"No! Just get out! I don't want you anywhere near this house again! Stay away from us!" she screamed.

Her voice faltered and I made a move to give her a hug. I knew she was hurting and just lashing out at me. It was a kill the messenger scenario.

"Get out! Now!"

She pointed at the door and I realized she needed some time to cool down. I turned away and made my way back to my truck. Tomorrow she would come to her senses about having me around. She would change her mind. I was sure of it.

FIVE.

Mallory.

The house phone rang an hour after I kicked Luke out of the house. I sat at the kitchen table feeling sorry for myself and spiraling into a depression about my dad, who apparently had been sick for a long time. It wasn't fair. I missed out on so much time with him. I figured he wanted to protect me, but I should have known, d.a.m.n it! I deserved to know. I sighed. My anger wouldn't help him now. Or me.

"h.e.l.lo?" I said into the receiver of what had to be the very last rotary phone in the whole country. My dad sure liked antiques.

"Mallory? It's Gabriella Peterman," she said in a high-pitched voice.

"Hey, Gabby. How are you?" I asked politely. I sniffed and looked around impatiently for a tissue.

"Oh, you know, living the life of a small town gal. But I wanted to check in on you. I know you and your dad were close," she said as though he were already dead.

"We still are close," I stressed, though given the fact that he hadn't told me about his cancer, it might not be as true as I hoped.

"Of course! I didn't mean any disrespect. I was actually wondering if you wanted to go get a beer with me at The Landing?"

The Landing was the local bar, a place I'd only been to once when I tried to sneak in with a fake ID. It had been an interesting night. I wasn't exactly in the mood for a night at the bar, but I also didn't want to be alone. Gabby was the lesser of two evils.

"Sure, what time do you want to meet?" I asked.

"The band starts at nine, but if we get there early, we won't have to pay the cover charge," she said with a laugh. "How about half-past eight?"

I glanced at my watch. That gave me almost an hour to get ready. "Perfect. I'll see you there," I said.

Maybe a night of indulgence would help ease the pain my whole body experienced today.

I took a quick shower and managed to make myself not look too bad. My jeans were snug and the blue tank top I threw on was perfect for a night out. I put on some light makeup, including waterproof mascara, just in case I had a mental breakdown and started to cry again. It was entirely possible. My hair was wavy and long, in need of a cut. I found some black pumps in my duffel and strapped them on, determined to look like I hadn't just been given the worst news of my life. After a quick glance in the mirror, I grabbed my purse and headed to the bar.

Even a half hour before the band was supposed to start, the place was packed. I had to park in the parking lot across the street. There were a number of people loitering on the outdoor deck of The Landing. Most of them had a cigarette attached to the end of their fingertips. I steered away from them and toward the bouncer checking IDs.

The muscled guy at the door looked me up and down before asking for my ID. I handed it to him and couldn't shake the feeling that I knew him. I couldn't place him, though.

"Mallory Wells?" he said in awe.

I must have known him at some point. His blonde hair was cropped short and his gray eyes were eerily familiar.

"Yes," I raised my brow at him, hoping he would clue me in.

"I'm Chris Baker!" he exclaimed.

I was shocked. Gone was the lanky twenty-year-old kid and a hot, older, more beefed up version of him stood before me.

"Baker!" I said, not certain if I was happy to see him, given he'd been best friends with Luke three years ago. I wasn't sure how he would feel about seeing me, either.

When his arms wrapped around me in a bear hug of epic proportions, I figured he was glad to see me. He lifted me off the ground and swung around in a full circle before he set me on my feet again.

"It's so good to see you, Mal." He smiled and handed me back my ID and then led me into the bar to a tall table in the back.

Gabby was already seated. She shuffled off her stool when she saw me and gave me a huge hug. "Mallory! I can't believe you're back," she crooned. "You look absolutely fantastic. Boston has been good to you."

"Thanks, you look good, too," I said.

