Page 53 of As They Are (Strawberry Springs #2)

HENRY

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Kerry Winsor : I think I speak for everyone when I say I am SO glad the filming is done. The extra attention was nice, but that lady Madison was kinda rude ...

Comments:

Jade Clark : And so was Jude, while we’re at it.

Kerry Winsor : Ugh. Never meet your heroes ... except for Wren. She’s staying, right?

Jade Clark: I sure hope so. But she’s gotta be busy with the other stuff she did. You know her schedule is BOOKED.

Kerry Winsor : @Mollie Wilson , do you know anything?”

Mollie Wilson : I might, but I’m sworn to secrecy.

Kerry Winsor : UGH. Tell me!!!

Jade Clark : Nope. Best friend rules. She can’t. (You can text me though, right?)

The anger made me crash the second I got home, though I had my ringer on, waiting for Wren to either call or walk in the door and wake me up herself. I didn’t even dream, though I woke up with an anxiety churning in my stomach that I couldn’t place.

It had to be the fact that it was daylight and I must have slept through the night.

The bed was cold beside me, and the nightstand that I’d told Wren to use as her own was barren, except for one thing. A handwritten note. I immediately grabbed it, my entire body tensing.

I want to start this by saying how sorry I am. You’ve been going above and beyond for me since I got here, and I’m not sure I deserve that.

My meeting in Nashville is today. I know we said we would make it work long distance, but after the meeting, I’m going to stay here for a bit and give you a break from all of my chaos. Take that time to recover.

And when you don’t miss me, you don’t have to call.

I’ll get the message.

Wren

I had to read the note multiple times. She was staying in Nashville? She thought I wouldn’t miss her?

What the hell was going through her mind?

Reaching for my phone, I called her. She needed to know she was wrong, and I needed to know what the hell would have made her think any of this in the first place.

But Wren didn’t pick up. It didn’t even ring.

I stood and ran my hands through my hair. My heart pounded. I needed to find her. I needed to go wherever she was. The only person who could have made her do something like this was her mother.

What had happened when they went to dinner together?

Tammy had to know. She was always watching Wren.

I didn’t give myself a chance to get dressed. I needed to get Wren back.

Center Point was busy, and Tammy was running around taking orders. I was about to stop her when I saw the very woman who did this.

She didn’t have the nerve to look guilty. She was on her phone, dressed up like she was having a day on the town.

I saw red.

“You,” I said to Wren’s mom. “What did you say to her?”

She blinked. “The boyfriend. Here you are again.”

“Wren went to dinner with you last night and then disappeared with only a note. What did you say to her?”

“First of all, we never got dinner because there’s no service in this town!”

“Hang on a second!” Tammy snapped. “Can you not see I’m busier than a hotel bed in a hoo—” She paused as she looked at the woman. “Wait, you’re Wren’s mom.”

“I am. How did you know?”

“The Facebook group has a lot to say about you. I didn’t think you’d be dumb enough to come into my diner.”

“Oh, she’s dumb enough to do a lot.” I slammed the note on the table, and dimly, Tammy gasped.

“The group wasn’t kidding,” Tammy said. “Who are you, Dr. Connor?”

A spark of rational thought broke through my rage. I couldn’t fully rein it in, but I lowered my voice. I’d have to worry about the damage I’d done later. Maybe I could bring Tammy flowers and ask her to forget what she saw.

“I’m the man who woke up to a note from Wren saying she left .”

“She left a note that said what ?”

Wren’s mom read over the letter. “Well, she’s bolder than I gave her credit for. Relax, I did you a favor.”

“Did me a favor ?” I hissed. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me. There’s no one who knows Wren better than I do, and when I saw her on TV still like that —” She shuddered.

“I was so disappointed. I thought I would surely get through to her, but obviously not. It was time to do my community service. When she said no, I told her what would happen. You would get tired. Everyone would, really. It’s what I did. ”

“You ... said ... what ?” I barely managed to get it out. My chest was in a vise. I was torn between yelling at a person like I never had in my life or running to tell Wren what bullshit that was.

