Chapter 4

"Mom, I'm not signing that local job offer," I said.

The next morning, the car inspection report came out, and the rental office called everyone in.

When Ryan walked in, Emily followed right behind him, wearing my mom's old watch on her wrist. The silver band was a bit loose, so she'd tied a red string around her wrist to keep it from slipping.

I stared at the red string, not saying anything right away.

Emily caught my gaze and raised her hand to cover the watch face. "Ryan said nobody cared about this watch anymore. I thought it looked…