Right as Rain (The North Bay #2)

Chapter 1

One Year Earlier

Alice

T he cars whip past, and I grip the steering wheel for dear life as I take the final curve, focused on passing the red blur to my right while I chase my friends in circles around an indoor track. I groan as Jacob Gibson maneuvers his car away from mine and pulls ahead toward the finish line. When the countdown clock on the wall winds down, the go-karts roll to a stop, and I wrestle myself out of my harness.

Jordan and Shelley are still behind me, which means I took second place out of the four of us. There are plenty of other people who had better times than I did, but those strangers aren’t the ones making me twitchy about this loss. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but of course I had to lose to him . I sit and glare at Jake. When he notices me staring, he laughs and waves, so I huff and look away. I don’t know why I never seem to get under his skin as much as he gets under mine.

I’m still seated when Shelley walks up to my car and speaks to me in a low voice. “Will you hate me if I drive home with Jordan? I know you and Jake aren’t exactly besties. I’m not trying to break girl code, but...” She bites her bottom lip, and her voice trails off while her eyes drift to where Jordan is standing a few cars down. When Jake jogs right past us to talk to him, Shelley turns back to me. “I won’t leave you by yourself with Jake if he really makes you uncomfortable.”

I laugh. “Uncomfortable is one word for it. Other words might be distressed, disturbed, annoyed. You get the idea. He’s not my favorite, but Jake’s harmless. I’ve been dealing with him for literally my entire life. I’ll be fine.”

On the way here, she and I drove together, and the guys were in a separate car. Shelley’s our friend Mike’s younger sister, and she’s only in town for a short visit. But she needed a night out because her brother is off tonight hooking up with my best friend, who also happens to be Jake’s best friend. Honestly, it’s about time. Mike and our BFF, Danielle, have been playing an exhausting game of will they or won’t they for a while. They finally made it official at karaoke earlier tonight and went back to his place to celebrate. The rest of us are trying to stay out of their way for a few hours. Driving out of town to occupy Jake, Shelley, and Jordan with some go-karting seemed like such a good idea two hours ago.

I appreciate Shelley for trying to look out for me, but it’s obvious she’s crushing hard on her brother’s roommate, and who am I to deny her a shot at some alone time with Jordan? Even if it means, by default, I’ll be stuck making the forty-minute drive home with the most annoying know-it-all playboy on the planet.

I take off my helmet and try to shake out my hair. I’m sure the spikey intentional bedhead look I worked hard to perfect is completely flattened. “Just know you’ll probably be called to testify at my trial if I strangle him. Or better yet, you can be my lawyer. You’re going to law school next year, right?”

I thought I could handle one night with Jake for my best friend’s sake because at least we’d have other people with us. I can’t promise not to throttle him if we’re left alone.

“Thanks. Danielle was right. You really are the best.” Shelley smiles.

“Remember this, because I fully plan to cash in on a return favor someday.”

“Deal.” She waves a quick goodbye before running off to meet up with Jordan. He turns to give me a nod, then shakes Jake’s hand before he and Shelley head out.

There are only fifteen minutes before this place closes for the night, and they’re already shutting off the lights in the arcade area. Time to get on with the unbearable part of the evening. As I step out of my car, a little boy exits his own go-kart and runs toward his parents.

“Mom, mom, mom, did you see me? Can we get ice cream now?” He’s barreling ahead at full speed, and with the go-kart blocking the other side, I have nowhere to go when he crashes into me.

“Oof.” I fall back into my car, scraping my hip on the steering wheel and twisting my ankle on the way down. None of it is as painful as the sharp sting of embarrassment I feel from everyone’s stares.

The boy looks up at me and glares. “Watch where you’re going, lady. Mo-om. This lady was in the way, and I fell down.” He’s pointing at me, even though we are only inches apart.

“I see that. I’m so sorry, baby. Grown-ups should pay closer attention. Let’s get you some ice cream.” His mother comes through the gate to scoop him up, and she carries him away. She shoots me a dirty look in the process, like I wasn’t minding my own business when her little cherub knocked into me.

I roll my eyes and try to ignore the extra attention from everyone who saw me fall. I’m sure my face is as pink as my hair as I attempt to pull myself out of the car again. It’s a struggle this time, with my butt firmly wedged between the seat and the steering wheel.

Jake appears and yanks me out by the arm.

“You good, Louse?”

“I think so.”

