Page 73 of Wild Highway (Runaway 2)

It wasn’t his fault. Easton was being nice to his friend and nothing he’d done tonight had been remotely flirtatious. Like a typical man, E

aston probably didn’t even know Liz had feelings for him.

This urge to scream and wail was not on him. This was my issue.

Yet another to add to my growing collection.

Tears welled in my eyes, but I swiped them away and marched to the bedroom.

I knew when it was time to leave. I’d had this same feeling at sixteen. I’d had this same feeling in Boston.

My time here was over. Montana wasn’t the place for me anymore.

So I dragged my empty suitcase from the closet.

And packed.

Chapter Fourteen

Easton

“Here, I’ll take that.” I stood from the table, collecting Liz’s empty plate to take to the kitchen along with my own.

“Oh, I can help.” She began to stand but I shook my head.

“Nah. You sit. I’ve got it.” Something was wrong with Gemma and I’d been looking for a reason to leave the dining room, but I hadn’t wanted to make it obvious.

Mom and Grandma were in the kitchen and I’d expected to find Gemma with them, but she was nowhere in sight. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Grandma took the dishes from my hand and put them in the sink. “I’m going to grab the ice cream from the freezer in the garage, Liddy. Just in case anyone wants dessert.”

“Okay.” Mom pushed the start button on the dishwasher. “I’ll get out the pies.”

As she buzzed around the kitchen, I walked into the living room, thinking Gemma had wanted a quiet moment alone, but the room was empty. Where was she?

“She’s not here.”

I turned around at Mom’s voice. “Who?”

“Gemma.” She rolled her eyes. “You two might be fooling everyone else, but I wasn’t born yesterday.”

“Oh,” I muttered.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Mom had a nose for secrets.

Cash and I had only gotten away with throwing one bonfire kegger at the ranch. She’d sniffed out all the other planning attempts and had smothered them. And she’d admitted years ago that the only reason we hadn’t been busted for the one successful party was because I’d been in college and it had been Cash’s senior year sendoff.

“Where’d she go?” I asked.

“She wasn’t feeling well.”

“What?” My gaze whipped to the window, and sure enough, the Cadillac was gone. “She’s sick?”

Gemma had been fine this morning when I’d left the cabin. I hadn’t seen her at the lodge today, but when I’d arrived here tonight, she’d appeared okay. Not that I’d outright asked her because when we were here, I didn’t talk to her. I did my best to treat her like an acquaintance. I didn’t want anyone to notice the way I looked at her, so I’d decided it was better not to glance at her in the first place.

“She said she had a headache,” Mom said.

“Since when?”