44 Book Five Page 14

  I forced a smile, trying to push away my gloomy thoughts.

  “That’s great. Where?”

  “Over at the Astro Lounge. I’m bartending fulltime and it’s a much classier place than Club 6. A new building with no ghosts attached, and more importantly, no cage.”

  I laughed.

  “Congrats, Paloma,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze. “That’s really great.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I think it’ll be good for me. It’s time I moved on and took my bartending career a little more seriously anyway.”

  We talked a little longer before I had to leave for work. She invited Ty and me to stop by the Astro Lounge anytime and drinks would be on her. I told her that I was planning a fall party next month and wanted to invite her and her sister.

  “Oh, you know there was something I never got a chance to ask you,” I said. “There were more important things going on at the time.”

  “What?”

  “At some point you said, ‘You don’t know me from Adam’s house cat.’ What does that mean?”

  She squinted at me for a moment.

  “Oh, yeah,” she said. “I don’t really know. I think it was just something I picked up at Club 6. Sounds like a Southern expression.”

  “Well, I’m glad I do know you from Adam’s house cat,” I said.

  She smiled.

  I checked my watch and saw that I was running late. I stood up to leave. She got up and gave me another hug.

  “I’ll see you soon,” I said, walking away.

  “Abby?” I heard her say. I turned around.

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks again for what you did. I mean it.”

  I waved goodbye.

  It wasn’t me, I repeated in my head.

  I turned away and walked to the Jeep, thinking of Jesse.

  CHAPTER 51

  As the weeks passed, I poured more and more of my energy into soccer. I was up to running six miles on the track, four times a week, and I found time to practice every day. There was a sadness in me I couldn’t shake, but I could make sure I exhausted myself to the point where I didn’t dwell on it. I began sleeping again, all the way through the night.

  As we headed into the playoffs, I was playing the best I had since my high school days. Since before my accident, when I had been college material.

  The last game of the season was just a formality, a chance to fine tune a few things, rest key players, and build our confidence. But, of course, this being rec soccer, the last refuge of has-beens and never-weres and all lost souls trying to recapture their glory days, everyone treated it like it was life and death. Including me.

  We demolished the other team, which was also playoff bound, 5-0. Everything I touched was gold. I assisted on two of the goals and scored the other three.

  But as the rest of the team celebrated when it was over, I walked off the field with a hollow feeling. There was no one there to see it. No one I really cared about. Kate was working late. I barely saw Ty anymore. He hadn’t come to a game in several weeks. And Jesse.

  Jesse wasn’t there either. Not like he had been for my only other hat trick all those years ago.

  I got into the Jeep and drove away through the dark night, a lump as big as the desert growing in my throat.

  CHAPTER 52

  “It’s killing me to see you this way, Abby Craig.”

  I shrugged. I helped a customer, told Lyle the order, and slowly walked to the back to get more napkins. David was still waiting for me when I returned.

  “Breakups are such a bitch,” he said.

  “It’s not official yet,” I said. “He’s still thinking about it.”

  But it sure felt official.

  “Well, I say we put him on the clock,” David said. “Tick tock, tick tock. He can’t leave you in limbo like this. It’s already November! We give him until Thanksgiving to shape up or you, Abby Craig, will ship out. I have tons of hot guys I could set you up with.”

  I was too tired to even think of a funny response. I looked at the clock. Six and a half hours to go.

  “I can’t do inventory. Would you mind if I stayed out here at the register?”

  “Of course not,” he said.

  David reached over and gave me a long, genuine hug.

  “You’ll be okay,” he said. “We all go through it.”

  I sighed and faked a smile as a lady walked up and handed me a piece of paper.

  “There’s eleven drinks there,” she said, her face as sharp as her tone.

  Those were always the hardest orders, when one customer handed us a list. It threw everything off. And even though David stayed up front to help, by the time we finished with her, the line was backed up to the door.

  I helped the two moms coming from an exercise class while David took an order from the college professor who was a regular and liked to talk a lot.

  I looked up again, my heart dropping out of my chest.

  He was in the back of the line, smiling at me.

  Adjusting his baseball cap.

  THE END

  The adventure continues…

  44 Book Six

  Coming soon

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Like her main character, Jools Sinclair lives in Bend, Oregon. She is currently working on 44 Book Six as well as a new series.

  Learn more about Jools Sinclair

  and the 44 series at…

  JoolsSinclair44