Yep. Jake calls me Louse, as in the singular form of head lice, because in the seventh grade he found it hilarious that Alice spells “a lice.” Ten years later, not much has changed.

“Although, as always, I would be even better if you weren’t touching me,” I say as he stands me up. I cringe as my right foot touches down, and I fight the impulse to lean on him.

“Then maybe try learning to avoid collisions with small children.”

“Shut up. It was his fault. And I’m fine.”

But when I try to walk, pain shoots through my ankle and I wince. Ugh. I do not need to deal with this right now. Not in front of Jake. Jerk kid. This is exactly why I’m never having any little crotch goblins of my own. I suck in a deep breath and try to walk again.

“ Ouch. ” This time a small yelp escapes on its own.

“Okay, tough guy. Sit back down. I’ll get some ice,” Jake tells me. But I don’t want to take orders from him, and I hate how there are still so many eyes on me as the next round of wannabe drivers are impatiently waiting for their turn.

“First of all, I’m a tough girl. No, not girl. Woman. And can you just—” I’m not actually sure what I want him to do, so I let the sentence hang. I don’t mean to sound so angry, but I’m embarrassed and in pain, and I hate having all this attention on me.

Jake laughs at my protest, causing even more people to look our way. He rolls his eyes and picks me up so I’m lying across both of his annoyingly strong, tattooed arms. Instinctively, I start to wrap my arms around his neck, but then I think better of it and cross them over my chest instead. He chuckles again.

“Glad you’re finding this amusing,” I snap.

He doesn’t respond, just sets me down in a chair by the snack bar and asks the teenagers working for a cup of ice. He puts a lid on it and wraps it in a handful of napkins from the dispenser before handing it to me.

“Here. Give me your keys. I’m driving your car home.”

God, he’s so bossy. I can’t stand that looking up at him from this angle makes me notice the way his anime t-shirt stretches across his pecs.

“You wish I’d let you touch Bertie.” It took me years to save up for my lime green vintage Volkswagen Beetle, and I’m very protective of her.

“Guess we’re spending the night here then, because you couldn’t even walk the twenty feet from the track to the snack bar just now. You really think you’re going to be able to drive on that foot?”

It’s so irritating when he has a point. His dark hair falls into his face, and as he brushes it away, it’s hard not to notice the veins popping on his arms. I would rather die than let anyone catch me ogling Jacob Gibson. He would never let me hear the end of it. But it’s not my fault he’s filled out so much this year and finally grown into his formerly lanky body. He has always been tall, but then again almost everyone is taller than me. This year he’s gotten broader. He must be spending a lot more time in the gym.

I want to argue, but I truly can’t put any weight on my foot, so I don’t know how I would be able to use the pedals. Reluctantly, I let him scoop me up again and carry me to the passenger’s seat of my own car. I try to put my foot on the dashboard and lean the cup against it, but the ice won’t stay put, so I root through my purse, trying to find a headband or something else I might be able to use to secure it to my ankle. Unfortunately, it only contains my wallet, my phone, and an old bag from the craft store. I don’t think the stickers, gel pens, and glitter from last week’s trip with Danielle will be much help.

I have a fleeting thought to sprinkle the glitter over Jake’s head, but when I realize I would be the one left to clean it off Bertie’s seats, I give up. I move my foot back to the floor, where I wedge the cup of ice between my ankle and the wall.

Jake’s brow creases. “Do you want to go over to the Urgent Care and get an X-ray while we’re in Marnock?” he asks as we pull out of the crowded parking lot. We drove for forty minutes to get here tonight, which means we’re closer to health care. North Bay, our hometown, is too small to have its own 24-hour access to a medical center. “We’re almost there already.”

“No, I think I just rolled it. It will probably be better in a day or two.” I don’t know if that’s true, but either way, I can’t afford to be taking on any medical bills for small things like this. If they send me to the Emergency Room for more tests or a cast, it could add up to thousands of dollars I don’t have. “Um, thanks for the ice.” I look straight ahead, not wanting to make eye contact. "Do you think you can just take me to Honey’s house? That way we don’t have to worry about getting you back to your car.” Honey Daniels is Danielle’s grandmother and Jake’s neighbor.

“Nah, I can take you home. I’ll just have someone come pick me up from your place.”

“No,” I insist. “I’d rather go to Honey’s. Just drive.”

