"Is it--?"
"About Julie, yes."
"I don't--"
"You do, though. You know what I'm talking about the same way I do. Chase, man, I'm a lot of things, but I'm not an idiot."
"I don't know what she told you--"
"She didn't tell me anything." Luke rolled his eyes. "You really think after that day in the arcade I wouldn't have figured out what was going on? It was so obvious."
"Then why didn't you kill me?"
"I wanted to at first, but not because you were seeing her."
"What?"
"Because you stopped. What the hell were you thinking? She's perfect for you. You get along with her. She puts up with you. I don't know what happened while she was back here, but I know my sister well enough to know it will kill her if you're not there tomorrow."
"Look, Luke, you don't get it. Me and Julie...it's not easy. It's never been easy."
"You never let it be. You were too worried about avoiding one thing or another that you never bothered to really give it a try."
Chase took a deep breath, then glanced at the door. "I already messed it up again. I walked out on her."
"Then you're lucky I don't kill you for hurting my sister," Luke said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Lucky for you, I can help you fix it. That is, if you really want it to be fixed."
Chase considered for a moment. He thought back to his night in the woods with Julie, to their car skidding off the road all those years ago, to the look in her eyes when he'd seen her sketches.
"I do."
"All right, well then." Luke clapped his hands together, then nodded toward the little clump of men along the wall. "Okay guys, I don't care if you keep the party going, but you can't do it here. We've got some serious work to do."
"Yeah," Chase said. "I guess we do."
But God only knew if it would be enough this time.
Chapter Eleven
Nine Years Ago
The day Luke got back from basic training, his mother baked a cake that could have fed the entire Army with enough left over for a good number of Special Forces. She slaved away all day in the kitchen, and while she worked and whistled, Chase and Julie stared at each other with anxious determination.
Today was the day. They were going to go public. They’d played out every detail, discussed every possible outcome. They were ready. Or, at least, as ready as they were ever going to be.
And so, when Luke got through the door and greeted them all, Julie headed out to pick up dinner (as per their plan) and Chase sat alone with his friend in the living room while Mrs. Hamden finished frosting the cake.
“So, lots of changes,” Chase said and his friend nodded.
“You and Karen still good?” Chase tried again, but Luke merely grunted in response.
“Right.” Chase stared into the distance, then said, “So—“
“What do you know about Julie’s plans?” Luke said quickly.