“Actually…” He lets me go, and I sit back to take in his new haircut and sun-kissed face. “My dad snuck a tracking app onto your phone when you weren’t looking after the Holcomb incident at the lake last August.”
&nb
sp; Is that so? I roll my eyes.
Holcomb.
I hadn’t thought about him in a while. He pleaded guilty, Jake told me, and got fifteen months for arson, along with a few other charges.
“So, when did you get in?”
He thinks for a moment. “Six weeks ago?”
“Six weeks?” I blurt out. “You’ve been in L.A. for six weeks? Why didn’t you come to the house?”
He’s been here as long as I have. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him other than texts. Did he intend for it to be a surprise? Because, if so, it took him long enough.
Six weeks…
His tone softens, and he looks thoughtful. “I kind of needed to be alone, too.”
I stare at him, but I’ve got nothing to say. I get it. Shit happened.
The wind blows my hair, and I push it off my forehead as the rain slowly wets it. “It’s so good to see you,” I tell him.
“I hoped it would be.”
Does he have a place, then? He hasn’t been staying in hotels this whole time, has he?
Either way, I hope this means I’ll see him more now. At least until I leave for school.
“I’ve got a sponsor,” he chirps.
“That’s great.” I smile wide. “So, you have a team now.”
“He’s building one, yes.” He nods. “I’m the lucky first recruit.”
“He?”
“Jared Trent of JT Racing,” he tells me. “He’s an interesting guy. Kind of like a cross between my father and Kaleb.”
The mention of Kaleb gives me pause. Like I’d been pretending none of it was real, and here comes Noah to kick me in the stomach. Everything suddenly hurts.
But I force a laugh. “Yikes,” I say.
“I know.” His lips twist up, kind of forlorn. “He doesn’t talk much, and then when he does, you kind of wished he hadn’t.”
Yeah. Kaleb and Jake are like that.
“But…he likes what I can do,” Noah continues. “That’s who I need in my corner.”
I’m glad he found what he was looking for. I hate that he thinks he never had that already, though.
“You have so many in your corner.” I gaze at him. “Just wait.”
I wrap my arms around his arm and lay my head down on his shoulder, both of us watching the waves roll in. I’ll be at every race I can, and I’m going to brag about him to all my friends.
As soon as I make some.