Page 23 of Owl’s Cherished Mate

My thumb hovered over his name in my contacts. I’d told myself I’d never use it when he gave it to me. Yet, here I was.

It was almost one in the morning, though. He was probably asleep. Normal people were asleep at this hour.

Even so, I called him.

It rang once.

Twice.

He picked up on the third ring, and his voice came through clear and alert—not groggy or annoyed.

“Bonnie?”

One word. My name. That was all it took for whatever had been holding me together to uncoil.

“Gray.” My voice was barely a whisper. “Lawson’s gone. We got into another argument, and he walked out. I don’t know where he is.”

Barely a heartbeat passed.

“I’ll help you look for him. What’s your address? I’ll come pick you up.”

10

GRAY

Iwas out the door in sixty seconds. The Hemingway I’d been reading sat abandoned on my armchair, its pages fanned open to a story I’d not be finishing tonight. I locked my apartment and took the stairs two at a time to the street where my truck was parked.

The drive to Bonnie’s house took fifteen minutes. It would have taken longer if I’d followed the speed limit, which I didn’t.

She was standing on the front porch when I pulled into the driveway. The porch light was on behind her, and in its glow, she looked smaller than usual. Her braid was half undone, and loose strands framed her face. She walked to my truck and climbed into the passenger seat without a word.

My owl registered her presence with an awareness that settled in my chest like a second heartbeat.

“Tell me where to go,” I said. “I kept an eye out on my way here, but didn’t spot anyone walking.”

“He’s probably at Darren’s place. It’s on the east side of town,” she said.

I pulled out of the driveway and headed in that direction. The streets were empty at this hour. Driftwood Cove at one in the morning looked like a town that had been put to sleep, and the two of us were the only ones still moving through it.

“What happened?” I asked, hoping she didn’t mind.

“He wasn’t home when I got back from the library. I went to check this app I’ve been using to track his phone, but realized it was in his room. Don’t judge me for tracking him.”

“I’m not.”

“Thanks.” She swallowed hard. “I had no idea where he was. He walked in around twelve thirty. He was pissed already, and there was something in his backpack. It sounded heavy and maybe metal. When I tried to see what it was, he grabbed it and wouldn’t let me look. Everything blew up even more from there.”

“What do you think was in the bag?”

“I don’t know. Tools, maybe. Or something he took from somewhere. He got really defensive about it.”

The implication hung in the air between us. Whatever Lawson was doing with Darren and Cade, it had moved past hanging out and smoking weed.

“He told me they’re more family than I am,” she said with a scoff. “How am I supposed to compete with that?”

“You’re not competing. You’re his sister.”

“He doesn’t want a sister. He wants someone who didn’t abandon him, and I can’t undo anything from the past.” Her voice cracked. “I’m losing him, Gray. I can feel it. Every day he pulls a little further away, and I don’t know how to stop it.”