Chapter 16
HaleyHaley was in the backyard when Austin’s car door smacked shut in the driveway. A moment later, the Beamer rumbled to life and zipped off. At the sound of the fading engine, tears burned at the back of her throat. She picked up two tennis balls lying on the grass. With an arm of a pro soft-ball player, she lobbed them for the dogs. Thud. Thud. The yellow orbs bounced off the privacy fence like a bullet, or was it the dull sound of her heart banging against her ribcage?
His loafers. Not any loafers—no, Max had destroyed the ones with an irreplaceable father-son moment attached. Ice had sheeted her stomach as she’d stared at the chewed-up shoe in Austin’s hand. She couldn’t ever remember feeling this terrible. Lead had filled her gut, and her thoughts tripped over each other
