Page 65 of Summer Ride

Most of them were about what had happened when they’d returned from the pizzeria. Some covered her past relationship with Axel. But after she mentioned that she’d been kidnapped, they stopped asking about the past and focused on recent events.

By the time they were done answering questions, the sun was fully up and she was too tired to move.

As Carter walked the police officers out, he informed them that they would be cutting their vacation short and returning home that day. He gave them Brett’s number and told them that if they needed to answer any more questions, that they could arrange to go into the local station in Pelican Point instead of returning down here.

After the officers left, Carter turned off all the outside lights, shut the blinds, and led her to the bedroom again.

She didn’t even remove the hoodie or sweats when they climbed into bed together.

He tucked her body into his, making sure not to bump her casted arm.

“Is he really gone?” she asked against his chest.

“Yes, he’s gone.” Carter ran his fingers through her hair. “Sleep. We’ll leave after a few hours of sleep.”

It was almost noon when they woke up to Carter’s phone ringing. When he rolled over, she heard him groan.

“It’s my parents.” He answered the call. She realized there were several messages on her phone as well. She sat up as she glanced at her phone, wincing with the pain of just breathing.

Her knuckles were black and blue and so swollen that she had a difficult time holding her phone.

She opened a group text message from Zoey, Elle, Hannah, Scarlett, and Aubrey and smiled.

“I guess the news is out,” Carter said to her after he listened to his mother talk for a moment.

“They’re coming here,” she told him. Then a new message hit her phone and she relaxed back. “They’re all coming here. They say that they’re five minutes away.” She sat up suddenly and looked down at herself.

“Who is they?” Carter asked after telling his mother to hang on.

“Everyone.” She showed him the screen.

Carter frowned at the screen, then smiled after he read the last text message. “Mom, I’ll call you back later. The good news is, we’re okay. The better news is, we have some really amazing and crazy friends that will be here in a few minutes.”

By the time five carloads of their friends arrived, she had changed into shorts and a T-shirt, with the help of Carter, who had then quickly cleaned up any mess they’d made in the living and kitchen areas.

They were both greeted with many hugs as all of their friends and coworkers climbed out of their cars.

“We heard on the news this morning that Axel was dead and then Brett here found out the rest and filled us in on what happened,” Zoey said quickly as she hugged Carter.

“Look at you,” Lea cried as she ran her eyes over her face. Then she wrapped her arms gently around Kara. “Are you okay?” She leaned back and ran her eyes over both of them.

“We’re alive,” Carter answered with a nod. “But we were going to head home today.”

“And cut your vacation short?” Elle shook her head in disapproval. “No, we couldn’t let you do that.”

“It’s kind of you, but I just don’t think…” Kara started, holding up her casted arm.

“You know the old adage about falling off a horse?” Scarlett interrupted her. “How you’re supposed to get right back up? Well, we’re here to help you do that. To get your mind off of… well…”

“Everything,” Lea finished.

“Right,” Zoey said cheerfully. “What are friends for if we can’t be here when you need us?”

“If you all are here, who’s watching the camp?” Kara asked.

Zoey laughed and waved her hand. “We have plenty of people to cover for us. Besides, this is more important. This place is one of your favorite happy spots. We’re damned if we’re going to let something ruin it for you both,” Zoey said.

“So we figured we’d bring the party down here,” Hannah said.