Chapter Twenty-One
JOSIE
My headlights beamed a path through the darkness as I drove, feeling like the biggest fool in the universe.
It had taken me a minute, but then I’d pieced together who that woman was. Marnie was Kara’s mom. No matter what, that old betrayal from high school still burned. Not because Marnie had anything to do with it but because she was everything I wasn’t. Beautiful, tall, and feminine in a way I’d never be. Her presence had torn the scab off all my old insecurities. Being the athletic one, never the pretty girl. When Tate told me how he’d ended up with his daughter, I’d been puzzled. Like, he was a solid guy. How in the world did he get involved with someone who would walk away from their daughter by choice? Well, one look at Marnie told me everything. She was the kind of woman who drew men like a magnet. Maybe her life was a hot mess or had once been before, but she had enough charisma to be blinding.
I let out a sigh, swiping quickly at the tears welling in my eyes. I’d gone and fallen in love with Tate. I was truly glad to be home in Willow Brook, but I was also staring down some old ghosts. One of those ghosts was remembering who I was. It wasn’t that I’d forgotten. I was the athletic skiing girl, not thepretty, fun girl like Kayla had been in high school, and not the sexy, firecracker type Marnie seemed to be.
I wasn’t so sure what all that meant for me and Tate. Maybe we needed to take a little space and time. We stumbled into this fast. I’d been trying to tell myself it was okay because our friendship was the foundation. Our history had a scorch mark in it from that old shared betrayal.
In a way, coming home helped me come to terms with that. It had loomed in my memories.If you’re going to screw around on somebody, don’t do it with one of your friends’ boyfriends.It just made the whole thing about a thousand times messier and more painful.
I told myself I was going to tell Tate how I felt once we got past this stupid drama. When I got home, I debated whether to go over to my place. I didn’t even have my stuff there. I decided I would wait and face him.
I didn’t know how long it would be before Tate got home, but I could guess because Madison texted me to let me know “the little drama ended” when Tate left. He’d caught a ride with Leo to return to Willow Brook.
I hoped the snow didn’t get much worse. This time of year in Alaska could be dicey. The coldest part of winter was past, but sometimes the snow mixed with ice and rain, making it a more dangerous combination than plain snow. I navigated the driveway carefully, letting out a sigh of relief when I parked my car and dashed up the stairs.
I kept looking out the windows, hoping to see headlights arcing through. When more than enough time had passed that Tate and Leo should’ve arrived, I finally called his phone. He answered, but the reception was bad, so the call was dropped.
I resorted to texting, thinking maybe that would work since he was a passenger. Nothing came back in response a full five minutes later. Anxious, I called Madison.
“Hello?” she answered after the first ring.
“Did you make it home?” I asked.
“Um, yeah. Why?”
“Tate isn’t here yet, and I know he’s riding with Leo, but it seems like they should’ve made it back by now. Do you know what time they left?”
“They left a few minutes before we did. I’m positive. I even heard Leo saying he had a full tank of gas, so they would be driving straight home.”
“I tried calling. Tate answered, but the call was dropped. He hasn’t responded to my text.”
“Give me a sec.” She moved the phone away from her mouth, and I heard her calling for Graham. “Do you mind if I put you on speaker?” she asked a moment later.
“Of course not.”
“Graham thinks a few cars from the crew are behind them.”
The drive from Anchorage to Willow Brook was a ballpark of forty-five minutes when the weather was good. It had taken me closer to an hour tonight when the sleet started to fall. Even though the drive wasn’t too long, there was a mountain pass to navigate and no other towns in between.
“I’m going to call Beck and Griffin,” Graham said. “They were both behind Leo and us. I’ll also try Leo. If you hear from Tate, let me know right away.”
Worry started to churn inside my chest. I knew Leo could handle the Alaskan roads, but in the winter, all it took was one wrong turn or an icy patch, and you could slide off the road and out of sight in a blink.
“Graham’s calling,” Madison said a moment later. “It’s going to be okay. Maybe they just stopped.”
“There’s nowhere to stop between Anchorage and Willow Brook,” I pointed out.
“I’m sure it’s fine. Maybe they decided to grab some food before they left town. Just because we thought they were going straight home doesn’t mean they didn’t change their mind.”
“I know.” I let out a sharp, unsettled sigh.
“Do you want me to stay on the phone with you or come over there?” Madison asked.
“No, I’m fine. And for God’s sake, don’t drive over here. The weather isn’t great, and it looks like it’s getting worse.” I peered out the windows to see the blur of snow and rain falling from the sky.