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.”

need help,” I interject, zipping up

since I was a kid. I’ll

studies me for a moment, his eyes penetrating,

to find truffles around here, you know that,

need to do something, okay? I need to

turning stern, his posture more rigid. “Then let me

you.”

of Alpha energy in his eyes, a silent, commanding

dealing with lately.

way.

myself say. “You

for a split second, I see something

relief. “Good,” he says, his

alone in my office,

did I just agree to

…

boots, each step m ffled by a layer

earth.

the early morning air, casting the forest in surreal grays and blues. I feel like

if something were to come

his footsteps softly echoing my own. We

scanning the ground for any signs

to a cluster near

to take a closer

to reveal the reddish-brown caps.

yes, they are edible.”

this way for a while, discovering various fungi

colors, others more muted but no less

turns into a mini biology lesson as I identify them, and the tension that’s been

slowly begins to lift.

we went mushroom hunting while we

a prolonged silence. “You had to stop me from

of nostalgia sweeping over me. “You were

right up and

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

the cool morning air, and nothing else. But then guilt seeps in, muddying the moment.

when I just lost my two best

But then, something happens.

tter as a distant shout cuts through the mist, followed

between the

me behind a