Say You're Mine (The Gallaghers Book 1) Layla Hagen (the unexpected everything .txt) 📖

Chapter SixteenIsabelle

“The town is lovely,” I exclaimed a while later as Donna, Jana, and I headed to the general store. We were in Donna’s red Chevrolet truck, driving down Main Street, where you could find everything from a hair salon to a pharmacy and a Goodwill store. The security company Sasha hired was tailing us, of course. I didn’t think it was necessary, but it seemed to make Brayden happy.

The buildings were all wooden, painted in different colors. I’d called shotgun the moment I saw the truck. Jana was sitting in the back.

“Jana and I both studied in Boston but then came back home after graduating,” Donna said. “I’m a programmer, so I can write code from anywhere.”

“And I’m a chemistry teacher. Always wanted to come back to teach at the local high school. We’re small-town girls through and through.”

“I understand,” I said. “I grew up in Montana in a town half the size of Blue Falls. Can’t say I’ve ever wanted to go back though. I like to go there to visit my parents, but that’s it. I like big cities. I used to live in Philly before moving to New York.”

“We know,” Jana said. “It was all there in your LinkedIn profile.”

“We’re sorry if this is creepy. We were curious about you,” Donna said.

Donna stopped the truck in front of a small pink house with a black roof and the sign “General Store” on it. It looked very quaint and cute, but the main entrance was closed. There was a paper glued to it: “Out for lunch.” It didn’t say when they were coming back. There were three huge boxes next to the main entrance labeled “Party Supplies.”

I smiled. You only saw this in small towns. Donna, Jana, and I each grabbed a box, carrying them to the back of the truck. They were easy enough.

“Do we need to pick up anything else?” I asked.

Donna shook her head. “Nah, Esther got the cake this morning. We can pick up some ice cream though. That’ll fill us with energy while we put up the decorations.” She winked.

“I’m always up for ice cream,” I declared.

We tossed around our favorite flavors, and then Jana pointed with her thumb over her shoulder. “I’ll go to the bakery real quick and grab a few pints of Ben & Jerry’s. You two wait here.”

Donna and I closed the back of the truck, climbing into the front seats.

“So, when am I getting those saucy stories? I suspect the drive back is our only chance.”

“You’re right. Let’s wait for Jana to come. She’ll want to be part of this.”

***

Five minutes later, we were on our way back to the house. We’d each opened a tiny pint of Ben & Jerry’s, eating it with the small plastic spoons Jana got at the bakery.

“So we were literally terrifying our neighbors. You know those Halloween costumes people get scared of? We sometimes put them on for no reason,” Donna said.

“At the beginning of high school, he wasn’t that popular, but then he had a growth spurt and his guitar skills were insane, and suddenly everyone wanted to date him,” Jana added.

“Do you happen to have pictures of him before that growth spurt?” I asked.

Donna nodded. “Sure thing. Why?”

“You never know when one might need blackmail material.”

“Well, I don’t have any on my phone, but I’ll dig some up,” Donna assured me.

“Oh, this is going to come in so handy. Just in case he needs cheering up sometimes. Or a reminder not to take everything seriously,” I said.

“He told us a while back that reporters were sniffing around.”

I nodded, sighing. “Yes, it’s been a bit weird. And I even had to pause my tour guiding activity for a while. I mean... I didn’t have to. The agency wants me to continue, especially because tourists were asking to be assigned to my group after the press made my name public. I was in the middle of a tour when the first pics came out, at least the ones where I was recognizable. It felt so uncomfortable, having them stare at me and asking personal questions.”

“No kidding,” Donna murmured. “That would be very uncomfortable.”

“I can’t believe he’s actually here,” Jana added.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Last time he came here, things were mad. It was at the height of their fame, when they’d released a hit,” Donna said.

Jana moved to the edge of her seat. “We went to the general store to pick up some supplies, and this huge group of people followed us. It was insane. When they saw Brayden, they started to literally walk all over each other to get to him.”

Donna drummed her fingers on the wheel. “I think he feels guilty about that, probably thinks he’s putting us at risk if he comes here.” She glanced sideways at me, and the corner of her lips lifted in a smile. “So thanks for talking him into coming to Esther’s birthday.”

“Oh... how did you—”

“Know?” Donna asked. “Just an educated guess. You’re good for him. Who knows, maybe you’ll even convince him to come home for Christmas.”

My stomach bottomed out. “I don’t think that will happen. I mean, he and I sort of agreed that we’ll only see each other until his world tour starts.” It was the first time I was saying it out loud, and I felt so hollow.

Jana smiled. “From the way he looks at you, I don’t think he’s going to let you go anytime soon.”

I smiled back but didn’t reply. I pressed a hand to my belly, trying to make that hollow feeling disappear.

***

Back at the house, we found everyone in a part of the yard I hadn’t noticed before. Brayden, his father, and two other guys were putting up some poles. A gray tarp hung between two of them.

“I’m Jerry,” one of the men said as we approached the group. The other introduced himself as Hank.

“Girls, are you going to help or just stay there and watch us?” Brayden asked.

“We’ll watch,” Donna exclaimed.

“I’m on board with