It was true. Gabby had been head cheerleader in high school and how she and I ended up being friends, I never really knew. One day she was just there and she didn't leave. I wasn't complaining, though. Once upon a time, I'd been a perky, high-spirited girl, too. Reality had changed me.

"Sit down, you have to tell me about Boston," she declared, shooing Baker away.

He made a face at her and I laughed but he mumbled under his breath and then walked back to his post at the door.

"What do you want to drink?"

"Umm, whatever. I'm not picky," I said. I wasn't that comfortable, not in the bar, and not with Gabby. I needed liquid courage to face talking with someone I hadn't seen, or even thought about in years. "Whatever you're having."

"It's a Bahama Mama. Jimmy! Two more Mama's," she shouted to the bartender. "So! How's life in Boston? Is it glamorous?"

Glamorous? Not a word I would use to describe my crazy world. But I didn't want to dash her hopes for a life outside of Casper.

"It's pretty amazing. The nightlife is insane. On my twenty-first birthday, a bunch of the girls at school took me out to bar hop. I don't think I've ever been that hung over," I laughed.

She raised her brow at me. "Really? More hung over than Sam's house party junior year?"

I'd forgotten about that night. "Oh, man, if we're going down memory lane, I need to have a drink first," I said.

Like magic, Jimmy appeared at our table and handed me my Bahama Mama. I sucked down a bit and murmured my thanks.

"As I recall," Gabby started, "You were all by your lonesome that night, since Luke was visiting his grandparents up north. You drank an entire bottle of tequila and then threw up all over Sam's bathroom. Baker had to take you home and when he called Luke, you were p.i.s.sed." She laughed and I joined in, remembering that night.

Luke had given me h.e.l.l and forbade me to ever drink alcohol again. Even though thoughts of Luke made me feel a little down, the memory was one of our good ones. We laughed so hard we were nearly crying. I remembered now why I was friends with Gabby. She was hilarious.

"Okay, let's get down to business," she announced, her words only slightly slurred.

I was almost ready for my second drink and feeling the effects. It had been awhile since I'd had a drink, probably since my birthday, several months back.

"'Down to business?' Is this an official meeting?" I asked as Jimmy brought us another round.

"Kind of. Everyone knows Luke had dinner with you and your dad tonight. Did anything happen?"

She wanted gossip. The joys of a small town.

"No. I guess he's been hanging out with Dad a lot, so it was only natural for him to keep that up. But I'm here now, so he won't be around," I said.

"It's a small town, Mal."

"Yeah. And I have made myself perfectly clear to him. He needs to stay away from Dad and me. Can we talk about something else?" I was dying to change the subject. "Why haven't you married some local and settled down with babies yet?"

"I was married two and a half years ago, Mal," she said, her voice drenched with sadness. "We're in the process of a divorce."

"I had no idea, Gabby. I am so sorry," I said. Apparently I wasn't the only one drowning my sorrows in liquor. I raised my gla.s.s. "To divorce!"

Our gla.s.ses clinked but before we could drink, another voice joined ours.

"Don't tell me you girls are already hammered without me! And toasting Gabby's impending divorce, no less," the woman said.

I took in her dark hair and eyes, her high cheekbones and shimmering smile. It took me a minute to place her.

"Rainey?"

I was shocked. Not only was she no longer the chubby high school girl I remembered, she was the hottest girl in the bar. Her waist was slim and she had on a summery dress that revealed her long legs underneath. Her eyes were caked with make-up, though, which indicated dark circles.

"You didn't think I wouldn't show for your homecoming party, did you?"

She gave me a hug and went over to the bar to discuss her drink selection with Jimmy. She returned with a Bahama Mama and sipped it as she sat.

"I thought you were living in LA," I said numbly.

My two best friends from high school were both in town celebrating ... My homecoming? I hoped they didn't think this would become permanent.

