“What happened, Jace?”
Jace rubbed his hands over his face. “Blythe, I…it’s a long story. One I’d rather not get into right now.”
There was an ache in Blythe’s chest she couldn’t put a name to. Dread mixed with sorrow was as close as she could get.
Before Thanksgiving, Renie had talked Ben and the rest of the guys in CB Rice into playing at the Goat that night. The bar, owned by the Rice family, was an institution on Elk Avenue, the main drag in Crested Butte.
With Tucker gone, the mood was subdued.
Her dad sat in on a couple of songs, and when he wasn’t, he danced with Blythe.
“My turn.” Jace tapped her father on the shoulder. Mark stepped aside, and Jace wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her in, close to him. He rested his cheek against her hair and breathed in the scent of her.
“I’m sorry about today.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“Tucker…”
“Again, why are you sorry? Tucker was the one who disappeared without saying goodbye.”
He didn’t know what to say. He understood how Tucker was feeling, more than he wanted to. The guilt began to creep in again.
“Jace, are you okay?”
He knew she could feel the tension that was slowly spreading throughout his body. He’d hoped holding her would stop it from happening this time.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
She pulled back so she could look in his eyes, but he didn’t want her to. Not tonight.
“Let me hold you, Blythe.” He wrapped his arm around her waist a little tighter. He felt her breath catch as much as he heard it.
“It must be bad, whatever it is.”
He couldn’t answer her, but yes, it was bad.
The rest of the band took a break, but Ben stayed where he was, just him and his guitar. Every word he sang cut into Jace’s heart. It was as if Ben knew what had happened, but Jace knew that wasn’t possible. Nobody knew but him. Not even Tucker.
So don’t fall in love, there’s just too much to lose
If you’re given the choice, then I beg you to choose
To walk away, walk away, don’t let her get you.
I can’t bear to see the same happen to you.
Please, don’t be sad now, I really believe,
She was the greatest thing that happened to me.
5
It was January before Blythe heard from Jace again. She still hadn’t heard from Tucker.
Jace rode back to Aspen with his parents the day after Thanksgiving. When they said goodbye, it was friendly, almost cordial, but lacking the enthusiasm he’d had for her before Tucker disappeared.
Renie asked her if Jace had commented on Tucker’s strange behavior, but Blythe told her he hadn’t wanted to talk about it.