22. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Tw o

Indy — Now

M y story was a tale as old as time. Small-town girl moves to the big city, determined to find herself and make her wildest dreams come true. The longer I stared out the window, absorbing the vibrant and bustling city, constantly brimming with life and culture, I knew I hadn’t accomplished either. Never found my place, made my mark.

And wasn’t that a cliché too.

The door behind me creaked, and I straightened as Evelyn walked into her office. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said, her voice breathless as she set her things on her desk. “It’s been a crazy morning, one thing after another.”

“It’s okay.” I glanced at my phone, ensuring it was okay. I had three hours until my flight to Arizona, and with the sure promise of traffic, I needed to leave for the airport soon. I was pushing my luck, but when Evelyn texted this morning and asked me to drop by, I came immediately.

After last night’s heated argument, the emotions and truth it revealed, I thought I’d seen the last of Nolan. When he left without a word, I expected to be relieved. No more fighting or pretending. He was gone. And I was alone.

It felt like I’d traveled back in time.

But amid that loneliness and heartache, I noticed I’d stopped feeling alone in the first place. With devastation seeping through me, my knee-jerk reaction was to run from it. It was what I’d done all these years, refusing to acknowledge the past, as though that made it any less real. But when I sat in it, it wasn’t panic I felt . . . it was relief. Relief to be feeling anything at all.

And Nolan came back.

And it wasn’t with anger or disappointment. There was grief in his eyes, regret. Instead of living in the throes of the past, he’d offered me a white flag.

And when I let him in, and both of us silently sat on opposite ends of the futon as we watched an old favorite movie and I broke what felt like a lifetime fast from sugary cereal, I remembered the past had given me more than just heartache.

“Thank you for your help last night with Calder,” Evelyn said, and I shoved away the past, focusing on where I was, Victory Lap Agency—my future. “I picked a bad time to turn off my phone.”

I feigned a smile, hiding my disappointment. I wasn’t surprised Calder was the reason she’d called me in, but I’d hoped it was for more. “Hopefully he’s having a better time than he was last night.”

She gave me a wide-eyed look. “He was sicker than a dog when I stopped by. It was a miracle I got out of there without vomit on me. He asked about you though—well, not you exactly, but the girl who jumped on his back and took an elbow to the head. Apparently, he thought he killed you.”

I cracked a laugh then, the corner of my eyebrow throbbing. If you looked beneath the curls framing my face, and the concealer I’d dabbed on, you’d see a bruise blooming. Otherwise, I was fine. “Hopefully you told him I was okay.”

“I might’ve let him panic for a minute or two. It’s good for him.” She smiled, and I would’ve returned it, had I not thought of what Nolan said last night. How Calder deserved more. My stomach twisted with nerves, the words nearly bubbling out of me when she said, “I still have a bit of cleanup to do, but if you hadn’t intervened, I’m positive there would’ve been an even bigger mess for me this morning, so thank you for making my job easier. And just so you know, I told the other agents about the initiative you took, and they were impressed. So much so, Asher promised me he’d mention you to the CEO when she comes in later this week. ”

“Oh.” My voice was flat, and somewhere in the back of my mind, it occurred to me I should be jumping up and down, preening beneath her praise. But no matter how I tried to convince myself, I didn’t think this was worth celebrating. “Thank you . . . I’m glad I could help.”

She snorted. “You did more than help. After the last meeting I had with Calder’s general manager, it’s a miracle he’s still on the team. So seriously, thank you. Calder and I both owe you one.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. In fact, the more Evelyn mentioned it, the less I felt like I’d done anything to help at all. A week ago, or even before last night, I would’ve thought I did the right thing. But now . . . all I could think of was Nolan. Of all people, he should have been the one to understand why I was doing this. Why I was desperate to right my wrongs. Except he didn’t understand. And that alone was making me question everything. Especially when he’d looked me in the eye and told me he didn’t blame me.

