Page 71 of Quarter Miles (Runaway 3)

Son of a bitch. Where had she gone? She couldn’t have gotten far, but I was without wheels and unsure of the direction to head.

“Is there anything else I can assist you with?” the clerk asked.

“No, thanks.” I bent and picked up my bag, only to turn back again. “Is there a rental car place in town?”

“Yes.” He took a sheet of paper from beneath the counter—a map. Staring at it upside down, he circled the destination and used a highlighter to mark directions from the hotel.

“Thanks again.” I took the map and wasted no time walking the five blocks to the rental place.

It took another thirty minutes to rent a car. People in Heron Beach didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry. The nervous energy I was emitting didn’t inspire them to work with much urgency either. Finally, with the keys to a black SUV in my hand, I loaded up my bag and got behind the wheel.

But where was I going?

Kat and Aria hadn’t returned a call or text, so I made a different call instead, bracing because I knew it was going to sting. I sucked in a deep breath as the phone rang and when my mother’s voice answered, I blew it out in a shaky stream.

“Hello! I was wondering when you’d call.”

“Hey, Mom.”

“Uh-oh. What’s wrong?”

There was no hiding anything from Liddy Greer. At least, not if you were her son. “I fucked up, Mom. I need your help.”

“I’m listening.”

I spewed the story in a rambled rush. Mom stayed quiet on the line as I spoke, and replaying the story, hearing my own words again, was nearly as bad as having to confess it to Kat.

“Cash.” She was shaking her head at me. I didn’t need to see it to know. “You fucked up.”

“I know.” It wasn’t often that Mom said fuck, or any variation. For her to curse, I hadn’t just fucked up, I’d done it royally. “I can’t find her. She’s not answering my calls, and I can’t lose her like this.”

“Maybe you should.”

I flinched. “What?”

“Maybe you need to let her go. I know she’s your friend and you care about her. But son—”

“I’m in love with her.”

My declaration was met with a deafening hush. Wouldn’t Mom want us together? Maybe I didn’t deserve Kat, especially after all I’d done to hurt her, but damn it, I’d spend the rest of my life righting my years of wrongs.

“Mom,” I whispered. “Please.”

“You’re sure you love her?”

“Took me a while to figure it out but she’s the one.”

Mom sniffled.

“What? Why is that wrong?”

“Oh, it’s not wrong. It’s just about damn time.” She laughed. “What can I do?”

I sighed. “She won’t take my calls and I don’t know where she’s at.”

“Okay. Let me see what I can do,” Mom said, then ended the call.

Waiting and sitting idle was not an option, so I started the rental car and pulled up my GPS app.