Page 60 of Off the Trail

“Well, if you don’t mind.” Before I even finish the sentence, she’s calling Misty into her car and waving goodbye.

I watch her taillights as she drives away, then look at my cell. I programmed the phone number for cabin three into my phone a few days ago.

I make the call.

Chapter 25

Shawn

I’m in the middle of brushing my teeth when the cabin phone rings. I spit and carry my still-foaming toothbrush to the main room and snatch up the phone, hoping the late call doesn’t mean bad news.

“’Lo?”

“Shawn, it’s Blaze.”

Oh. The sound of his voice soothes and makes me alert at the same time. He’s been on my mind all day.

“Hey. Hold on.” I take the phone into the bathroom, tuck the receiver against my chest while I rinse out my toothbrush.

“What’s up?”

“Just brushing my teeth.”

“Oh, it’s late. You’re going to bed.”

“No, well, yeah. What’s up? I got your note.” I perch on the edge of the mattress, remembering getting naked with Blaze on it.

“I, well, just wondered if it would be okay if I stopped by. But I’m like forty-five minutes away, and you want to sleep, so I should probably skip it.”

“Yeah. I’m going to work with the crew again tomorrow, so I do kind of need sleep,” I say, cursing the life experience that’s taught me I don’t perform well when I don’t get enough rest.

“Totally, well, I’ll let you go.”

“Wait—how did it go with your sister?” I get under the comforter and sit up against the pillows. They only change the sheets once every few days, so I imagine I can still smell Blaze and me on them.

“Good, though I just realized we didn’t talk much about the house or anything. Rocky came with us, so I got to know him a little. He seems like a good guy. Laurels fan, by the way.”

The casual reminder of my team doesn’t hurt too bad. “Mark of a discerning fellow,” I joke. “They still in it?”

“Yeah, two wins away from going to the semifinals.”

I hum. I should call Jett. Not sure why I haven’t. “Good for them,” I murmur. I mean it, but it’s still hard.

“Rocky’s into cars, too. We might go to a car show next month.”

“I’m into cars,” I say, feeling mildly jealous of the time Blaze spent with Brooke and her boyfriend. “What kind of car show?”

“Not Lamborghinis,” Blaze says with a laugh. His voice is warm in my ear, and I switch off the lamp and lie in the dark, listening to him. “Mostly classic American muscle, some trucks, maybe some vintage roadsters.”

“Sounds like fun. When is it?”

“Early November.”

“Isn’t that kind of late for a car show around here?”

“It’s a fundraiser. I think they had to reschedule from summer on account of thunderstorms.”

“We finished the subflooring today,” I say with a hint of pride.