Page 46 of Ranger Devotion

Annie couldn’t stop a burst of laughter. Heather chuckled too. Once they started, they couldn’t stop, holding each other up as they tried to muffle their amusement so as not to wake the others. Finally, the moment passed. Annie swiped at a tear on her cheek. “Oh, goodness, this is the worst vacation.”

Heather nodded. “Poor Brooke. She’s been planning for months to make this perfect, and it turned into something from a horror movie.” The last of the humor melted from her expression. “Maybe the group is cursed. I was looking forward to us all being together again, but I was wrong. Without Seth…well, we would never be whole again, would we?”

“I suppose not.” Seth had been a part of their group since the third grade. Not the beginning, but close enough.

Heather sighed and stepped back. “I should try to get some sleep. I’ve been tossing and turning most of the night.” She lifted the mug of cocoa. “Brooke made me a hot chocolate. Hopefully, I’ll be able to doze off after drinking it.”

“Sure you don’t want to stay down here with us? The air mattresses are clean, I promise.” Annie smiled. “Sleeping on one is the cherry on top of this horrible vacation.”

Heather’s lips lifted. “I’ll pass, thanks. My back can’t handle an air mattress. Too many flips during my cheerleading days. But if I feel nervous about sleeping upstairs on my own, I’ll come back down.”

“Okay.”

She shuffled off. Annie checked on the others in the lobby, lifting a silent wave to Evan, who was acting as sentry. She was grateful for his vigilance. No matter what Caleb suggested, Annie didn’t believe for a second Evan was involved in these attacks, and their interview with him had only confirmed her thoughts on the matter.

The scent of chocolate called to her, and Annie drifted into the kitchen. Brooke sat at the table in the corner. She was dressed in flannel pajamas, her hair tied up in a silk scarf. At her elbow was a half-drunk mug of hot cocoa. Brooke had unearthed a copy of their senior yearbook and was flipping through it. A tear coursed down her cheek.

Annie abandoned any notion of sweets and crossed the room to her friend, enveloping her in a hug. “Oh, honey.”

Brooke bit her lip. “Look at us. We used to be so carefree.”

She pointed to a group shot. The picture had been taken at a football game. Their faces were painted with school colors, their T-shirts handmade. Annie’s smile was wide and innocent, one arm thrown over Brooke’s shoulders, the other around Tate. His grin was infectious. Even then, he’d been terribly handsome.

Annie sank into a chair next to her friend. “We were so proud of those ridiculous shirts. Remember how stuff kept falling off them because the glue hadn’t fully dried?” Happier times. Simpler times. Before any of them knew how badly things could turn out.

“I made a mess of everything.” Brooke sniffed. “I invited everyone here because I wanted us to remember what it was like to be friends. Before everything went sideways, you know.” She gave a shuddering sigh. “I didn’t expect⁠—”

“Of course not.” She pegged her friend with a reproachful look, although it carried no real heat. “That’s why you called Tate to come, isn’t it? You wanted to fix things.”

“Not just between him and you.” Brooke swiped at her cheek. “With him and Evan too.” She reached out and turned the page. A picture of Tate and Evan on the baseball field. Their grins were wide, Tate caught mid-laugh. Annie’s heart skipped a beat. She absently touched the photo, remembering what it was like to sit in the stands and watch Tate hit a home run. He’d enchanted her. From the moment she saw him.

Young love. Puppy love.

She flipped the page and snorted. “Look at Evan.” He was dressed in a bear costume, holding a dripping ice cream cone. Some of the dessert was smeared on his face.

Brooke burst out laughing and shook her head. “He was such a goofball.” Her tone was full of affection. “Did you know he had a huge crush on me in high school? I didn’t look at him twice back then. It was only years later that I found out. To think, the love of my life was right under my nose the whole time and I didn’t realize it.”

“You guys are good together.”

“We are.” Brooke sighed and then eyed Annie with speculation. “What’s going on between you and Tate? I’ve noticed something between you guys.” She bumped Annie with her shoulder.

“Really? There’s a murderer crashing our reunion, and you want to talk about Tate.”

“Absolutely. Anything to take my mind off this nightmare.” Brooke rose from the chair, and taking her cup, went to the counter. She refreshed her hot cocoa from a pot on the stove and prepared one for Annie. “Okay, now dish.”

She squirmed in her seat. “I kissed him. And then he kissed me.”

“I knew it!” Brooke’s eyes lit up. “Evan owes me twenty bucks. Okay, and…” She waved her hand in a keep-going gesture.

“And I don’t know.” Annie took a sip of her hot cocoa, letting the warmth settle her. It was nice sitting in the kitchen with her best friend, talking about something other than murder. Brooke had been right. “Tate apologized for what happened at prom, and he says he’s not the same person. He wants the opportunity to show me how much he’s changed.”

“But you don’t want to give him a second chance?”

Annie struggled to put what she was feeling into words. “I can see he’s changed. I’d have to be blind not to. From the moment Tate arrived, he’s acted honorably. When I told him I needed honesty above all else, he went out of his way to give it. He stood with me against Preston. He was… vulnerable about his feelings, something he’d never have done in high school.”

“Totally. It was obvious Tate liked and cared about you back then, but he wouldn’t have admitted how much to anyone. Not even himself.” Brooke adjusted her headscarf. “So what’s the issue?”

“I don’t know. Something is holding me back.” She stared down into her cocoa. “I’m afraid, Brooke.”