Chapter 87

From behind the counter, I give a curt nod to Hailey as she waves goodbye. She's worked at the rink for a couple of years now, but we've always worked different shifts. Until I decided I could no longer be around Harlow in any capacity and switched out their shifts. Dumb move on my part, but pride and pity can make you do some stupid things.

"Jonah!" I call out. "Are you going to be much longer?"

"One minute!"

I've just shut down the computers when the rink door opens. "Sorry, we're closed," I say, looking up to see Lana walking toward me. "Oh, hey."

"Hey, sweetheart." She stops on the other side of the counter. "I'm just meeting a few people here, but I left my keys at home. You mind hanging back until we're done to lock up? No more than ten, maybe fifteen minutes."

"Everything okay?"

"Absolutely. Just a last-minute emergency meeting."

I raise my eyebrows, questioning, but she just smiles, moves to the dining area.

Turning around, I lean against the counter while I pull out my phone and unlock it. The Texas Tech Men's Basketball Instagram page is still up from when I was on it last, and I continue to scroll through the posts. It's been six days since the offer now, and I have until tomorrow to give them my answer. The problem? I'm still no closer to making a decision.

The door opens again and in come Jonah's mom and dad, then Mae, the owner of the general store. They greet me with quick hellos, which I return, and they gather in the dining room. It's not strange for Lana to have these meetings at the rink after hours. What's strange is the people who come in next. The cult cousins—Sammy and Jeannie. Though, they could be here to visit Jonah since Sammy and Jonah are together now. "Morning, Sunshine!" Sammy beams.

"It's night," I respond, but they're too busy moving along. She greets Jonah with a hug, and I expect them to leave together. Only they don't. They sit in the dining area, where everyone else is, and just when my curiosity gets the better of me and I'm about to join them all, the door opens again. It's Robyn this time—my grandpa's favorite counselor at the clinic. My fear has me standing ramrod straight as she approaches. "Hi, Jace," she says as she bypasses me, and what the fuck is happening right now?

I follow her to the dining area, glancing at each individual person. "What's going on?" I ask no one in particular.

"We're just waiting on a couple more people to start," Lana informs. "And then we'll be on our way."

Eyes narrowed to slits, I face Robyn. "Is my grandpa okay?"

She checks her watch. "It's after eight, so I'm sure he's tucked into bed and already asleep by now."

I turn to my best friend. "Jonah?"

Arm resting on the back of Sammy's chair, all he does is shrug.

The door opens again, and I spin quickly toward it. Harlow enters with her dad, and she rushes toward me—the fastest I've ever seen her move. "Sorry I'm late!" she huffs, and she's holding a bunch of papers, but not firmly enough because they go flying behind her, and now Shawn's on his knees collecting them all, and she's cursing, and I whisper, "What the fuck is going on?"

It seems like forever before she gathers all the papers and sorts them in order, and then she's standing in front of me, only inches away, neck craned so she can look up and… smile. The biggest, most carefree smile I've seen in a while. "Hi," she says.

"Hi."

"You should sit."

I shake my head. "What's happening?"

"I really think you should sit," she urges while Shawn passes me, slapping my shoulder and mumbling, "What's up, Jace?" He sits with the others, and I refocus on Harlow.

"I think I'll stand," I say, my voice low. "What's going on?"

She steps away from me, as if moving to the front of an audience. I stand between her and the others. Then she clears her throat, states loudly, "You're going to Texas Tech."

My head drops forward, and I pinch the bridge of my nose. Try to breathe through my frustration. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what she's trying to do… what everyone here is trying to do, but it's not as easy as just saying the words out loud and manifesting them into reality. "Harlow…"

"I'm going to take care of your grandpa, Jace."

My eyes whip to hers. "What?"

"I'm going to take care of your grandpa," she repeats.

