Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

#Chapter 100: Mushroom Hunting
Abby

The weight of failure feels almost physical, like there’s something sharp and heavy literally lodged in

my chest.

I stare at the computer screen displaying “Truffles Unavailable” in blunt, red letters. I’ve sent countless

emails to suppliers, spent hours scouring online marketplaces, and I’ve even visited local storefronts to

browse their selection, all to no avail.

A part of me wants to give up on the recipe altogether, to throw in the towel and declare the universe

the winner in this sadi stic game it’s been playing with me. I could hope that this recipe won’t be chosen,

or at the very least, that I can read enough about it online to get a good idea as to how to make it.

But another part—perhaps the stubborn or perhaps the hopeful part—won’t let me settle for that. What

if this recipe is chosen for the competition? What if the online recipes just don’t do it justice? I need to

be prepared, and this could be my last shot at turning things around.

I close the laptop with a sigh, my eyes drifting to a framed picture of me and Chloe on a past

mushroom hunting trip. It’s not truffles, but maybe, just maybe, I could find something close, something

that’ll at least help me practice the textures and flavors.

…

“Going somewhere?” The voice slices through my thoughts, and I turn around to see Karl standing at

the doorway, his eyes lingering on my hiking boots and backpack. It’s early in the morning, too early for

anyone but me to be here. And yet there’s Karl, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as my grandmother used

to say.

“That’s none of your business,” I shoot back, my voice carrying a sharper edge than I intended. But

really, the last thing I need right now is more complications, more entanglement with him.

He steps into the room, the door falling shut behind him. “Abby, don’t be like this. I told you that I want

to help.”

that, but I don’t need help,” I interject, zipping up my backpack with more force

mushroom hunting since I was a kid. I’ll

for a moment, his eyes penetrating, like he’s looking right through

around

“but I need to do

voice turning stern, his posture more rigid.

you.”

surprised. There’s a flash of Alpha energy in his eyes, a silent, commanding aura that’s so

with lately. And in that moment, something in

way.

myself say.

a split second, I see something there, a glint of something

“Good,” he says, his voice softening. “I’ll get

me alone in my office, staring at the empty space

just agree to

…

each step mu ffled by a layer of damp leaves

earth.

air, casting the forest in surreal

maybe a nightmare, if something were to come out

keeps a respectful distance, his footsteps softly echoing my own. We move in a

eyes scanning the ground for any signs

to a cluster near a

down to take a closer

away leaves to reveal the reddish-brown caps. “Definitely

yes, they are edible.”

while, discovering

colors, others more muted but

as I identify them, and the

slowly begins to lift.

we went mushroom hunting while we were still

a prolonged silence. “You had to stop

of nostalgia sweeping over me. “You were so

would have sauteed it right up and ended up in the emergency

laughter, and for a brief moment, the forest becomes a sanctuary, a

cool morning air, and nothing else. But then guilt seeps

like this, not when I just

But then, something happens.

shout cuts through the mist, followed by

between the

me behind a large oak. His body