Into the Fading Twilight (Starlight Grove, #2) (45)

“I need my best helper if it’s gonna get done.” I held out a hand for a high five.

Skylar slapped my palm hard. “We’re gonna make it the bestest ever!”

My chest tightened. There were times, like this one, when I knew this little girl had saved me. Stopped me from becoming a bitter recluse who couldn’t see all the light out there in the world. She’d been my night-light. And now, we could give that to someone else.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN


Nova




IWATCHED AS WYLDER TOOK OFF WITH THE REMAINING couple of boxes. Everyone had pitched in. Kol and Sky had been the first to show up. She had been bouncing up and down with excitement about my moving into the space, while Kol looked like he hadn’t slept a wink in the past thirty-six hours. I just hoped he wasn’t having second thoughts about his new roomie.

A throat cleared, and I braced myself because I knew the owner. I slowly turned to face Brae, wondering exactly what I’d find.

“That’s everything,” she said with a slightly wobbly smile.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Brae’s expression hardened. “Don’t you dare. There’s nothing to be sorry for. This is going to be good. First steps toward a new life. I’m just going to miss you.”

I swallowed, my throat suddenly feeling as dry as a desert. “I’m nervous,” I admitted. “And I’ll miss you.”

She was the best friend I could’ve ever hoped for. She’d uprooted her whole life for me, moving to a small town in the middle of nowhere to make sure people were still looking for me. She’d put herself in the crosshairs of a killer, hoping I might still be alive. And almost got herself killed because of it.

“Nova,” Brae whispered hoarsely, reaching out to take my hand but then stopping herself. “I’m always going to be right here. Maybe I can have Dex make us a clubhouse or something at the new place. Nova and Brae only. No boys allowed.”

I laughed, relishing the feel of the vibrations coursing through me. I’d laughed more with her in the past day and a half than I had since I returned. And that felt a lot like hope.

“Our new normal definitely deserves a clubhouse,” I agreed. “And maybe bedazzled jackets.”

Brae’s eyes brightened. “Oh, I am in on the bedazzled jackets.”

“Nothing can be too scary if bedazzled jackets are involved.”

“Dang straight. Now, let’s get you moved into your new apartment.”

A smile tipped up the corners of my mouth. “Do you think you could take me to pick up my new car first?” I asked. Between what was left in my savings from when I went missing and a few weeks at the Boot, I was ready for the responsibility of a car payment. And that felt good, too.

Brae laughed and shook her head. “Man, you really don’t mess around when it comes to fresh starts.”

“No, I don’t.” And that also felt damn good.





I still felt a little rusty at the whole driving thing, and I was glad I had another month or so before I had to deal with any snow on the roads—something I had minimal experience with anyway. But the mechanic at Grit & Grove had assured me that the eight-year-old Subaru would handle the white stuff expertly.

I hoped so. Just like I hoped I could hold down my job at the Boot, because I now had a car payment on my shoulders, along with rent for my new apartment. I bit my lip as I followed Dex’s 4Runner through the gate onto Twisted Oak Ranch. I hadn’t actually discussed with Kol how much that rent would be.

I’m alive. I’m breathing.

The words swirled around and around in my head as I lowered my window to punctuate the point. I’d figure out rent and everything else. One step at a time.

The drive from the gate to Kol’s house took almost ten minutes, but it made sense when the ranch was over a thousand acres. The vise around my lungs eased a little. A thousand acres. Endless space to breathe.

I followed Dex’s SUV down bends and turns in the gravel road before Kol’s house came into view. I spotted Wylder’s truck, Mav’s truck, and Waylon’s supercharged golf cart/ATV hybrid with a Bigfoot painted on the hood. The last one had me smiling.

As I climbed out of my hatchback, I called out to Brae. “When are you going to get yourself a Bigfoot golf cart?”

She grinned back at me for what felt like the first time. “Oh, don’t you worry. I’ve already put in my order with Waylon for when the house is done.”

I chuckled. “Why am I not surprised?”

Dex slid an arm around Brae’s shoulders. “Please, don’t encourage this Bigfoot obsession.”

Owen grinned at him. “You’re gonna have to believe when Sky and I catch one on a trail cam.”

“Yeah, he will,” I agreed.

Owen bounced up and down. “I’m so glad you’re moving to the ranch, Supernova. It’s bussin’, and we’re gonna live here soon, too.”

Brae had given me a list of Owen’s newly acquired slang after I got out of the hospital, and I made the mental translation that bussin’ meant really good or cool or something generally positive.

“I’m really excited, too. I want to make friends with the alpacas,” I said.

“Supernova!” Skylar yelled, running around the side of the garage. “We saw you out the windows! Your apartment’s ready! You wanna see? Wanna right now?”