Someone grabs my shoulder from behind, and I turn to Jonah, who's practically dragging me backward until the back of my knees hit a chair. "I can't see," he mumbles, forcing me to sit. I sigh, then speak to Harlow, and only Harlow. "It's not that easy, Harlow, he needs?—"

"A lot of help and support," Harlow cuts in. "And so do you, Jace, and that's why we're all here. Now please, just listen." She holds the stack of papers higher. "I have all the information here, and I'll give it to you at the end, but please shut up. Just for a little bit."

The space fills with quiet giggles, but nothing about this is funny.

Nothing.

"Robyn was kind enough to give me her personal phone number, so I have access to her should I need it."

"Twenty-four-seven," Robyn adds, and I turn to her. Her smile is soft, the same way it always is, whether it's directed at me, or my grandpa, or any of the other patients she's treating.

Harlow continues. "I've been in contact with the doctor at the clinic—Dr. Williams. He couldn't go into specific details about your grandpa's medical condition, but after some pushing, he recommended a few specialists around here, and I spent today calling them, many times, until I found what I thought was the best fit for your grandpa. He has an appointment the day after he gets home. Obviously, we'll go together, so you're comfortable moving forward."

"Harlow—"

"I'll spend as much time as you want with you both over the summer, and once you go, Dad and I will move in. You said he needs twenty-four-hour care, and so that's what I'm going to provide."

My pulse races, my heart beating out of my chest. I can't look at her, but I say her name, and it feels like too much of everything, all at once.

"You're less than three hours away, so if anything happens, I'll let you know. And Connie's on call too, in case she's needed," Harlow says.

Connie speaks now. "And Lana and I will help where we can. We've already come up with outings we can take your grandpa on to get him out of the house or if Harlow ever needs a break for whatever reason."

Lana chimes in. "We're going to run some activities here. I think bingo night will be fun. Robyn said they have it at the clinic and your grandpa enjoys it."

"He really does," Robyn agrees.

"And my store is officially a No-Marty zone," Mae adds. "I won't serve him a drop, and I'll be sure to let everyone know the same."

I can't look at any of them.

I just… can't.

I can't do anything besides rest my elbows on my knees, link my fingers together, and stare down at the ground, try to breathe through whatever the fuck it is I'm feeling right now.

Again, Harlow continues, "Sammy and Jeannie are both working now, and they're going to move into my house, so that income will still be there…"

"And I can't wait to hang with Grandpa," Sammy sings.

Then Jeannie adds, "I have an amazing board game collection."

And Harlow continues, "And that rental income will go toward the assisted living place I found in Lubbock."

My head snaps up now, my eyes right on Harlow. She smiles, soft, delicate… just like her.

"It's only ten miles from campus, and it's a top-tier facility… and you'll never guess. The director is a Texas Tech alumnus and big, huge fan of the Red Raiders, and wouldn't you know it… he's a fan of you. But there's a waiting list, and he can't just bump people off it. He said it's probably nine months minimum, two years maximum, which is absolutely fine with me. With all of us."

"And you don't need to worry about financing the difference," Eric, Jonah's dad, chimes in. "Your grandpa came to me years ago. I think when he first started to notice that things were becoming… different for him." Eric is a lawyer and specializes in trusts and wills. "He was sure to take care of you, Jace," he says. "He had me set up a trust where almost every cent of his money went to you when you needed it. Retirement, pension, stocks, interest accrued, all of it." He pauses a breath. "There's also money that came in when your parents died, and so you're all set. I can cut the check as soon as you give me the go-ahead."

I force air into my lungs, but it's thick and hard to swallow. I stare at Harlow, watch her chest rise and fall as she stares back. "Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Sure."

I walk paces ahead of her as I make my way to the office and wait for her to join me before closing the door. I rest against it, ready to speak, but before I can get a word out, she says, standing a few feet away, "Look, I know ambushing you like this may not have been the best way to go about it, but it was the only way I thought you'd listen." She hands me the stack of papers. "I have it all planned out. Everything is there."

