“The mystery kisser. Ugh, now he has a villain nickname too.” Anna shook her head. “But enough about him. Do you have your keys?”
I nodded and went to grab them off my desk.
A nervous flutter took flight in my stomach as I grasped them in my hand.
Was I really ready to get behind the wheel of a car again?
Probably not. The fact I was allowing a seventeen-year-old to guide me wasn’t helping the nerves.
Was this really a good idea? I didn’t have a chance to answer the question.
Anna grabbed my arm and dragged me from the room.
“Don’t look so nervous,” she said. “You’ll be a racecar driver by the afternoon.”
She sounded confident, but I didn’t share her faith. I had a feeling I was destined to be more of a slow, steady, and super-cautious driver rather than one who tested the speed limits.
When we got to the parking lot, Anna looked at me in expectation. “So...” she prompted. “Which baby’s yours?”
I pointed my keys at the vehicle, and it lit up when I hit the unlock button.
“Nice,” Anna gushed as she started toward my new car. “You have good taste.”
“Thanks, but I didn’t choose it. My dad did.”
“Well, he did really well. I’ve always wanted to drive a G-Class.” She was still admiring it and nodding her approval.
I spent some time considering the car—if you could call it that.
It wasn’t what I’d been expecting at all when I’d first come to the parking lot to take a look at it.
Unlike the other vehicles in the parking lot, it wasn’t sleek and sporty.
It was more like a Jeep or a truck that looked like it could seat about eight people.
It had beefy tires, including a spare hanging off the back, and a huge shiny grill on the front that looked a little like bared teeth.
It was made more for trips off-road rather than urban driving, which was kind of perfect for the hidden tracks that led to remote beaches back home in Rapid Bay.
However, it still looked expensive with a smooth matte black finish and, of course, the Mercedes logo sparkling proudly on the hood.
It was definitely far too excessive for me, but I couldn’t deny I liked it.
“What are you girls doing?”
I glanced over my shoulder as Sawyer jogged toward us. He was dressed casually in jeans and a large sweatshirt. I bet he looked a sight better than his brother this morning.
“Giving Isobel a driving lesson,” Anna said. “Her dad just bought her a new car, but she doesn’t think she can drive it. I’m going to help her make sure she doesn’t let her poor, beautiful G-Class sit all lonely in the parking lot this year.”
“You can’t drive?” Sawyer gave me a questioning look.
“I can, but historically it doesn’t end well.”
“Huh.” Sawyer looked intrigued “Sounds fun. Can I come?”
“No,” I groaned, but Anna quickly replied with an exuberant “Of course!”
I scowled in her direction. “I really don’t think I need an audience for this.”
Sawyer waved away my concern. “I’m hardly an audience. Think of me as an extra dose of driving wisdom.”
“If you’re my driving wisdom, then I’m screwed.”
Sawyer laughed and shrugged. “So, is this your ride?” Before I could respond, he had already stepped forward and opened one of the back doors.
“This is a bad idea,” I murmured to Anna.
She didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “It’ll be fine. Sawyer loves cars almost as much as I do. He’ll be a great addition.”
“Will you girls stop chatting and get driving?” Sawyer called out from where he now sat inside the car. “I need to get to town to pick up breakfast burgers to fix my brother’s hangover.”
“Guess I can’t put this off any longer then,” I murmured.
“Nope. You really can’t.” Anna grinned and walked around the car to get into the passenger seat while I slowly made my way toward the driver’s side door. There was no way this ended well; I felt sure of it.
I was only more convinced our little adventure was doomed to fail once I sat behind the wheel.
All the buttons, switches and dials on the dashboard were enough to overwhelm me before we even got started.
Anna spent a while making sure my seat was in the right position and I knew where the lights, wipers, air-conditioner and radio controls were.
If she thought I was going to be able to think about all of those things while also watching the road for stray dogs, she was sadly mistaken.
When she thought I was ready, Anna told me to start the car but then laughed at the blank look on my face as I searched for the ignition.
“It’s push to start,” she chuckled, pointing at one of the buttons on the dash. “Put your foot on the brake.”