Can't Get Enough (Skyland, #3)(112)

“No way. And what did you say?”

“I said There’s a dance at school next week. Wanna go?”

I sputter out a laugh. “After two years, just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“What changed your mind?”

“I don’t know that my mind needed changing. I think I knew in eighth grade he was it for me, too, which I know sounds strange. We both had some growing up to do. You know girls are always more mature than boys. Sometimes things just need to be proved out. Even at that age, he showed me and he showed me till the day that he…”

Her words wither and sorrow clouds her eyes. I’ve seen this look on my father’s face a hundred times. Are there words in the lexicography of human emotion for how it feels to lose the love of your life? It’s articulated in wails and tears, in the impenetrable loneliness that comes with losing such a vital part of who you are. Your person, closer than anyone to you, is now irretrievable, beyond reach. A mourning with no sunrise. You never know what to say when faced with that kind of devastation. I’ve learned to say nothing at all. No platitude or condolence could make it any better. All I can do is be human enough to listen and try to understand. After a moment, Mrs. Barry walks to the kitchen window, folding her arms and contemplating the chaos of foliage and weeds out back.

“That was our garden,” she says wistfully, and aims a smile over her shoulder that’s just like Hendrix. “It was full of ranunculus.”

“Did you ever enter any of those floral contests?”

“No.” She grabs a paper towel and blows her nose. “They were just for him and me. I haven’t had the heart to get out there in…” She bunches her brows like she’s concentrating, maybe trying to remember, before she shakes her head and nods to the backyard. “He’d probably say, Now Betty, you know that’s a shame. Got my garden looking like that. Get on out there, girl.”

“What’s stopping you?” I ask softly.

Her smile slips and her eyes drift back to the window. “I guess nothing at all.”





CHAPTER 43





HENDRIX


There used to be lots of laughter in this house. Less so of late, but it still sounds familiar drifting from the kitchen. Freshly showered, I flatten my back to the wall and eavesdrop on the conversation between my mama and my boyfriend.

Boyfriend.

I let that word boing around the bouncy house in my head for a second.

I have a boyfriend. A lover. A guy. A person.

My stomach growls and the smell of Mama’s collard greens and mashed potatoes and baked chicken reminds me I skipped breakfast, too. I had an early London call before I screwed Maverick in my dad’s old office.

Sorry, Daddy.

He would have loved Maverick. I think. He never thought anyone was good enough for his little girl. To be honest, I’ve mostly agreed with him. I’ve found men to be overwhelmingly underwhelming, with a few exceptions like Josiah and Judah.

And Mav.

Before I can interrupt their conversation and fix a plate, the phone buzzes in my skirt pocket.

Zere.

Moment of truth. Although I’m fully prepared that she’ll say I’m out and can’t work with her on the show, there is a small part of me that would love for us to move past this. Holding out the tiniest bit of hope, I step into Daddy’s old office to take the call.

“Zere, hi,” I say, settling into the office chair.

“Hey, Hendrix.” Her voice holds none of the warmth I’d become used to before this all went down. “I wanted to follow up after our last call.”

“Sure. Thanks for giving it some thought.”

“I don’t want to be in business with you.”

I close my eyes and slump into Daddy’s old chair. Even knowing it was a probability, I didn’t want it to go this way.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I reply. “But I understand.”

“In talking with my lawyers, I—”

“Wait. Lawyers? Why?”

“In case there was any confusion about who conceptualized this show or who has the right to move forward with its development. I feel confident, based on the counsel I’ve received, that you have no real claim here. Should you want to take me to court—”

“I don’t.” I stand and walk back and forth, the only outlet for my agitation. “It never even occurred to me.”

“Very naive of you. Of course there were possible legal repercussions. That’s what I’ve been investigating since we last spoke.”

“So you never even considered that we might get past this and work together? Be partners?”

“Once a thief, always a thief,” she says, her voice cooling even more to subzero. “If I couldn’t trust you with my man, you think I’d trust you with my business?”

I’m usually controlled in bitch trying to test me scenarios, but considering all that has happened with Aunt Geneva, Mama, the hospital—it’s too much. The chain holding me back snaps and so do I.

“I didn’t steal anything from you, Zere.” My voice is preternaturally calm, in stark contrast to the violence of my heart rattling the cage of my ribs. “You and Maverick were no longer together when he and I started seeing each other.”