Goodbye Secrets (The Lost & Found Series book #2)
Read Goodbye Secrets (The Lost & Found Series book #2) Online
Authors: Jacquelyn Ayres
Tags: #The Lost & Found Series Book Two
GOODBYE SECRETS
JACQUELYN AYRES
Copyright © 2014 Jacquelyn Ayres
Cover Design: Wicked by Design
Stock Photo: Deposit Photos
Editor: Jess Huckins
Formatting: Self Publishing Editing Service
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the Author/Publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
To all of the readers who fell in love with my characters, thank you so much for boarding this crazy train and wanting to stay on.
Your love, support, and excitement fills my heart to capacity.
It’s been yet another boring day in the James household! I feel so nervous heading back to New Hampshire. I miss Claudia and Rocco. I miss my business. I wish I could see Hazel—obviously, I miss her most and I haven’t talked to her in so long. God, she’s the only mom I have. Though Susanna
has
been very nurturing. She and Grayson had a long heart-to-heart before we left. They made up and he’s been transformed into gentle and patient Grayson. This is just who I need holding my hand as I wait to be by my best friend’s side.
“When do you get your new plane, Gray?” I try to break him out of his deep thought. We are waiting for clearance to take off, and it feels like it’s been forever. But that may be because I’m anxious to get to Stacey.
“Next month. Sorry, love, I’m not all here.”
“Me neither.” I close my eyes and allow the flashbacks of our twenty-plus years of friendship.
Stacey and I were polar opposites, yet kindred spirits. We raised ourselves in every sense but on paper, and each brought our own special kind of crazy to the table. We were the dynamic duo going through life back to back, fighting one battle at a time. We thought we were awesome. Hell, we
were
awesome!
She was always the flirtatious one, never without a boyfriend and a backup just in case. I was always the smart-mouthed one, because I wasn’t comfortable in my skin enough to flirt and, well, why bother? I was waiting for Joe McIntyre. Ugh! Mental head slap! When I did date, I kept my boyfriends at arm’s length and they never lasted longer than a month with me. Of course, this somehow created in them some sort of obsession with me. That whole “wanting what you can’t have” sort of thing, I guess. It took the guy I lost my virginity to eight years of playing cat and mouse before he finally got into my pants.
Eight years!
Grayson suddenly bursts into a fit of laugher, pulling me out of my memories.
“What?” I ask him.
“Nothing, sweetheart.” He bites his lower lip to stop. “I was just thinking about an article I read earlier. It wouldn’t be funny to you.” He shakes his head, indicating I should dismiss any idea of further inquiry. I shrug indifferently and go back to my thoughts.
Humph ... it only took Grayson three days, I think. Or was it two? I’ll go with three; it makes me feel less whorish. It was, however, the longest three days ever!
George was obsessed. And Ray, Will ... Grayson. I think I’ve formed a solid pattern here. Only trouble is, I really don’t know how or why. What is it about me?
“Sweetheart? What the hell are you thinking about?” Grayson stretches his neck to peer where I am staring. “What are you looking at?”
“I’m pondering.” I lay my head back and close my eyes again.
“What are you pondering?” I sense him shifting in his seat.
“Well, I’ve been sitting here thinking about Stacey and me through the years, how flirty she always was. She was never without a boyfriend. While mostly, by my choice, I was. However, I was never without someone obsessed with me. It’s the first time I’m realizing the quite solid pattern. I have no clue why ... it’s a bit annoying.” I hear Grayson laughing again, but mostly to himself. I open my eyes and catch him shaking his head. “What’s so funny now?”
“I just realized I’ve joined the ranks of those other poor bastards! I’ve never been obsessed with any woman in my life ... well, besides my mother,” he adds thoughtfully. I cringe.
“Eww ... is it a weird mom thing?”
“Oh God, Becca, no! That’s absurd; I’ve never had an indecent thought about my mother! You, on the other hand, sweetheart—my thoughts are very naughty when it comes to you.” He flashes me a wicked grin.
“Yeah, I don’t get it ... really.” I try to shake off the thought because, well, why bother?
“And therein lies part of the allure that is Becca Campbell,” he murmurs, mostly to himself.
My thoughts refocus on Stacey. All of the stupid shit we did as kids. Our first apartment together. Our first grown-up jobs. Our trips. Our talks. Grayson just sits back, watching me laugh, then cry, then laugh again. I share with him some of the silly shit we did.
“Becca, that’s absurd! Why would you pull up to a complete stranger’s house and honk the horn as if you were picking someone up?” I’m pretty sure he’s laughing at me because I’m in stitches with tears rolling down my face. Almost twenty years later and that prank still cracks me up.
“As Kellie Pickler says, ‘I’m just a small town girl’! You either do silly stupid shit or you do real stupid, stupid shit. Silly was more fun.” I shrug. My throat tightens up and my nose flares. “Grayson, I can’t lose my best friend. Who would I do silly, stupid shit with? She’s my sister. She’s the only person on this planet who knows everything about me. I can tell her anything. I can’t do this, Gray!” I give in and allow my emotions and tears to storm over me. “What the hell is taking so fucking long?!” I yell as I unbuckle and head toward the cockpit. I bang on the door. It opens. “Smitty! We were supposed to be up in the air half an hour ago!”