Missing Pieces Read online

  Missing Pieces

  By Ivy Smoak

  Copyright 2017 Ivy Smoak

  All Rights Reserved

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  CONTENTS

  Title

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Read More

  Also by Ivy Smoak

  ARC Team

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Hailey

  Friday

  I glanced once more at the closed door. My father wouldn't be arriving to the bar for another 30 minutes, but I was still nervous. If he caught me snooping, he'd have a fit. I quickly opened the last drawer and found what I had hoped I wouldn't. I pulled out the stack of envelopes and spread them out on the desk.

  All I could do was stare in silence. I was stunned. Final notices of payments due were staring back at me. They matched the one that had arrived in the mail that afternoon. There were half a dozen from different suppliers and even one for the electricity. I swallowed hard when I lifted up the envelope at the bottom of the stack. A notice of foreclosure.

  A knock on the door made me jump.

  "Jeff, you in there?" someone said from the other side of the door.

  "No, it's just Hailey," I called to the closed door as I shoved all the bills back into the drawer and slammed it shut.

  The door immediately opened. Anna, the assistant manager, stepped into the office with a huge smile on her face. "Hails!" She ran over to me and embraced me in a hug. "I didn't know you were going to start work quite yet." She held me at arm's length.

  "Yeah, I just got home a few days ago, but I wanted to get back in the swing of things."

  "It's so good to have you back, hon," she said. "With your fancy new management degree, I bet you have a ton of ideas for the bar."

  "Mhm," I said. But the realization had already hit me. My new degree wasn't going to be able to fix anything. It just added to the debt that was already hanging over our heads. The bar was failing. Why hadn't my dad told me?

  "Do you know when your dad will be in?"

  "He said he'd be here by 8."

  "Great. I was hoping to have a quick word with him. Are you helping behind the bar tonight? The regulars are starting to come in already."

  "Sure," I said with a small smile. We needed as much help as possible. "What did you need to talk to my dad about?"

  "Oh, well, a few months ago he promised me he'd give me a raise if Billy got into college. And we just got the acceptance letter this morning!" Her smile seemed to grow tenfold. "He'll be heading off to school in the fall."

  I tried to hide my grimace. If anyone deserved a raise, it was Anna. She had been working here for as long as I could remember. She was basically a part of the family. All my dad's employees were. But my dad was also drowning in debt. I was drowning in debt. He couldn't afford to give her a raise. What had he been thinking?

  "Tell Billy congrats from me," I said with as much positivity as I could muster. "I'm going to go get to work."

  "It's great to have you back, Hails," she said.

  I walked out into the hall, leaving Anna behind. When I had visited during winter break, business was booming. Well, as booming as it had ever been. Things had been good. And I was excited to come home and help the bar grow even more. But now there was a lump in my throat and tears prickling the corners of my eyes. How long had the bar been in trouble? My dad and I never hid things from each other. Ever. So why had he hidden this from me?

  I walked behind the bar and grabbed an apron off the hook. This business was everything my dad had. It was his baby. And it was supposed to be my future. I had plans. Suddenly I felt so incredibly naive. I had gone off to college with hopes and dreams on how we could expand. Coming home to this wasn't what I expected. This bar didn't just mean everything to my father. It meant everything to me too.

  I tied the apron around my waist and looked out at the patrons. Like Anna had said, the regulars had started to filter in. Even though I hadn't been here in months, the regulars were all the same. Our small town was notorious for never having any newcomers. But that was probably an exaggeration, because in order to be notorious, outsiders needed to know our town existed, which they did not.

  At first I kept glancing at the clock, waiting for my dad to arrive. As everyone started coming up to me and welcoming me home, though, I quickly forgot about the time. It was so great to see everyone. I was happy to be home. And with how packed the bar was, I felt optimistic. We could turn this around. I came home with ideas and I could still implement them. Maybe they wouldn't help us grow, but they could help save the bar. My dad and I would get out of this mess. We always found a way.

  I started to wipe down the bar counter during a down moment.

  "As beautiful as ever," said a deep voice.

  I rolled my eyes and glanced up at my ex boyfriend from high school. "It's good to see you too, Jack."

  He smiled.

  His smile used to make my legs feel like jelly. It hadn't had that effect in a long time though. I had learned the hard way that all relationships were fleeting. And I could thank Jack for part of that. He had cheated on me with my best friend, Claire, my senior year of high school. I hadn't been in a serious relationship since. Besides, I was too busy with my classes. I was happy to see that his smile no longer affected me though.

  "I'm surprised to see you back here," he said.

  "I was always coming back, I told you that. Can I get you a refill?"

