If she hadn’t brought up the existence of a boyfriend, we would’ve fucked. And then what? Fancy had been my religion for years. I’d tried converting to the Temple of Reese, the cathedral of Mari, the church of Willa. But in the end, I’d return to the shrine of Francesca Palmer with offerings and songs of worship. Maybe Dial was right, I was stupid. Fancy was hardwired into my software. Since she’d been gone, I was dating and makingnew memories to overwrite the old code. Unfortunately, with her return all my desires and hopes were looking to reboot.
Glancing up the road, I searched for any approaching cars, but no vehicles were in sight. It looked like I was going to have to hoof it the last few miles to the ranch. Last night it seemed like a good idea to give Fancy my car and get her out of my house so she couldn’t witness the disappointment all over my face. She had a boyfriend. Possibly ex-boyfriend.Did she return to Hume to get away from him?Liking Fancy was one thing, but I had no intentions of getting caught up in her drama.
I purposely stuck to a select group of friends and excluded myself from gossip, which was everywhere you turned around here. You could be shopping for groceries, and an acquaintance would come up to you and just start spilling every intimate detail about themselves and everyone else. Do I look like I cared about Mr. Baxter cheating on his wife or a former classmate getting busted for a DUI? I minded the business that paid me.
The sun was up but not fully awake, which helped to make the walk bearable. Hume cooled off a bit at night, but with first light you were able to predict the weather and today was going to be another hot one. If Dial needed something heavy moved at the nursery today, she would have to get someone else to do it. Okay, that was a lie. I was still going to move it, but I’d grumble under my breath the entire time. That would be my silent protest, letting her know she couldn’t just treat me any which way. And at next Sunday’s dinner I was going to snitch to our mother and watch with revelry while she chewed Dial out. One of the perks of being the baby of the family.
A familiar black Jeep stopped next to me and the doors unlocked. Dial had circled back and was now staring at me. “Are you getting in or what?” That was the only apology I was getting. Cautiously approaching the vehicle, I climbed back into the passenger seat. The remainder of our drive was silent. Wewere both stubborn and didn’t want to be the first to say sorry. Entering the Palmer Ranch, Dial stopped in front of the main house and shifted the car into park.
“Thank you for the ride.”
“Uh-hmm.”
Turning to face her, I said, “Dial?”
“I just don’t want you getting hurt Eddy.”
“Fancy’s never hurt me.”
“She ignored you. She kept you close because you were a good friend, and she knew you liked her. And she used it to her advantage. In a pinch, call Edison because he’ll wake up in the middle of the night, drive to some party he wasn’t invited to and courier her home like a fucking RideX. He’ll score her weed, or change her oil, or listen while she laments about the dude who’s fucking her dizzy.”
“I chose to be there for her. That’s not on Fancy, that’s on me.”
“She’s a user. She used you back then and she’s probably using you right now.”
“Are you done?”
“Are you listening?”
“Dial, I appreciate the concern, but I’m grown.”
“Grown people get their hearts broken every day,” she warned me.
“Good morning.” A cheery voice came from the passenger side of the Jeep, making us both jump.
“Hey you’re up?” I said.
“I figured you’d come looking for your truck,” Fancy said, leaning into the window. “Hey Dial, how have you been?”
“Fine, yourself?” Dial didn’t even bother to meet her eyes.
“No worse for wear, I suppose.”
My sister just stared straight ahead, making everything awkward.
I turned to Dial. “See you back at the nursery.”
“Yep.”
I jumped out and Dial sped off, turning onto the dusty unpaved road.
“Nice to see Dial is still as friendly as ever.”
“She’s just tired.”
“We both know I’m not her favorite person.”
I shrugged Fancy’s words off. “She hates everybody, really?”
