An Ounce of Hope(120)

Max's chest warmed. "But a relationship?"

Carter lifted a shoulder. "Why does it have to be called that? No labels, huh? Just talk to her and see what you both feel. Take it a step at a time."

Max's stare drifted back to his cell. "I have to find her first." 

He sat back dejectedly at the same time Riley stood. "Then what the fuck are you still sitting there for?" he asked before slapping Max on the shoulder. "Let's go get your running girl."

That afternoon, Max, Riley, and Carter scoured the phone book and the Internet, trying to track down Grace's brother's club. It was the only lead Max had. It took nearly two hours of searching, the name Kai and DC being the only things they had to go on. Once they had four possible addresses, the three of them piled into Riley's Jeep and headed out. Max had to admit, the whole thing was kind of exciting. The thought of seeing Grace again was as terrifying as it was exhilarating, and Max spent the majority of the car ride going over in his mind just what he intended to say to her.

The first club they arrived at was boarded up, and had been for a while from the looks of the graffiti sprayed across the brickwork. Determined, they reached the second club by the early evening. Kai's name on the owner plate was clear above the door of the place, filling Max with a ball of nervous energy so large he all but barged his way in. Nevertheless, all they found was a sassy woman with an incredible Afro and bright red lips behind the bar who, once she'd divulged that Kai was in New York, and upon hearing who it was they were also looking for, told them they had to leave before she had them thrown out by security. That was pretty much all the confirmation Max needed to realize that the woman knew Grace, but what more could he do? Even Riley couldn't seem to coax anything from her despite his wide smile and charm.

Undeterred, Max left his cell number and a note to Grace asking her to call along with the silent hope that the woman would pass it on, and tried like hell not to let Carter and Riley see the disappointment that tensed his shoulders and squeezed his heart.

That had been more than two weeks ago and Max was still no closer to finding Grace. His cell phone stayed infuriatingly quiet. Even though he'd asked his family and friends in Preston County to keep him up to date should Grace return, he'd slowly started to resign himself to the fact that he might never see her again, and that filled him with a profound hopelessness.

To divert his attention away from the hollow ache that had taken up residency in his chest, Max threw himself back into work, arriving at the shop bright and early every day and staying until late at night. He also decided to move back into his own apartment. He knew Carter stressed about Max being on his own, but truthfully, he needed the space to think and, with the wedding mere weeks away, he knew Carter and Kat didn't need him under their feet. He attended his meetings and continued his running, all the while wondering what Grace was doing, who she was with, and whether she thought of him at all.

The only silver lining amid the bullshit was that, since he'd said good-bye to Lizzie, the urge to go out and get high and shitfaced had lessened, changing from an all-out shout to a mere whisper. Max knew he'd done enough damage to let everyone down again with a damn relapse, and when he wasn't working, running, or attending meetings, Max would recall, unashamedly, the disappointment on Grace's face when he'd gotten drunk that night at the bar. Right or wrong, that shit always took the potency right out of his cravings.

It was after a long, hard day at the shop and Max was lounging on his sofa, eating pizza, and watching a shitty horror movie when there was a knock on the door. Curious and not expecting anyone, Max threw the pizza crust into the box and padded through his apartment.

He peered through the peephole and quickly opened the door. "Hey, man. You okay?"

Riley smiled. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Come in." Max stepped to the side, allowing him to enter. As pleasant a surprise as it was to see Riley, it was also unusual. Ordinarily, he would announce his impending arrival with either a phone call or a text. Max had received neither. "Can I get you something? I don't have alcohol, obviously, but I have juice, water, coffee."




 

 

Riley shook his head. "No, brother, I'm fine. I won't stay long."

Max frowned. "Sounds ominous."

Riley smiled again but this time it fell quickly. He pushed his hands into his pockets while his gaze wandered from the floor to a spot over Max's shoulder and back again.

Max took a step closer. "How was your day off? You all right?"

"I um . . . I have something for you, but I wanted to say a couple of things first."

Max nodded slowly. "Okay. Shoot."