  "Sure." He slid his empty glass to me.

  I refilled it a little lower than the brim. We were going to have to make some conscious cuts. And I certainly didn't mind making Jack pay for that. I placed the glass down in front of him. "How's Claire doing?"

  "Good. She's pregnant."

  "Wow, congratulations." I tried to make myself sound enthusiastic. Most people in this town did stay together. Jack and I were probably the exception. And most of them got pregnant young. Now that I was back, maybe I'd try to talk to Claire again. She had
apologized to me right after she had kissed Jack and I forgave her. But it still felt like a stab in the back when they started dating after I went off to school.

  "Thanks, Hailey."

  "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" I casually glanced around the bar, hoping that someone might need a refill. I maybe wasn't affected by Jack anymore, but I didn't want to be stuck talking to him about his wife and future child all night.

  "A girl."

  "That's wonderful." What was the appropriate question to ask next? Do you have any names picked out? Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone lift up an empty glass and wave at me. Thank God. "Table seven needs another round," I said. "It was great talking to you, Jack. And congrats on the baby," I added over my shoulder.

  Chapter 2

  Tyler

  Friday

  A beeping noise made me glance down at the dashboard. My gas light had just turned on. "Shit." I hit my turn signal and took the first exit off the highway. There was no sign of a gas station despite what the sign on the interstate had promised. Actually, there was no sign of anything. Just dark building after dark building. And a ton of farmland.

  The beeping noise sounded again. I should have been paying better attention. I squinted at a cluster of lights in the distance. Maybe that was it. As I got closer, I quickly noticed that it was not a gas station. The lit up sign said Hails' Bar. One glance at my dashboard told me that if I didn't stop for directions now I'd end up on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

  I turned into the small parking lot. There were only a few cars besides my own. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, but it was dead. I had no reason to charge it. But maybe it would have helped me find a gas station. I grabbed my charger and slipped it and my phone into my pocket. It seemed like a small town. Maybe they'd be nice enough to let me charge my phone.

  When I pushed through the door of the bar, I was surprised to see that the place was pretty packed. It must have been filled with locals close enough to walk. It reminded me a little of the bars at the University of New Castle. Although, if this was their Main Street, this town did not have much going on. Some of the best nights in college had been walking back home with my friends after a night at the bar. That was one of the upsides of living in New York too. Everything was in walking distance. Apparently it was a perk of wherever the hell I currently was too.

  I glanced over at the bar. Despite all the patrons, there was only one girl behind the counter. Which probably made sense. She was gorgeous. She had long brunette hair and a smile that lit up the room. They probably made a killing in tips with her working. I'd ask for directions in a bit. First I could really use a drink. I made my way over to the bar and sat down on an empty stool.

  The bartender didn't even glance at me. She was talking to some guy on the other side of the bar. I leaned down and started searching the side of the bar for an outlet.

  "Looking for something in particular?"

  I sat back up. A few years ago I might have answered her with some line about looking for her number. But that was a long time ago. It wasn't like I wanted to hook up with a girl from the middle of nowhere and never see her again. I had no idea what I wanted, but I didn't want that. Even if she was gorgeous. I lifted up my charger. "An outlet. My phone's dead."

  "Ah." She bit her lower lip, as if she was thinking over something. "It costs $5 to charge your phone."

  I laughed.

  But she didn't seem to think it was funny.

  "Seriously?"

  She shrugged. "New policy."

  I shook my head and reached into my pocket for my wallet. "Okay. One charged cell phone and whatever you have on draft." I slid her a ten dollar bill.

  "That I can do." She pocketed the money and grabbed my cell and charger. She walked past the bar and disappeared down a long hallway.

  For a second I thought she may have just stolen my cell phone. But she came back in a minute.

  She looked around the bar as she filled up a glass and then walked back over to me and set it down. She put her elbows on the edge of the counter and leaned toward me slightly. "So, what brings you here? Are you lost?"

  "Not lost. Just looking for a gas station."

  "So you meant to come here?"

  "Not exactly."

  "That means you're lost," she said with a laugh. "Where are you heading?"

  I shrugged. "California. Eventually."

  "Eventually?" She smiled.

  Yeah, that smile could undo someone. But not me. I was already undone. I sighed. "I'm on a road trip of sorts."

  "Really? I've always wanted to do that. Where are you from?"

  "New York."

  "The city?" Her eyes lit up.

  "Yeah." People seemed to be easily excited by the idea of NYC. Little did they know that it was dirty and crowded and filled with people you couldn't bear to see anymore. I took a sip of my beer.

  "What's it like?"

  "You've never been?"

