“Sorry Prissy…I mean Chrissy.” Jess apologized…sort of, before returning her attention to Ali and speaking even quieter, “I got your text. What did KJ do…whoa?” Jess’s electric blue eyes widened as she stared at her friend. “What’s wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost.”
Ali tilted her head toward the mat.
Without saying a word, Jess turned her head to where Kade was holding court.
“Holy shi—”
Chrissy’s face turned back in horror.
“—take mushroom,” Jess finished. “Holy shitake mushroom!”
“What is he doing here?” Jess said the word as if she were referring to Satan himself. Ali was relieved her bestie hadn’t also fallen under the Kade McKnight spell.
“KJ wanted him to come to his class. I think he was excited for him to meet Keaton.”
Jess’s brow furrowed. “No. I mean what is he doing in Whisper Lake?”
“He came to see the boys.”
“Did you know he was coming?”
“Nope. I was doing laundry, making dinner, and got a knock on the door.”
“After all this time?! He just shows up?!”
“Yep.”
Kade’s ears must’ve been burning because he chose that moment to look over in their direction. When he saw them he smiled and lifted his hand in a wave. Jess returned his greeting by flipping him the bird, which caused Chrissy to gasp in horror.
“Where is tall man?” Jess began to sing as she flipped him the bird with her other hand as well. “Where is tall man?”
Chrissy turned back around unamused but Ali couldn’t help but chuckle. “Nice save.”
Jess grinned before shaking her head. “So he just shows up and now he’s what…running the class?”
“Apparently.”
“Where the hell has he been?”
“I don’t know.”
Jess’s face registered disbelief. “You didn’t ask him?”
“I asked him.”
“What did he say?”
“When he started to answer I told him I didn’t want to hear it,” Ali admitted. Sitting here now, she wished she’d handled that interaction differently.
“How long is he staying?”
“No idea. Not long, I’m sure.”
“Where’s he going to stay while he’s seeing the boys?”
“With us.”
“Do you want to stay at my house while he’s here?” she offered like the amazing best friend she was.
“No. I don’t want to disrupt the boys’ schedule.”
Jess hooked her arm through Ali’s and laid her head on her shoulder. “I’m not worried about the boys.”
For the first time in eighteen months, neither was Ali.