Chapter 30
Kelsi
When the morning of their moms’ joint birthday barbecue arrived, Kelsi’s stomach was roiling with nerves. She and Dylan had had a breakthrough—with their relationship, not the case—over the past couple of weeks. Since then, they’d been on new ground, and she was struggling to find her footing.
Kelsi put the finishing touches on her hair, letting the last strand fall free of the curling wand to join the rest of her hair in beachy waves around her face.
“Kelsi?” Abby called from outside the bathroom.
“Yeah?” Kelsi unplugged and set the curler down on the counter, heading into her room, where Abby had clothes strewn all across the comforter.
She held up two different dresses against her body, one after the other. “Which one?”
“The left,” Kelsi replied quickly. “The right one you’d be hoisting up your chest all night, and you hate having to worry about that.”
“You’re right,” Abby said resolutely, shaking her head in a mock-disappointed gesture. “I do hate having to play hall monitor to the girls.”
Kelsi laughed and moved past her friend, heading to the door, but Abby’s voice stopped her. “Will a certain cop be in attendance tonight?”
“I don’t know, I mean, I never invited him, and wouldn’t it be weird with him and Dylan both being there?”
“Weird? Why would it be weird? It would only be weird if something happened between you and Dylan,” Abby mused aloud, then froze before slowly turning to face Kelsi. “Did something happen between you and Dylan that you didn’t tell me about?”
“Umm, I mean, maybe?” Kelsi took small, cautious steps backward in escape, but Abby saw straight through her and blocked her exit.
“Uh-uh, not so fast. Sit.” She pointed at the bed and Kelsi reluctantly trudged over, moving a skirt so she could sit on the edge of the mattress. She hadn’t told Abby about what happened between her and Dylan, mainly because she had no idea what had happened.
“Spill,” Abby ordered, hands crossed over her chest.
So, Kelsi told her about the house, and the nickname, and how Dylan was different. Well, different from how she’d expected him to be after their less-than-enthusiastic reunion in the courthouse. Now he was back to the old Dylan, her Dylan.
“Okay,” Abby said, lying down on top of the clothes littered on the bed.
“I’m not going to tell you to forget the past and jump right in again with Dylan, because you were destroyed when he enlisted and by everything else that happened, but”—she twisted her head to stare at Kelsi as she lay down beside her—“I think you should give him a chance to surprise you now.”
“You think so?” Kelsi’s stomach twisted in a queasy knot.
“Yeah, I do. I think some people deserve second chances, and he barely makes the cut. Like, seriously, he scrapes by. But you also have that hunky cop as an option. So I say invite him tonight too. What will it hurt?”
Kelsi thought about it and sighed as she stood from the bed.
“Fine, I’ll text Sheridan, but I don’t want to lead him on.
I like him, but . . . I’m just not sure yet.
” He’d been texting her on and off since the night at Crow’s Nest, and she definitely got the vibe from him that he was seriously into her.
With everything going on with Dylan, she didn’t know whether she’d be able to see him as anything other than a friend.
“That’s okay. You’re allowed to not be sure. Just don’t put all your eggs in one basket yet.”
“Okay,” Kelsi acquiesced, moving toward the door. “I’m gonna head out to the bakery now to pick up the cake. You sure you’re okay getting the flowers and meeting me at Mom’s?”
“Of course, girl. I got you and your mom covered.”
“Okay, but text me if you need anything at all.” Kelsi walked out of the bedroom door into the hallway before leaning her head back through the door. “Love you!”
“Love you too—now go!”
Kelsi yanked her head back in time to avoid a frilly pink projectile, cackling the whole way at Abby launching lingerie at her head.
* * *
In the bakery, Kelsi waited at one of the little two-person tables in the front while the baker went to add the finishing touches on the frosting for the cake. The smell of warm baked bread and sugary cake was everywhere, and her stomach was growling—loudly.
Her leg bounced up and down as she sat impatiently, trying to distract herself from her hunger by playing sudoku on her phone. An incoming text caught her attention, and she toggled over to her messages.
Dylan: Hey, you on your way?
Kelsi: I wish, at the bakery rn for the cake.
Kelsi: Hoping it’s only a little while longer, he said he needed to add some “final touches,” whatever that means.
Dylan: Okay! I’m almost there now.
Dylan: See you soon, Red. :)
Kelsi’s heart fluttered at the smile he tacked on. With trembling fingers, she fired off one last text, smiling like a schoolgirl.
Kelsi: See you soon. :)
Her phone buzzed in her hand again, and she grinned, shaking her head before looking down at it, expecting Dylan to have sent her another message. Instead, it was a text from Sheridan.
Sheridan: Hey, Kelsi! What are you up to tonight? I heard from some of the guys at the station that Crow’s Nest is having a 90s night, if you’re interested in going.
She hesitated, thumbs hovering over the keyboard in their text thread. How could an invite to the party come across as friendly, and not friendly? Like in a “friends are welcome” and not a “come meet the parents” kind of way?
She heaved a frustrated groan loud enough that the baker nervously peered around the corner from the kitchen—probably making sure she wasn’t annoyed at how long the cake was taking. Kelsi waved him off with an apologetic grimace and gestured at her phone.
She typed out a short message to Sheridan, hoping it was bland enough to pass as a friend’s text.
Kelsi: Hey! I can’t tonight, it’s my mom’s birthday so we’re celebrating. You’re welcome to come if you want! Half the town was invited LOL.
Kelsi never saw if Sheridan typed a response, because at that moment the baker came sweeping into the room with a flourish as he presented the finished cake for her inspection.
She gave appropriate oohs and aahs over the piped flowers and thanked him quickly before carefully navigating the large cake box to her car and headed out to her mom’s house to join the party.