  "It's like twelve hours away from here. So no, I've never been." She smiled again.

  "Hails, can you grab Nathan another scotch?" said some lady who had just walked behind the bar. She was balancing a tray of empty glasses on one hand.

  "Yeah, I've got it, Anna," she said. She tapped the bar in front of me. "Make a right out of the parking lot and drive about a mile down the road. The gas station will be on your left. Even though the lights aren't on, you can still pump the gas. Just let me know if you need a refill."

  "Hails as in Hails' Bar?" I asked.

  "That's me," she said over her shoulder.

  I watched her pour a scotch. It looked like she had done it a million times. She was awfully young to own a bar. I started to wonder how old she was. I watched her as she gracefully walked over to Nathan. She laughed at something he said and touched his shoulder. She was definitely good at getting tips. I turned back to my beer.

  I was twelve hours away from New York. So why did it feel like I was still there? Maybe when I got to California I'd finally feel the distance between Penny and me. I was doing my best to pretend I never knew her, hoping that it would make it easier to forget. But it wasn't working. I took another sip of the beer, suddenly wishing it was something stronger. Three years. I had been hung up on Penny for almost three years. What the fuck was wrong with me? I downed the rest of my beer.

  Chapter 3

  Hailey

  Friday

  I glanced back over at the stranger as I wiped up a spill on the counter. For some reason, I wanted to know his story. I wasn't sure if it was because of the odd way he had answered my questions or because of his baby blue eyes. Maybe I didn't feel anything when I looked at Jack, but I felt something when I looked at him. I was currently holding his phone hostage, so it wasn't like he could just walk away into the night. Plus he had just downed a whole beer. He wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. I smiled. He needed a refill. I walked back over to him. "Need a refill?"

  "No, I'm okay."

  Crap. "Are you sure?"

  He looked up at me. There was something else in his blue eyes I hadn't seen before. He looked sad. He gave me a small smile. "Yeah, I'm sure. I need to go find that gas station."

  Now all I wanted to do was comfort him. I leaned on the counter and tried to hide my smile when I caught him steal a glance at my cleavage. Growing up working at this bar had taught me how to flirt at an early age. I was almost positive I could lighten his mood. "I really have always wanted to go on a road trip across the country. Are you taking any hitchhikers?"

  He laughed.

  I leaned slightly toward the sound. I had known he wasn't from around here as soon as I laid eyes on him. He was dressed a little more sleek than the men from town. I wasn't at all surprised that he had said he was from NYC. And I couldn't deny that he was handsome. Even though I didn't actually want to hitchhike with him, a little flirting never hurt anyone. "Is that a yes?"

  "I'm pretty sure hitchhiking is illegal."

  "Not one to break t
he rules?"

  He smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "I didn't say that."

  I laughed. "Well it wouldn't be hitchhiking if we knew each other." I stuck my hand out for him. "I'm Hailey."

  He stared at my hand for a second before grabbing it. "Tyler."

  "Nice to meet you, Tyler. So, why exactly are you going to California?"

  He scratched the back of his neck. For some reason I found it incredibly sexy. "I just needed a change," he said.

  "How mysterious."

  He smiled again.

  "Do you have a bunch of stops planned? I've always wanted to see the Grand Canyon."

  "Not really. I'm just...driving." He shrugged his shoulders.

  I could tell he was running from something. He didn't need to say it.

  "But if you're coming along, I guess I could make a stop there."

  I smiled. He was finally flirting back. I had successfully cheered him up.

  His eyes left mine.

  I turned around to see that he was staring at the TV screen behind me. There was a news broadcast on about the tech mogul, James Hunter, and his new wife. He had gotten shot on their wedding night. It wasn't looking like he was going to make it. They had been reporting on it for the past several days. "It's tragic. Aren't they the sweetest couple? I really hope he pulls through."

  "Yeah. Yeah, me too. I should probably get going. Could you check on my phone?"

  I turned back to him. Like a switch, he looked grim again. "Yeah, sure. Let me go check."

  As I walked down the hall I heard my dad coughing in his office. It probably wasn't the best time to have the conversation we needed to have. But I couldn't stand the thought of him lying to me. Just the thought made my blood boil. I needed to know why he didn't tell me about the bar failing. I needed to clear the air between us. I knocked on his door and poked my head in. "Hey, Dad."

  "Hi, honey. How's business tonight?"

  I bit my lip. Anna could handle everyone for a second. I stepped into his office and closed the door. "Good." I took a deep breath. "Dad, I saw the bills."

  He raised his eyebrows. "What bills?"

  I put my hands on my hips. "The overdue notices. The foreclosure."