Chapter 2
Ivy~ 5 years ago
I hate working the early shift at the diner, but it's the only job I can do in this small town. It pays enough for now, but I dream of serving cocktails at The Barn Door and making big tips. Maybe then I'll have enough money to move out and have some freedom.
Don't get me wrong. I love my family, and living with them is comfortable, but I crave independence. I want to make my own choices without anyone telling me what to do. I want to sneak a drink or two, or have a guy stay over without my parents breathing down my neck.
But here I am, stuck slinging hash to locals and travelers passing through our uneventful town. I feel envious as they talk about their exciting lives in bigger cities or on fancy ranches. Yet, I put on my best fake smile and hope for generous tips to bring me closer to escaping this monotonous life.
After my shift at the diner ends, I carefully count the crumpled dollar bills in my apron pocket. Today's haul comes to eighty bucks, a decent amount for the day shift. There must be something special going on in town. Maybe it's the annual rodeo over in neighboring Tulip.
I mentally calculate my earnings as I make my way out to the parking lot. Eighty dollars a day, six days a week...that's four-hundred and eighty dollars extra every week that can go into my savings jar. Not bad for an eighteen-year-old.
But then again, eighty bucks is not the norm. Most days, I'm lucky if I walk away with forty dollars in tips. But I refuse to give up on my goal of saving up so I can move out. So I diligently add each and every tip into my jar regardless of how small they may be. It's all adding up slowly but surely.
I put the car in drive, but instead of going straight home, I head over to Hardtail Ranch because I haven't heard from Stone all day.
After last night, I expected a message from him to tell me if everything was all right. I texted him before my shift began, and he still hasn't read it. What happened to him?
I pull up outside the big house, which is what we've always called the house that Stone and his parents live in.
I open the door to the kitchen and poke my head in. "Peaches! Is anyone home? Stone?" I call out how I always do when I go inside the big house because someone is usually in the living room. Today, there's no answer. The house is eerily quiet.
"Peaches? Gunnar?" I step inside and walk to the living room and freeze. "Gray, hey. What are you doing here?" Gray doesn't even live here. He's Ella Mae's son. They live in their own house on the ranch.
The look on his face brings me up short, and I look around the room once again, listening for something. Anything. "Gray?"
He walks over to the liquor cabinet and pours a drink. "How ya doing, Ivy?"
"Where's everyone at?" I ask. "Why is it so fucking quiet in here? And why are you raiding the liquor cabinet? You're just a kid."
"Kid? I'm only two years younger than you, Ivy. My mom told me to come over here and watch the house. So here I am," he says and takes a drink. "You looking for Stone?"
"Yeah, and why are you being so weird?" I'm frustrated now. Who does Gray think he is? "Where's Miss Martha?"
Gray sits at the roll-top desk beside the liquor cabinet. "Stone's not here. And I don't know where the fuck Miss Martha is. She didn't come in today. Wish she was here, I'm starving."
"Stone's not here?" My heart stops. "Do you know where he is? Is he in jail?" My legs start shaking. My body grows instantly cold at the idea of Stone behind bars because he was protecting me.
"It was so fucking stupid. I should have just kicked the asshole in the nuts and called it a day."
"He's not in jail," Gray says like he's taunting me.
"He's not? That's good. Where is he?"
"Not here," Gray answers, and it just pisses me off more. "He's not here at the ranch. Or even in Texas."
"What?" I shake my head in disbelief. "What do you mean he's not in Texas? I was here with him last night. There was a fight," I explain, but Gray holds up his hand and stops me. He's surprisingly arrogant for a sixteen-year-old. "What?"
"I know all about the fight, Ivy. That dude didn't make it. Died last night."
"What? After Peaches took me home?"
"Apparently." He takes another swig of his whiskey.
My stomach drops, and I feel like I might pass out. Gray jumps up, catches me before I hit the ground, and leads me to the sofa where I've spent countless hours with Stone. The realization hits me that everything has changed now.
"I have to check on him," I mumble, pushing myself up from the sofa. But Gray's next words stop me in my tracks.
"Don't bother," he says coldly. "Gunnar and Peaches sent him away to lay low while they handle things quietly."
My mind races with questions, and panic sets in as I think about Stone being exiled because of me. "Where did they send him?" I ask frantically.
Gray shrugs, unconcerned with my distress. "I don't know, Ivy. They only tell us what we need to know."
"It's not fair!" I cry out, pulling out my phone and texting Stone again for an answer. As if on cue, a notification dings from the kitchen.
I rush into the kitchen and find Stone's keys and phone sitting on the table. "What the hell, Gray? Where is Peaches?" I demand, sending her a frantic text as well.
Can you tell me what's going on with Stone? Please?
My hands shake with fear and anger as I wait for a response. The silence is deafening, and I can feel my whole world crumbling around me. This can't be happening. Not to Stone. Not because of me.
"He's my friend too, Ivy. But he has to lay low until Peaches and Gunnar figure this shit out. When they get back, I'll ask my mom if she knows anything. But for now, you need to chill."
But I can't chill. My heart feels like it's being crushed in a vice, shattered into a million pieces.
He's my best friend.
And he's gone. He didn't even say goodbye.
Shit. How am I going to survive life in Opey without him? If not for our friendship, I would have skipped town the minute I got my diploma.
I plop back down on the sofa, staring at my phone. I'll sit here until Peaches gets back. I can't believe this is happening.
I totally get it now. How life can flip in just a second. The moment that dude's head hit the pavement, our whole life went up in smoke.