CHAPTER 71

W hen I woke up the next morning in my bed back in Rocky Start, the sun was shining and Max wasn’t there, but Maggs was, so I knew Max was still here, somewhere. I had one last thought about trying to convince him to come back when he was done with the Trail, but essentially, the man knew what he wanted and he’d do what he wanted, and I should stop nagging him.

And he loved me. That had to mean something.

And I was going to start being the new me. Act Four. Doing what I wanted, getting what I wanted.

Just not getting Max.

I got out of bed and Maggs followed me downstairs, both of us yawning, but Max wasn’t there. Not in the kitchen, not anywhere in the downstairs. I gave Maggs a piece of leftover bacon, and we went back upstairs to check Oz’s apartment, where I found Poppy, still in her PJ’s, standing in the middle of Oz’s workroom.

“Is Max—” I started.

“Is it okay if we clean out this place since Marley’s moving in?”

She sounded very happy about that. I knew she was still having nightmares, but right now, standing in the middle of Ozzie’s old apartment, she was smiling at me. Happy about her future. About Marley coming to stay. That was good enough for me.

“Don’t throw anything out,” I said. “Pack it in boxes and Max and I will . . .” I shook my head to clear Max out of it. “I’ll go through it later.”

Then Maggs and I went back to my bedroom to see if Max had doubled back on me.

That’s when I noticed his ruck was gone.

Which meant he was gone.

Of course he was gone. Before dawn, probably.

I sat down on the bed, and Maggs jumped up beside me. “What the hell is going on?” I asked her and she looked as clueless as I was.

So I got my phone off the bedside table and texted Max, hoping he still had his latest burner phone.

WHERE ARE YOU?

A couple of minutes later, I was dressed and my phone buzzed.

ON THE TRAIL

I frowned and texted back.

YOU FORGOT YOUR DOG

A minute later the phone buzzed again.

I LEFT HER WITH YOU

YOU NEED A KEEPER