36. Chapter 36 Gone Fishing
Dylan: June (Three days earlier)
I cast my line into the still lake, watching the early morning sun stretch across the glassy water. Everything’s quiet except the distant call of birds.
No cell signal. No noise. Just a few days off the grid. Exactly what I needed.
“Where’s the tequila at?” Luis groans behind me, shattering the calm. “I need to spike my coffee and wake the fuck up. Who fishes at five in the damn morning?”
“We do,” I mutter.
“Jesus. Loosen up a little,” he says, yawning as he pours a shot of tequila into his travel mug. “You’ve been extra moody lately, and it’s killing my vibe.”
He’s right. I haven’t been myself since her. Since I realized what the hell I’ve been missing. And what I want now.
A piece of beef jerky flies past my face.
“And remind me never to hook up with anyone you know,” he adds, tossing another piece. “Izzy’s funny as hell. And the sex? Explosive. But we’d kill each other in a week.”
I laugh, the first real one in a while. “Yeah, maybe I didn’t think that one through. You don’t need someone who matches your crazy energy. You need someone more chill.”
“Thanks, Dr. Phil.” He smirks, slowly reeling in his line. “What’s going on with you? Please tell me you’re getting laid again. Your dick’s gonna forget how to work.”
I shrug. “And yours is gonna fall off from overuse.”
“Touché!” He snorts. “Seriously, though, what happened to the guy who could charm the panties off girls since he learned to ride a bicycle?”
I suck in a deep breath. “Maybe I don’t want that life anymore. Maybe that guy’s been dating the same girl for weeks. Trying to give it a real shot. But nothing feels right.”
Luis raises a brow. “Because it’s not Jenna?”
I don’t answer. Just cast again, watching the ripples.
Exactly. No one’s Jenna. And I might never find what we had again. But I’m ready for something real.
Seven largemouth bass and a few good laughs later, we pack up. I grab my phone from the truck. It explodes with notifications.
Gabriella: You back yet? Dad’s losing it over Miles. Says everything’s falling apart without you at the ranch. Apparently, you’re the only one who knows what they’re doing.
I smirk. I am damn good at it.
I used to hate that place. Couldn’t even look at it without thinking about my brother. At first, I just helped out to shut everyone up… Miles, my sisters, even my dad. But the more time I spent there, the less it hurt, and the more it felt like home again.
Gabriella even pushed me back into therapy.
She always could see straight through me.
Made me face all the shit I avoided—my brother’s death, parents’ divorce, guilt, fear.
Whatever’s been holding me back. And I knew talking alone wouldn’t fix me.
It didn’t the first time I tried. But something shifted.
The therapist kept circling back to the guilt.
Wouldn’t let me avoid it. Week after week, she made me say it out loud.
That it wasn’t my fault. That I didn’t kill him.
That I deserve to live. To love. To be fucking happy.
Eventually… I believed it.
Lauren: Hey, stranger. Back in town for the weekend. Drinks at my place? You can do that thing with your tongue again. XOXO.
Delete. Hard pass. Done with empty sex.
More messages. Amelia. Coworkers. Junk… and her. But I don’t open them… not yet. Not until I feel ready to read her words after all these months.
Luis opens the door and hops in. “Ready to go home?” he asks.
No. But I nod anyway.