Love Next Door (Lakeside #1) by Helena Hunting

A huge bonfire has been set in the middle of the beach, with half a birch tree laid across it. Sparks spit in the air, beautiful and dangerous. A large group of people has congregated there, so I avoid it and stay close to the shore.

It takes me a good half hour to find Tawny and Allie, mostly because I only make it about five feet before I’m stopped by people I know. Some fish for information about Billy, most are surprised to see me back, but I feel . . . welcomed. Almost comfortable with how everyone seems to greet me, as if I’d gone on an extended vacation and eventually decided to come home.

I finally make it over to Tawny, who as promised is by the old docks.

“I thought you got here half an hour ago?” Tawny says, handing me an insulated coffee mug.

“What’s this?” I sniff the contents.

“Vodka and cran, light on the cran.”

I take a sip and fight a cough. “You’re not kidding. Where’s Allie?”

“She’s breaking the seal.”

“Already? She’ll be peeing every half hour.”

Tawny lifts one shoulder in a shrug. “That’s what I said, but you know what she’s like. Tommy mentioned having to pee, and that was it: she couldn’t hold it anymore.”

I shake my head on a laugh. “Nothing ever changes, does it?”

“Not really. Except for the receding hairlines, beer bellies, and stretch marks, as far as I can tell.”

The sun is disappearing, only a sliver of it visible through the thick layers of low-hanging clouds. “Looks like a storm might be rolling in.”

“Yeah. The weather forecast is looking grim tonight, which is why we figured it was a good idea to come early. Besides, you know how it is. The underagers always show up around eleven, and then things get shut down because they’re too loud and create a ruckus.”

“We used to be those underagers,” I point out.

She clinks her insulated mug against mine. “Weren’t those the good old days?”

“They were. Except on those occasions when Tucker couldn’t keep his dick out of whatever girl caught his eye that night.”

Tawny makes a face. “Not much has changed there.”

“Not much has changed about what?” Allie appears from out of nowhere and scares the crap out of both of us. She’s stunning, all long legs and dark hair, full lips, and a smile that lights up any room. But she’s not smiling now. “Wow, you showed. Gotta say, I half expected you to stand us up like you’ve been doing for the past decade.” Allie arches an eyebrow, and her pursed lips disappear behind her thermal mug as she takes a sip of her drink.

“Allie, come on.” Tawny has always been the peacekeeper of the group. Maybe to a fault.

“It’s okay.” I hold up a hand. “Allie’s right. I’ve been a crappy friend, and there isn’t an excuse that’s good enough to explain why I’ve dodged everyone I know for the past decade.”

“Why dodge us at all, though? I don’t get it. We were all so tight for so long, and then, poof.” She snaps her fingers. “You were just . . . gone.” Underneath the anger is hurt.

And I realize that hurt is one of the reasons I ghosted people for so long. I knew Tawny would let it go, but Allie has always been confrontational. Not one to back down from a fight, she lays it all out, and I never gave her a chance to do that, because then I would’ve had to come to terms with the fact that I was a bad friend.

“I was afraid of this,” I admit, motioning between us.

“What is this, exactly?” Allie’s eyes shift away, focusing on some point in the distance.

“Knowing that I hurt you both when I left and didn’t come back. I wanted to start over, but I did miss you both so much.”

“So why ghost us, then? That doesn’t make sense.”

“Not to you, but to me it did. I was afraid if I held on to the people who made this place bearable, then I’d never be able to stay away. I didn’t want to get sucked back in. I didn’t want to end up stuck here.”

Allie huffs. “Is it really so bad here?”

“No. Yes. To eighteen-year-old me, it was. I needed to leave. And I felt like the only way to do that was to cut ties to this place. But looking back, I know it was wrong. And here I am, back in Pearl Lake.”

“I thought it was something we’d done, or that you were embarrassed because we’re too country and you became all citified.”

“Oh my God, no, Allie. I missed the hell out of you two. It was everything else I was trying to get away from that was the problem. I’m sorry if I made you think it was you.”

She pulls me in for a hug. “You’re forgiven. As long as you don’t ghost us for another decade again.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

She releases me and steps back. This time her smile is real. “It’s good to have you home, Dee. We missed having you around; the Terror Trifecta isn’t as effective with just the two of us.”

“It’s really good to be here.” And I genuinely mean it. The good outweighs the bad.





CHAPTER 12

CONNECTED DOTS

Dillion

The three of us sit on one of the big rocks near the water—they’re as uncomfortable as I remember—observing the party from the sidelines, just like old times. Half hall monitor, half voyeur. I scan the beach, looking for my brother. I find him close to the campfire, laughing boisterously with a group of guys.