But if he didn’t blame me... then why had our past ended the way it did? Why didn’t we cling to one another? Why had he looked at me with such regret and like he didn’t recognize me? And if he didn’t blame me, why had he asked for space and broken our promise—

Evelyn’s phone rang, and I breathed through a rush of nausea, grateful to be pulled from those moments. Seeing the time, I mouthed goodbye and stood, only to pause at the door. Once she was off the phone, I said, “Hey, Evelyn... I know it’s kind of a long shot, but do you happen to have a client who’d be interested in flying to Arizona?”

She raised her brows, giving me a look like I was crazy. But she must’ve decided to entertain me. “What were you thinking?”

I nibbled on the inside of my lip—I’d never actually expected she’d hear me out. But if she was, I needed to make sure my shot was worth it. “Well, one of the teachers at the high school in my hometown was looking for someone to come in and talk to the kids, give them a little bit of motivation and kind of bridge that gap between reality and dream . . . But more than that, it turns out their funds are being slashed, and they’ll likely have to cut some of the sports programs. It’s a small town, so options are already limited, and for a lot of these kids, sports are everything. I was thinking we could do a fundraiser, something to at least support them for another year?”

As soon as I said it aloud, I realized it didn’t matter what she decided; I would do something. I’d seen firsthand how sports, extracurricular activities in general, could be an anchor for someone. But it didn’t hurt when Evelyn said, “I like it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We’re always looking for more ways to give back outside our community.” I smiled, unable to contain my excitement. I didn’t care if Evelyn was agreeing solely because she felt she owed me; I was grateful for her support at all. “And you know what? This would be the perfect opportunity for Calder.”

I furrowed my brows. Did I have a concussion after all? “It would?”

“Yeah, it’s great. We’ll have to plan for it to be in a few weeks—Calder has a free weekend coming up. But let’s think bigger than a little fundraiser.” Her eyes seemed to dance, a plan unraveling before I could try and stop it. “What about a carnival? There can be games, rides, raffles. Wallowpine’s a little hick town, right? We could do tractor pulls! And everything we make we’ll donate to the school’s sports program. Oh—make sure to contact some local news program. We’ll want to make sure they get good coverage of Calder. And I know I can trust you to keep him in line . . .” She trailed off, and it wasn’t until it was silent that I realized I was frowning. “If you don’t like something, you can tell me.”

“I like it,” I hurried to say, not wanting her to think I was ungrateful. I scratched at my temple, my tone careful. “It’s just . . . Is Calder a good idea? He’s not exactly who I had in mind.”

“I see.” She leaned back in her chair, letting out a deep breath. Feeling like I’d crossed a line, I opened my mouth to apologize, but stopped as she said, “You’re not alone in thinking that. Between you and me, I’ve had to fight the agency from terminating Calder’s contract two separate times. Every agent here thinks I’m crazy for it. Tells me he’s not worth the trouble.” She lifted a shoulder. “If he were anyone else, I would’ve dropped him by the tenth headache. But Calder’s the first client I ever signed—I’ve had him since he was on the farm teams. We’ve had years together, a lot of those more down than up. Everyone thinks I should give up on him . . . but I can’t. I care about him. I just know he’s capable of more.”

My eyes burned, not only because of the conviction in her voice, but how her words rang true throughout me. I understood all too well what she meant. I knew the desperation she felt, not wanting to give up on someone she cared deeply about. I could only pray she’d do more for Calder than I’d done for Nolan. I hoped she was enough in ways I hadn’t been.

After I told her I’d see Calder in Wallowpine, Evelyn said, “This is going to be good for everyone—especially you. If you pull this off, I don’t see how there’s any way you aren’t an agent here within the month, Indy.”

Her confidence should’ve been the boost I needed. I’d been waiting for some sort of surety as to what my future looked like. But as I urged the cab driver to go faster, and all but ran through baggage claim and airport security with Genny in tow, I’d never felt more off-kilter in my life. When I finally arrived at my gate and saw Nolan waiting for me to board the flight, I didn’t feel entirely lost.

And wasn’t that a scary thought.