“Do you think there’s anything I can do?” I asked.
Gilly patted my hand. “You’re doing it. I’m sure another visit here and there would help.” She lifted her gaze to the horizon. “She always used to talk about you and Jase getting married on this land. Maybe building a house here one day. Giving her grandbabies.”
My chest tightened, making it hard to breathe normally. “It would’ve been a beautiful life.”
“Maybe you can talk to her about the good memories from the past. She needs people to remember Jase with.”
“I can do that.” No matter how hard those conversations were to navigate, I could do that for Kay. For the endless support she’d always shown me. And for her incredible son, who had loved me so well.
Gilly pushed to her feet and picked up the cake. “I’m going to take this inside and see if Kay needs anything.”
“Call me ifyouneed anything.”
She gave me a half-smile. “You know I’m damn good at taking care of myself.”
Gilly was that. A force of nature. Could do anything she put her mind to. But that didn’t mean she didn’t need support every now and then. “Why don’t I just offer friendship then?”
“That, I will always take, Cherub.” She bent and kissed my cheek. “Drive safe. I think we’ll be getting snow soon.”
I looked to the gray sky and inhaled deeply. It smelled like snow. I was ready for it. We’d only had a couple of inches so far this year, and each time they fell, they melted within a week. “Safety is my middle name.”
Gilly snorted and waved me off.
I headed to my SUV, but movement caught my attention over the garage, a flutter of the curtains. My gaze locked with Serena’s, her mouth set in a hard line. A beat later, she let the curtain fall closed again.
Hell. I wondered how she would spin this to be my fault. Serena wouldn’t stay mad at her brother for long. Somehow, this would all fall back on my shoulders.
I pulled open the door to my SUV and slid inside. Gizmo’s head popped up from where he’d been happily chewing on a bully stick while wrapped in a blanket. I turned, scratching behind his ears. “How would you feel about a little adventure?”
He licked my hand in response.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
I pulled out my keys and started the engine. That familiar crawling-out-of-my-skin sensation was back. I needed to release some of the pent-up emotion that was swirling inside. When I was younger, I probably would’ve gone for a run, but my body couldn’t handle that anymore. I needed my new outlet. The only thing that truly made me feel seen anymore.
I guided my SUV away from the Grangers’ ranch and towards the mountains. They looked a purplish-gray in the overcast light. Their stark, snow-capped peaks the backdrop I needed today.
I turned off the main road and wound around the southern mountain. After a few turns, I finally found the trailhead I was looking for. I pulled into a spot. There was only one other vehicle in the lot, a pickup truck I’d seen countless times before.
As I climbed out of my SUV, the owner appeared. I waved. “Hey, Brett.”
He grinned. “Hey, Laiken. Afternoon hike?”
I nodded. “Guess you were doing the same.”
“Needed to get in a little workout before my shift.”
“Oh, yeah, I heard it’s Deputy Williams now.”
A hint of pink hit his cheeks. “I guess so.”
“Congrats. That’s great.”
He shuffled his feet, glancing down at his hiking boots. “I’m real sorry about Lisbeth. She was good people.”
My throat burned. “She was.” And I never should’ve let our friendship fall apart the way it had. I thought about seeking Marisa out to see how she was, but our last conversation, one where we’d both said some harsh things, still played in my mind.
“Her parents are going to do a memorial here in a few days. See you there?”