"I'm on vacation. Mom's been pressuring me to visit, so when she mentioned you were coming home, I figured I should make an appearance. Get the whole gang together, you know," she remarked.

She was a far cry from the shy girl in my memories.

"Wow. It's so great to catch up with the two of you. But I should tell you, I'm not here forever. My roommates are holding my bedroom in our apartment." I didn't want them to get too excited about my presence.

"Well, yeah, we figured. But if you're here for the summer, it's good enough for me," Gabby said.

"No kidding. I'm only here for the weekend, but I am thinking about moving back to town on a more permanent basis," Rainey whispered.

Gabby perked up. "Ooh, gossip! Why are you coming back?"

"Oh, you know, tired of the city life. I need to get back to who I really am. Everyone in LA is so fake. It's hard to take sometimes," she admitted.

I raised my gla.s.s again. "To Gabby's divorce and Rainey's move back home!"

I clinked my gla.s.s against theirs and felt true happiness and friendship for the first time in years.

My roommates in Boston were great. They were considerate and clean, but they weren't my best friends. The truth was, I didn't have a best friend anymore. There wasn't anyone I could talk to about my father, about my past with Luke, about anything. As I sat there listening to Gabby and Rainey go on about their lives, I realized how much I missed the small-town life. I never thought I would, but the ache for being a part of this world again hounded me.

I sipped my c.o.c.ktail and stayed silent, happy not to draw attention to myself. Gabby and Rainey rambled on about what had been going on in town and who was dating who for nearly an hour. I listened intently, certain the conversation would eventually turn back to me. Around ten, the conversation turned to our love lives.

"So, Rainey, do you have a guy back in LA?" Gabby asked.

"Uh, that's a no. Aside from buff Hollywood movie stars, of whom I haven't met a single one, by the way, men in LA are kind of ... feminine. And I don't just mean the gay ones. It's weird," Rainey replied.

I laughed. "Guess you'll be looking for the strong, silent type once you're back for good."

Her shocked expression was priceless. "You think I'd rather have some small town hick? No thanks. For the time being, I am perfectly happy being single," she said. Her eyes met someone else's across the bar and I turned around to see whom. She put a hand on my arm to stop me. "You don't want to do that, Mal. It's Luke."

I groaned.

"I thought he was staying away from you?" Gabby asked.

"It's not like I posted a sign that I would be here. He probably just came to see the band," I said, unconvinced.

News traveled fast and Luke could have easily found out that the girls and I were at The Landing. I was already on my fifth drink and I was pretty sure I wasn't even sitting on my stool straight. It was hard to tell.

"Just ignore him. We're having a good time and hopefully he'll leave us alone," I a.s.sured them.

"Oh, s.h.i.t!" Gabby exclaimed, her eyes glued to the place I figured Luke was standing somewhere behind me. "He's got Carrie Williams with him."

"Who's Carrie Williams?" I asked as I tried to push down the pang of jealousy that ripped through my chest.

"His girlfriend," Gabby informed me.

Girlfriend? The guy who almost kissed me just that afternoon had a girlfriend? Oh, I couldn't wait to rub it in his face. What a two-timing a.s.shole. I knew exactly how to get under his skin, too.

"Did I mention Luke almost kissed me today?" I asked Gabby and Rainey with a smirk.

Time to kick up some of my own gossip, I thought. The drinks made me bold. And reckless.

"What?" they both exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was at the hospital. He pulled me into an empty room and came this," I spread my thumb and forefinger apart less than half an inch, "Close to kissing me. It was crazy."

"What an a.s.s," Rainey said.

"Someone should tell Carrie who she's getting involved with," Gabby muttered with a slight slur. Her buzz was affecting her judgment.

"We should tell her!" Rainey blurted.

"Carrie!" Gabby waved her arms at Carrie across the bar and gestured for her to come to our table.

I didn't turn around, afraid that if I saw Luke's expression, I might burst out laughing, so I sipped more of my drink and stayed quiet.