Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

Chapter 0160
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 sa distic 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

since I was

penetrating, like he’s

to find truffles around here, you know that,

aware,” I snap, “but I need to do something, okay? I need

his posture more rigid. “Then let me come

you.”

energy in his eyes, a silent, commanding aura that’s so

Karl I’ve been dealing with lately. And

way.

myself

I see something there, a glint of something like

says, his voice softening. “I’ll get my

me alone in my office,

just agree to

…

floor is soft beneath my boots, each step m ffled

earth.

mist hangs in the early morning air, casting the

dream. Or maybe a nightmare, if something were to come out of

footsteps softly

the ground for any signs of

cluster near a huge oak tree’s gnarled

to take a closer look. “Are

the reddish-brown caps. “Definitely not the

yes, they are edible.”

while, discovering

more muted but no

I identify

slowly begins to lift.

you remember that time we went mushroom hunting while we were still

had to

of nostalgia sweeping over me. “You were so

You would have sauteed it right up and

a brief moment, the forest becomes

air, and nothing else. But then

I

But then, something happens.

through the

between

me behind a large oak.