It’s no secret that my house is not a fun place to be. Everybody in North Bay knows Earl Caulfield is a hot mess. Tonight will be no different, especially if my dad sees I hurt myself and he might need to help me pay for a doctor. Danielle lives with her grandma, and Honey lets me stay with them as often as I like, which is much more often lately as Dad’s mood seems to hover at some constant level of grump. Thankfully, Jake doesn’t argue.

“Fine. Ms. Honey’s it is.”

Jake’s the only one of us who has ever called Honey Daniels Ms . Honey. I don’t even think Honey likes it, but Jake’s mom is obsessed with propriety, and she said if their neighbor was going to allow her son to address her by her first name, then the least he could do was respect her title. She drilled it into him so much when we were kids that he still does it. I smirk remembering the way Mrs. Gibson used to pinch Jake’s arm every time he forgot.

He clears his throat, and I think I see his grip on the steering wheel tighten a bit before he reaches over to fool with the radio. I swat his hand away from my dashboard. “Don’t touch Bertie.”

“How exactly do you suggest I drive your car without touching it?”

I have no retort for that, so I fold my arms over my chest and stew as he continues down the darkened street. Before we leave Marnock, he pulls into the gas station. “I’m going to grab a soda. You want one?” he asks in an uncharacteristic show of thoughtfulness.

“No. I’m fine.” I lean down to readjust the dripping cup against my skin, which is now numb from the ice. As I straighten up again, I catch myself staring at Jake’s wide shoulders as he walks inside. When did he get so freaking hot? It’s really unfair. He was our valedictorian in high school, and he just finished his third year riding an academic toward his college degree. People who come from rich families shouldn’t be allowed to also be smart and good-looking. Especially when they have obnoxious personalities.

When Jake comes back, he opens the driver’s side door and puts two Cokes in the cupholders between us, then he turns around and starts pumping gas into my car.

“What are you doing? I said I don’t want one. I have a job. I can buy my own Coke. And I can pump my own gas,” I yell through the open door. I might be tight on cash sometimes, but I can pay my own way. I don’t need a rich boy to buy me drinks or gasoline. I take care of myself.

Jake bends to stick his head through the doorframe.

“Relax, Lousy. You drove out here. I’ll cover the gas to get us home. This is how normal people function.” He speaks in an exaggerated calm tone as if to highlight how crazy he thinks I am. “I realize that might be a new concept for you.”

“Whatever. Just take me to Honey’s.” I twist the cap off my soda bottle and attempt to take a sip, but it bubbles over and erupts, splattering all over me.

“ Ugh! ” I screech. “Did you do this on purpose?”

The two of us have a low-key prank war going on with each other. We do that kind of thing all the time, but tonight I am not in the mood.

Jake laughs diabolically as he gets back in the car and twists the cap off his own drink. His hardly fizzes at all, and he takes a long drag from the bottle before looking at me.

“Nope. I can’t say shaking yours up a little didn’t cross my mind, but I didn’t do it. Although it was hilarious. This time it was pure karma. The universe agrees with me, you need to lighten up a little.”

“Easy for you to say when you aren’t the one whose lap is completely soaked.”

His expression changes, and for a millisecond I could swear there is a flash of heat in his eyes, but it disappears just as quickly. I bend to unwrap the wilted napkins from my cup of ice and use them to try to mop up my clothes.

Jake produces a small pack of peanuts and uses his teeth to tear them open. He pours half the package into his soda and holds out the rest to me, but I ignore the offer. I turn away from him and look out the window for the rest of the ride.

Unfortunately, when we get back to Honey’s, she isn’t home and her phone goes straight to voicemail. Who knows where Honey disappeared to after we saw her at karaoke earlier?

“Do you think she’s still living it up at Brew-Ha-Ha?”

He shrugs. “She could be anywhere by now. Ms. Honey has always been a wild card.”

There is only one other person with a key to this house, and Jake and I both know there is no way we are interrupting Danielle to get her to let us in.

“Come on.” Jake motions to his parents’ huge waterfront house, which is directly across the street from Honey’s much more modest rancher. He and Danielle grew up neighbors, whereas my family was on the other side of town. They rode the bus together every day, but I lived close enough to ride my bike to school.

“What? No. I’m not going home with you.” Although, I don’t want to go back to my house either. I just can’t deal with that right now.

“I’m not seeing a lot of options here, Louse.”

I glance around. One night in Bertie wouldn’t be the worst thing.

“No. Absolutely not. No way am I agreeing to let you sleep in your car right in front of my perfectly decent house.” Jake huffs. Add to his obnoxious personality the fact that he seems to be able to read my mind.