I scan the printouts without actually taking in any of it. "He needs a lot of help, Harlow. It's not just keeping him away from alcohol. There's medication and exercises and a hell of a lot of testing coming up. A lot of appointments. A lot of… everything. And you don't really know him. And he doesn't know you, and there's so much I'd have to tell you, and?—"

"And we have the rest of the summer for you to guide me."

I lower my gaze, unable to comprehend what she's even saying right now.

"Jace, this is everything you've been dreaming about forever. You cannot give up on this opportunity. I won't let you."

I keep my head down, wipe the dampness from my eyes. "You really got all these people together, made all these phone calls and came up with this plan in what? Twenty-four hours?"

Smiling, she nods proudly.

"Why would you do this for me?"

She's quiet a beat, and I force myself to look at her. Her eyes are coated with tears, and I fight to keep my hands still, to not hold her the way I want to. "I don't think you realize how much you mean to me. How much you saved me." She swallows her emotions while her tears slip free. "I never told you this before, but the only way I used to be able to sleep was on the floor of my closet, hugging Harley's old letterman jacket. I was a shell of a human when you met me… so weighed down by grief, I could barely come up for air. And somehow, some way, you pulled me out of that darkness, Jace, and you… you became my light."

"Harlow…" I step forward. Just once. "So, you feel like you owe me?"

"No," she's quick to say. "I'm doing this because I care about you. Because I love you… and because I don't want to see anyone else I love have to give up their dreams like my brother did. And I know it's selfish of me to be thinking this right now, but… there was a fifty-fifty chance with the heart disease that took Harley. It was him or me. And my brother died chasing the same thing that's in front of you right now, so if anything… I owe him this, not you." She sniffs back her heartache, but leaves her tears bare as her chest rises and falls with each struggled breath. "And I know it's hard to leave your grandpa, especially in the state he's in, but I swear to you, Jace, I will do everything right by him. I will love him and care for him the way you would. The way you have. I won't let anything happen to him. I promise."

For seconds, I just stand there, watching the girl I love love me back in ways I could never have imagined, let alone comprehend. I fill my lungs with their life source, then I turn, open the door. Jonah's just outside, and he rears back, then quickly feigns interest with the wall opposite. "Yeah, Lana!" he calls out. "Definitely needs a new paint job."

Everyone's eyes trail me from the office back to the dining area, and the entire time, Jonah and Harlow follow only a few steps behind, whispering loud enough that I can hear them, but not loud enough to make out what they're saying. I lean against the railing that separates the dining area from the rest of the rink while Jonah retakes his seat and Harlow sits beside her dad. Then I take in each person here, one by one, my heart aching as each of their eyes meets mine, searching for answers. I lower my gaze, unsure what to do. What to say. They're all here. For me. And I can't quite grasp why, but, God, do I appreciate it. "I don't even know what to say…"

"You don't need to say anything to us," Jonah says, and I peer up at him. "Call Texas Tech and say yes."

"Do it!" Sammy chants in a whisper. "Do it! Do it!"

"Get your phone out of your goddamn pocket…" Jonah urges, then joins in on his girlfriend's chant. "Do it! Do it!"

I crack the faintest of smiles, and Harlow lets out a stunted squeal as she grabs her dad's arm, holds it close to her chest. I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, peeking over at Jonah one more time. The sight of his grin only amplifies mine, and I shake my head, find the right number and hit dial. Jonah grabs my phone, puts it on speaker, and remains beside me as Wayne, my contact there, answers. "Jace… please tell me you're calling with good news."

I exhale all the air in my lungs and find Harlow again, her eyes now clear of the tears she's shed. "Go," she mouths, and she's bouncing in her seat, her excitement only heightening my own.

"I'd be honored to be a Red Raider," I say into the phone. "But I just have one request…"

"And what's that?" Wayne asks.

"I'd like to wear the number five."