Swing and a Mishap (Summersweet Island 2)

Stopping by just to beg her to be my friend again was definitely no longer on the table.

Seeing her again and then turning right around and going back to Washington to live and figure out the rest of my life was absolutely no longer in the cards for me.

Knowing what I know now… the next time I see that woman, I am never, ever leaving her again.

Thinking back to that game a few weeks ago, I have never been more thankful to find out Wren’s sister Birdie was just as chatty as she used to be back in high school.

“She’s going to be pissed she missed you if this is just a quick overnight trip. That woman has more T-shirts, hoodies, and jerseys with your name on the back than anyone else I know, watches every single game like it’s a religious experience, and God forbid any of us interrupt her while you’re playing.”

“I wish Wren wasn’t working. There are too many baseball rules I don’t know or understand. I never thought I’d say this, but Wren being a baseball freak since birth and it being the only thing she has ever watched on TV since she learned how to use the remote as a toddler would really come in handy right now.”

“Did I tell you guys Wren’s sperm donor might be coming to Summersweet to visit Owen? That piece of shit hasn’t set foot on this island in years, only calls when he wants something, and now he thinks he can just come here and fuck up their lives in person instead of doing it by phone or text like always.”

“He told her she was looking old the last time he called. Can you believe that shit! He’s also on wife number four now, while Wren continues to be sad and alone like always, so that’s just great.”

“I swear something was up with her a few years ago, and I thought she’d met someone. She was always so happy and giddy and disgusting all the time, even when sperm donor would call and try to bring her down. And then poof! It was gone and she was back to being the same sad and lonely Wren who does everything for everyone else and never makes time for her own happiness. She really needs something new in her life to shake things up. I can’t handle seeing her like this anymore.”

“Nope. I didn’t get the chance to see her or apologize yet,” I finally admit to Nick, pulling myself out of my trip down memory lane. “Once I got there and realized I never wanted to leave, I figured I needed a plan in place before I even attempted to talk to Wren again and make things right between us.”

Deciding to join my friend in a beer before I have to leave for the airport, I grab the last one out of the fridge, twist the top off, and hold it out between us. Nick clinks the neck of his bottle against mine, and we bring them up to our mouths, but I pause with a smile on my face.

“And I also realized Wren Bennett has a shit-ton of explaining to do.”CHAPTER 2Wren

“Pitches be crazy.”“What in the hell are you eating?”

Leaning closer to my phone I have propped up against a small jar candle in the middle of my kitchen table, I take another slurping bite off my spoon.

“Jell-O shots. YOLO!” I shout before leaning back in my seat and dipping my spoon back into my bowl to stir everything around.

“It looks like you took one of Owen’s Jell-O snack packs out of the fridge, dumped it into a cereal bowl, and then poured vodka over it.”

I slurp another bite of strawberry vodka Jell-O into my mouth and smile at my best friend’s face on the screen of my phone, currently judging me from thousands of miles away.

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.” I shrug.

“Wren Elizabeth Bennett!”

“Emily Jean Flanagan!” I shout back.

Her long, beautiful, ginger-red hair sways around in its high ponytail when she shakes her head at me, her bright green eyes glaring at me through the screen when I take another bite of my concoction.

“All right, now it just looks like you’re eating Jell-O vodka soup. Put that down right now!” she orders.

I do as she says and set the bowl on the table off to the side of the phone, pushing it out of my reach so I’m not tempted to continue day drinking/vodka soup eating.

“I miss you. I wish you were here.” I sigh dramatically.

Neither one of us says anything for a few quiet seconds, both of us just staring at each other like sad puppy dogs. My sister Birdie and her best friend Tess Powell both work at Summersweet Island Golf Course together. Birdie as the social media and marketing director, and Tess as a bartender in the clubhouse. I’ve always been insanely jealous they get to work together and see each other all the time, and even more so the last couple of years. Growing up, it was always the four of us together, but since Birdie and I are sisters, and even sisters who are the best of friends need a break from each other every once in a while, Emily Flanagan with her fiery hair and her fiery spirit was always my ride or die. The one person I tell everything to, who only judges me if it’s for my own good and will always, always tell me the truth.