“Well, good thing you have no say in how I spend my nights. I’ll be fine. Honey will come home eventually.”

The largest waterfront property in North Bay is a lot more than “perfectly decent.” It’s intimidating, and it’s a reminder of how different our lives really are. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept in my car to avoid my dad, but I don’t think anyone knows that.

North Bay is a safe neighborhood. Honestly, I’m surprised Honey even locks her doors. I wish she hadn’t, because then we could have avoided this whole predicament. Besides, my ankle is already starting to feel better. Kind of. Maybe. Okay, fine. It still hurts a lot.

Jake takes a deep breath as he rolls his head in a slow circle. It appears his patience with me is wearing thin. Well, bro, same.

“Don’t fight me on this, Lousy. It’s getting late, your clothes are wet, and this has been a stupidly long day. We’re going over to my place. It’s right there. My parents aren’t home. They’re at some marriage retreat near the beach. I’ll take their room and you can sleep in mine. Besides, I still have your keys. So, actually, I do have a say in this.”

He holds the keys over my head and laughs while I try to reach up and grab them. I’m in no state to jump, but even if I could, Jake is a full foot taller than I am, so it’s pointless trying to fight him.

There might have been a time before everything that happened in high school when sleeping in Jacob Gibson’s bed would have seemed like a dream come true. Now it’s just an inconvenience I don’t seem to be able to avoid tonight. It probably would be a good idea to elevate my foot, and that’s hard to do in the car. Plus, these damp, sticky clothes really are uncomfortable.

“Come on,” he says, pocketing my keys again. “You can see Hazel.”

With that, he knows he’s won. As annoying as I find her owner, I love that sweet fifteen-year-old bulldog. It will be worth putting up with Jake tonight if I can convince Hazel to sleep snuggled up with me.

“Fine.” I blow out a breath. I realize he’s being pretty helpful tonight and I sound like an ungrateful brat, so I try to rein it in. I refuse to let him have the upper hand when it comes to matters of civility. “Thank you.”

“Aw, that must have been really hard for you. Was it? Tell me how much it’s killing you to admit you need me right now.” He has the easy laugh of someone who doesn’t know what it means to struggle.

“I hate you.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

I want to wipe that smirk off his face, but instead I hobble behind him and cross the street.

Jake lets me into his bedroom and gives me privacy to clean myself up while he moves my car into the garage. The last thing we need is for his parents to find out I was here. I know I could just leave Bertie parked at Honey’s so the neighbors won’t gossip about seeing me parked outside the Gibsons’ house overnight, but I also don’t want Honey to worry when she finally gets home and sees my car, but I’m not there.

Hazel watches me with a tilted head until I finally manage to wiggle my jeans over my swollen ankle and peel off my wet shirt. Then I steal a clean tee from Jake’s dresser and shove my soiled clothes from tonight into the plastic bag I found in a crumpled ball at the bottom of my purse. I take out the pens and vials of glitter to make room for my wet jeans. The glitter in my hand gives me an idea. I sprinkle a generous helping of sparkles into Jake’s top drawer before making my way onto his bed.

“Don’t tell him, okay?” I whisper to Hazel. “This is just between us girls.” There’s a set of carpeted stairs next to the bed to help her climb up with her aging, arthritic legs. “Come on, up you go,” I call her to me.

I always wanted a pet, but with my mom’s allergies and our limited finances, it wasn’t in the cards for me. I remember being so jealous when the Gibsons brought a puppy home. Jake even got to bring Hazel for show-and-tell once in the fourth grade.

Hazel lets me bury my face into her fur and give her belly scratches, then she stretches herself out across the blanket, keeping me company while I prop my sore foot up with one of Jake’s pillows. I chuckle, imagining it smelling like my sweaty feet the next time he lays down. His bed feels like a cloud, and it doesn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep under his fancy down comforter. I don’t wake up until I hear muffled voices.

No.

He’s talking to Danielle, and it’s already morning. My stomach turns. She cannot find me here. Not like this. I know she’s dating Mike now, but not that long ago, before she was mesmerized by the baseball player, Danielle was all about Jake. After all the time she spent confiding in me about her major crush on the owner of this bed, it would definitely hurt her to discover me in it, sans pants, wearing nothing but his shirt, first thing in the morning.

