Jesse grabbed the black Stetson his father had gifted him for Christmas a few years back. Zack had a matching hat in tan. “We’re not talking about this right now. You got things covered here? I should only be a few days,” Jesse said as he made for the door.
“Hold the fuck on. Answer my question.”
Jesse gestured toward his phone, his eyes flashing wide with exasperation. “Clearly I’m her emergency contact. And clearly there’s more important things for me to deal with right now than me explaining this all to you.”
“Alright, well, I’m coming with you.”
“Zach.”
Zach sucked his teeth. “Man, nah. Don’t. Don’t act likeIdon’t know what’s going on between me and Evie. Or what isn’t. But you just said, Evie is the priority now. And I want to be there. Plus, which one of us do you think has a better chance of shocking her memory back?”
Jesse sighed and Zach knew he had him. All three of them, their baby brother Sam included, had been close with Evie, but Zach and Evie had history.
“Fine. I’ll get with Lilah and handle our flights and everything. You can go talk to Delfi and let her know she’s steering the ship while we’re gone, and then you tell Miss Leona that we might not be back by Christmas morning.” With Sam off with his latest girlfriend and their parents deciding not to return to the States for the holidays, the plan was for the two of them to spend Christmas with their grandmother and their baby cousin, but it looked like that plan was about to change.
“Why are you acting like she won’t understand? She loves Evie. Hell, she might want to come,” Zach said.
“Just go talk to her.”
“I will. I got it covered.”
Jesse started for the door before he paused and turned back toward Zack. “Whatever you’re thinking,” Jesse said. “Whatever you’re feeling, it stays here. You might want to be the one to swoop in and save the day, but that’s not going to work this time. And if Evie does remember you—”
“I know.”
“All that bullshit, Zach. I mean it. It stays here. And if you can’t handle that, then I’m leaving your ass behind.”
Zach just nodded. Their dynamic had been set in stone the moment Sam learned to talk. Jesse was the brains, Zach the mouth, and Sam the charm, but now he heard Jesse loud and clear. Jesse would pull rank for Evie’s sake if he had to. Zach had screwed up big-time and pushed Evie away when she needed him most. Now was not the time to try and mend that fence, but that wouldn’t stop him from being by Evie’s side. This time he was going to be there for her, whether she knew him or not.
* * *
Zach usually had the ability to fall into the deepest sleep seconds after takeoff. But it was long after they’d reached cruising altitude on their red-eye flight to JFK and he was still wide-awake.
Evie Buchanan. Holy shit. Back when they were kids he didn’t fully understand the way he’d felt about her, but now that he was finally a grown man he could admit that Evie had been the first girl to really stir something in him. When she arrived at Big Rock to live with her grandma, she’d been awkward and shy, but it didn’t take long for her to break out of her shell.
She’d followed Zach and his brothers all over the small valley town they called home, trying to keep up with them at every turn. They may have been the same age, but for a long time Zach looked at her as a little sister. They had a good time running from one end of the ranch to the other, and Zach had even better time teasing the shit out of her.
He wasn’t sure when her obvious crush on him had gone from just that to full-blown infatuation, probably around the time her grandmother had made it clear that she didn’t want them left alone together anymore. Teenagers were sex-crazed hormone monsters, drawn together by the powerful magnets anchored in their genitals, according to Amelia Buchanan, butlustfulwasn’t the way Zach would describe the situation. For him it had been a gradual thing. Slow, burning feelings (that, he could admit, did lead to Evie making more than one appearance in his teenage fantasies). By the time he realized what he felt for Evie was definitely more than just friendly affection and teenage horniness, she was gone.
He became a master at explaining his feelings away. Charming was small. There weren’t many girls his age to begin with. Proximity was the problem. On more than one occasion, their mother had assured all her boys that they’d probably meet their wives in college, but deep down a part of him wondered if Evie had been the one.
Ever since they’d gotten off the phone with Nicole, all Zach could think about was their last night together. He’d fucked up. He’d fucked up real big. So big that what he hoped would be his attempt to comfort and reassure her that he’d always have her back, ended with Evie in tears, begging him to stay out of her life. At first Zach had stopped himself from calling or texting Evie, because he wanted to respect her wishes. Weeks turned into years, and when he didn’t hear a word from her he knew she’d meant business. She truly wanted a Zachariah Pleasant–free life. He’d be lying if he said it didn’t bother the shit out of him.
He glanced over at Jesse, who was taking full advantage of the extra legroom first-class had to offer. “I know you told me to chill, but I gotta ask.”
Jesse let out a quiet groan. “Can’t help yourself, can you?”
“Listen, we touch down in New York and you won’t hear another word about this from me.”
Jesse opened one eye and peered at his smart watch. “Fine. You have five minutes.”
“We don’t land for another three hours.”
“And you think I’m talking to you about Evie for the next three hours? You are out of your mind.”
“Fine. I just have one question anyway. Why you?”
“Why me what?”