They Canceled My Ticket, I Canceled Them novel · Chapter 7 of 24
Chapter 7: Yes, Out Loud
Josh walked me down the marina to the end of the long pier, away from the diner windows.
He kept his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the water.
"Lacey told me the fourteen thousand was a wedding gift from you," he said. "She said you insisted and would be hurt if anyone mentioned paying it back."
"It was a loan."
"I know that now. I saw the card on the florist's invoice and it had your name on it."
"You saw it when?"
"Last week. I didn't say anything." He finally looked at me. "I should have, and I didn't, and I'm sorry."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"Pay you. I have nine thousand saved. The rest I'll find."
I studied his face.
It was a soft, tired, honest face, and it had never once been used against me on purpose.
"Nine thousand now is a start," I said. "The rest comes from Lacey."
"She won't give it up."
"Then you can tell her I asked in plain words."
He nodded.
It was the first time in ten years I had seen Josh decide something.
That night I couldn't eat.
Lacey went to bed early with a headache, and Josh sat at the kitchen table with his laptop and a pen, writing numbers down.
At ten I put on a jacket and walked across the dark lawn to the boathouse.
The door stood open a hand's width, and yellow light fell across the grass.
Wes was inside at a workbench, sanding the edge of a paddle.
He looked up and went still.
"I want to say it out loud," I said. "So you don't have to guess."
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