Thankfully, she doesn’t stay long. Although, I could swear I just heard Jake tell Danielle he’s failed out of school. I must have misheard because that can’t possibly be true. He’s the smartest person I know. It’s one of his most annoying qualities. He hardly had to put in any effort, and he still made straight A’s in high school and went off to college on a full ride he didn’t even need because his parents are loaded. Meanwhile, some of us had to spend a year renting kayaks and paddle boats to tourists before we could save up enough to enroll at the community college.

When I hear the front door close, I try to sneak into the hallway bathroom. Unfortunately, I’m slower than normal because, while it’s starting to feel better and thankfully there’s no bruising, my ankle is still sore. Jake sees me and calls out from the kitchen.

“Jesus, Louse. Put on some pants. Oh, and you’re welcome to wear my shirt, by the way.”

I flip him off and limp into the bathroom, where I slam the door and take my sweet time getting ready. I splash cold water onto my face to scrub away last night’s makeup and try to finger-comb my pixie cut into behaving, then I steal a little bit of his toothpaste and brush my teeth with my finger. I may or may not also use his deodorant. What’s a girl supposed to do when the alternative is walking around smelling like stale arcade aftermath? If I were at my own house, I could use a ribbon or some safety pins to make this oversized tent look like a T-shirt dress, but right now I’m swimming in it. I’m just going to have to make it work. After using the bathroom, I try to put on an air of confidence as I step back out into the hall.

“Don’t even pretend you aren’t fantasizing about what is happening under this shirt. And what’s this I hear about you failing out of school, rich boy?” I ask, strutting to meet him in the kitchen. It may be more of a hobble than a strut, but I’m pulling it off. Mostly.

As soon as I turn the corner, I stop in my tracks.

Oh, God. Please don’t let this be happening.

Jake is standing between his parents. His eyes are closed and his head is tilted up toward the ceiling, like he’s trying to levitate and float out of here.

This is not good.

Mr. and Mrs. Gibson are the most buttoned-up people I’ve ever met, and I’m in their house first thing in the morning, completely naked under their son’s faded old shirt. They definitely think something happened last night. The judgment and condemnation are written all over their faces. We are both adults, but I feel like I’m sixteen again. The Gibsons are not the kind of parents who are going to be cool with Jake having a girl spend the night in their house. Any girl. But especially me.

“Alice.” The cool, detached way Ward Gibson says my name makes me feel like I’ve been sent to the principal’s office, and my mouth is suddenly dry. “We have some family matters to discuss this morning, and Jacob will be occupied for the remainder of the day. I’m sure you can see yourself out.”

Shelia doesn’t say a word, but her lips are pursed, and her blonde bob stays firmly sprayed in place as she scans my body, shaking her head. I want to shrink under her stare, even though I know Jake and I didn’t do anything wrong. Even if we had hooked up last night (which, gag ), we are grown-ups capable of making our own decisions. But this is their house. They have every right to kick me out of it if I’m not welcome, and I’m obviously not.

“Oh, um, sure. I was just leaving.” I use my thumb to point over my shoulder. Things immediately get even more awkward because I have to duck into Jake’s bedroom to gather my stuff in order to get out of here. I grab my bags and my keys as fast as I can. Walking out of his room with a bag of last night’s clothes only adds fuel to the unspoken accusation that we slept together. They all stand silently and watch from the kitchen while I fumble my way out of their house.

Jake drags a hand down his face and tries to apologize with his eyes. He can save his silent pleading. I’ll never forgive him for this. Sleeping in the car would’ve been much more preferable. I slide my shoes on as quickly as humanly possible and throw my purse over my shoulder before I speed-limp down the hall. My ankle is still pretty sore, but it’s much better than last night and I can put weight on it, so I should be able to drive home.

On my way to the garage, I can hear clearly when Jake’s dad asks him, “Just what do you think you are doing using my house like this?”

Then his mom chimes in with, “Seriously, Jacob? Alice Caulfield? Have a bit more respect for yourself.”

“Mom, it’s not like that,” Jake argues.

“I know exactly what it’s like, Jacob. Don’t forget your father and I were young once. You have enough problems at the moment. You don’t need to add the issues someone like the Caulfield girl will bring into your life. I expect better from you.”

Jake groans, but he knows even better than I do that it’s pointless to fight with his mother. Still, it takes me by surprise how much it stings when I hear him say, “Yes, ma’am.”

My hand is shaking when I start the engine on Bertie. My stomach clenches around the anxiety and humiliation fighting for space in my intestines, but at least I manage to back out of the driveway before any of them can see the tears.