“Can you not hear or something? God, what is with this place?”

“You think it’s the town that has a problem? You’re a fucking terrible mother— no , a terrible fucking person, and I pity anyone who has to spend time with you.” My knuckles popped from the sheer pressure my clenched fists created.

An eerie silence settled over the diner, broken only by Tammy. “Get out.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” She jabbed her finger toward the woman’s face. “And you heard Henry too. I don’t open my doors for lowlifes, and I never will.”

“You know nothing about?—”

“And none of us care to,” I interrupted. “You may think you have some reason to do what you did, but it’ll never be enough to justify all the shit you’ve put Wren through. You got to her once, but you’ll never fucking do it again. Not while I’m around.”

“Or me,” Tammy added, arms folded tightly across her chest. “You wasted your chance with that girl and broke her soul. And now I hear you did it again? Here? You can take your little attitude, get out of my diner and our town, and go straight to hell.”

“I never—” Wren’s mom stood and nearly ran for the door.

“And you’ll never again, because you sure ain’t coming back here!” Tammy yelled as she left. “What a stupid fucking cu?—”

“Don’t say something you’ll regret,” I said. “Though I agree.”

“You’re not following your own rule.” Tammy crossed her arms. “Why can’t I call her what she is?”

“I’m ...” The heat of the anger faded now that Wren’s mother was gone. Had I really just cursed her out in front of Tammy? Fuck.

“Hang on, Doc.” Tammy’s hand landed on my shoulder. “We can’t all have meltdowns right now. Someone has to go get Wren.”

She was right. I needed her back. I needed her to know her mother was full of shit.

Everything else would have to be fixed later.

“Did you see Wren last night?”

“I did, but I was so excited that Kelsey was back that I didn’t notice she was upset.

Well, I did, but then she ran out before I could ask anything.

I thought maybe it had been a long day for filming until I saw the Facebook group.

When she didn’t answer, I figured she was with you.

Guess I should have hunted her down anyway. Dammit!”

“Mom?” a voice from behind Tammy asked. “What’s going on?”

I turned to see a woman with brown hair and blue tips staring at us. I’d never met her before, but I knew of her through Tammy.

If Kelsey was back, then there was another reason Wren was upset. Tammy hadn’t kept it a secret that Wren reminded her of Kelsey. If her daughter was back, then Wren wouldn’t have wanted to overstep.

“Wren left,” Tammy said.

Kelsey’s eyes grew round. “What? But I just got here! The whole reason I came back was because I wanted to meet her.”

“I have a feeling Wren didn’t see it that way,” I said. “I’m Henry, by the way.”

“Her boyfriend?”

“Yep.”

“How would she have seen it?” Tammy asked.

“Like you wouldn’t have time for her.”

“Fuck,” Tammy groaned. “That’s not ... I would never! Have you called her?”

“She’s not answering her phone.”

“Then we go to her.”

“I don’t know where she lives in Nashville.”

“Doesn’t she have a best friend?” Kelsey asked. “You said her name was Mollie, right? We can call her and tell her what happened.”

“But the diner?—”

“I’ll watch it,” Kelsey said. “You two go.”

“Are you sure, kid? It’s busy.”

“I’ve worked here before, and I was looking for a job.” She shrugged. “Might as well help out while you two go talk some sense into my new sister.”

“Sister?” I asked.

“Mom’s been talking about Wren since she got here. I knew I’d be welcoming someone into the family.” Kelsey held out a hand to Tammy. “Give me your apron, Mom. I’m about to ruin Dad’s whole day while you’re in Nashville.”

“Thanks,” Tammy said. “I’ll be sure she knows she’s coming back. Henry, we’re taking my car.”

“I can drive.”

“You strike me as a slow-ass driver. I’m not wasting any time.” She dragged me out the door without another word.

I didn’t have time to say that I wasn’t going to waste a second either, but with the dangerous mix of emotions, I didn’t need to be behind the wheel anyway. There was no way I could focus on the road when all I could think about was how awful Wren must be feeling.

And I knew I had to make sure she didn’t stay that way for long.