Hard Edge - Tess Oliver Page 0,3

an energy company in Wisconsin.” She sniffled again. “So tragic.”

We’d moved in across the street from the Strattons when I was five. Grady was the same age, and we became instant friends. I was too young at the time to understand the confusing Stratton family circumstances, but while Grady lived across the street with his natural mom and dad, his older half-brother, Caden, lived just a few blocks away with his own mom, the ex-Mrs. Stratton, an older stepbrother named Jack and Walt, his stepdad. After the divorce, Caden’s mom remarried, and they decided to buy a house just up the street from Caden’s dad. They had thought it would be a way to keep Caden close to the other half of his family. But watching him grow up, always looking lost and without an anchor, never really belonging anywhere, it seemed it had been a bad decision.

“I don’t know the details yet. That was Suzy from next door calling to tell me.” Mom’s thin, reedy tone pulled me from my thoughts. “She’d just heard the news.”

“Mom, please let me know the second you hear anything. I’m almost done with the trimester. I’ll fly home for the funeral.” One moment we were talking about her candy store, and suddenly, we were talking about the funeral for a young, brilliant guy who had been one of the most admired people in town. Once Grady and I had gone our separate ways for college, our paths had rarely crossed. But we’d always kept up by phone, text or email. I’d always looked forward to my first Monday of the month phone calls with him. We used the time to catch up on each other’s lives and we, of course, always made promises to get together. But we were both always too busy to make it happen. The few rare times we’d both ended up in Mayfair at the same time, we’d fallen back into our friendship as if we’d never parted. He had always been my best friend, even when he was miles away. Grady was the kind of guy who could lift you out of a dark mood and make you forget the thing that had put you there. He was that kind of person.

The bathroom door opened, and warm soapy steam drifted out. Jeremy had a clean-shaven face and a towel wrapped around his hips. He noticed my tears and came up next to me. His aftershave stung my watery eyes.

Mom’s phone beeped again. Mayfair was a small, close-knit town. This would be terrible, devastating news for everyone. I was sure she’d be on the phone all day commiserating with friends. “I’ll call you later, Mom. See you soon.”

I peered up at Jeremy through the tears that had pooled in my eyes. “I’ve got to fly home.”

Jeremy’s dark brows knitted together. “But you are home.”

“No, I mean home to Mayfair.” I swallowed to make the next words easier to my own ears. “My best friend, Grady, died in a car accident. I need to be there.”

“I’m so sorry, Kenna. I know you’ve mentioned him many times. Sounded like a great guy.” Jeremy put a comforting hand on my shoulder, but I felt little genuine sympathy. Empathy had never been his strong-suit. He knew a trip would only put more space between us. “How long will you be there? When will you be back?” The questions came out sounding fast and anxious.

“I don’t know.”

I looked at the stack of books on the desk and ran my fingers along the spines. Then my bleary gaze drifted to the shells. I kept my focus on the necklace and thought about that day. It had been my twelfth birthday. Grady had strung the shells himself, and his mouth was nearly exploding from trying to hide his smile as he handed it to me. He’d bragged that he’d collected the shells himself. Only Caden had burst that bubble by noting that Grady had actually bought the shells at a craft store. Then my mind went to him, to Caden. Growing up, there had always been one person in Caden’s life he could count on to keep him feeling as if he belonged and that was Grady. Caden would feel his loss like no one else.

Chapter 2

Caden

I let the phone call go to voicemail. It was just too damn early in the morning for a Mom interrogation session, and since my prospects for what she considered a respectable future were no closer than the