Three Rivers by Chloe T Barlow

myself to stop. I'm letting myself be happy about it."
    "Good for you!"
    "Now get me home and put me to bed."
    "Bossy, bossy! But I am getting details tomorrow."
    "Of course!"
    Althea leaned her head back and looked out the window as Jenna raced across the Smithfield Street Bridge, adrenaline and pleasure still warming her heart. The dark night enveloped them, but for the lights flickering on docked boats below and lining the elaborate wrought iron decorations of the trestles above them.
    The city was sleeping. Even the rivers and streets, the constantly moving veins of the city, seemed tranquil.
    "Jenna?" she eventually said.
    "Yeah babe?"
    "Thank you."
    "For picking you up? You think I would drag you out for a night on the town and just leave you to the wolves? Or one wolf in particular?"
    "Of course not. No, I mean, thanks to both you and Aubrey for — for everything." Her voice caught in her throat, a gulp of air and emotion lodging inside and choking her lightly. "Thank you for not giving up on me, for pushing me. For being...aw shit..."
    "We know, honey, we know." Jenna reached across the console and held her hand. "We're sisters and it's an honor. I love you."
    Althea smiled. "I love you, too."
     

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR

     
    Light stretched across Griffen's face and he cursed himself for not closing the curtains before he and Althea went to sleep. He reached over to pull her close.
    If I have to be up this early, I might as well get some pleasure out of it, right?
    His hand found nothing but pillows and sheets. He pried open his eyes, only to confirm he really was alone.
    What the hell?
    He sat up and found his room completely empty. No woman, no clothes and — upon further inspection — no phone number.
    Her being gone wasn't really surprising, even though he'd asked her to stay, she owed him nothing. No, what was the shocking part was that for some reason Griffen felt disappointed. He had really wanted to see her again and her running out left him more than a bit pissed. He'd specifically asked her to stay and she had snuck out like a...well, like him .
    Griffen started to work out in his brain how to find her. Pittsburgh was certainly a larger sized city, but in many ways it was still a small town. The remnants of a blue-collar culture and challenging geography of rivers, hills and valleys had created a unique archipelago of self-contained walkable neighborhoods. Each had its own culture, but they were all interconnected, like a family tree. Add into that a rabid sense of hometown pride and the place had maintained a small town vibe. In Pittsburgh there were only two, maybe three, degrees of separation between people and Griffen knew this meant he had a good chance of finding her if he put his mind to it.
    He knew a fair amount about her. He investigated for a living, right? A lawyer, young, with a unique first name. Maybe he could find her in his spare time.
    Oh Christ Griffen, 'find her in your spare time?' and that is not stalking, why?
    Just as frustration really started to take root, he noticed a text from his mother asking him to call her.
    Griffen took a breath. She was an early riser, so he might as well get it over with. "Morning, Mom."
    "Hey baby. Welcome back to town stranger. What are you up to today?"
    "Well, I was planning on going for a run and then working on my first lesson plan."
    And maybe trying to track down a hot local lawyer that ran out on me last night, but you don't need to know that Mom , he added to himself.
    "Okay, well whatever you do, I need you to be free by noon."
    "Why?" He breathed out slowly. "What do you have up your sleeve, Mom?"
    "I want you to come with me to Jack's son's birthday party."
    "Jack Taylor's son?" he asked as a pain shot through his chest.
    "Yes, little Johnny Taylor."
    Griffen had heard that Jack's wife found out she was pregnant after he died. The idea of meeting a little Jack was amazing, but Griffen didn't feel like he had the guts to follow through