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Shay gave her head a wry shake. “You’re a cucumber. I’ll give you that much.”
“I don’t know what that means, but if you’re here to insult me again, I really would rather you hurried it along.”
“No, you know that expression—cool as a cucumber? We just say ‘cucumber’ in our family. It’s a compliment.”
“I see.”
“Kinda the opposite of me, especially lately.”
Ally had no idea what to say to that.
Shay went on, “Anyway, so, yeah… Tag lost his phone. Bering called on Friday night to tell me. I didn’t think to let you know. It was Iris who mentioned it. She was gone this weekend and stopped by the inn on her way home. She said you guys were dating, and I realized you might not have heard from him. It was thoughtless of me not to tell you.”
Apparently, Shay wasn’t finished tormenting her.
“The woman in the photo is his ex-girlfriend.”
This time Ally didn’t have to think about the blank stare. It was either that or cry, but Ally didn’t cry. Almost never. And definitely not in front of strangers.
“But I want you to know that my brother would never cheat on you. If he told you that you’re exclusive, he means it.”
The final, threadbare piece of hope she’d been holding on to frayed and broke at those words, because that was just the thing. He’d never told her they were exclusive. The opposite, in fact. He’d specifically said she should see other people.
When she’d asked him if he was committed to anyone, he’d said no. At the time, she hadn’t thought to ask if he was dating anyone else. Still, she hadn’t seen it coming. Maybe she was, if not too young for Tag, then too inexperienced.
Shay was here to tell her he’d lost his phone, but Ally couldn’t see how that mattered now. If he’d wanted to contact her, he could have. But what difference would that have made? If he’d had his phone, would he have called to tell her he was going to a fancy party with a tall, model-gorgeous, sexy-high-heel-wearing blonde? Hey, Ally, don’t worry when you see my photo in the Rankins Press snuggled up with a hottie. It’s just my ex.
It didn’t matter, because she would have just been crushed that much sooner. She was glad she didn’t have experience if this was what it felt like to really care about a man and then have him tear your heart in two, especially when she didn’t even know if she had a right to be feeling this way. She might be young, but she was clearly old-school when it came to this sort of thing.
Sounds from next door drew their attention. Little Mason Hatch bounded out of the house with younger sister, Liza, hot on his heels. Mom, DeAnne, followed, carrying the baby, Albert, on her hip.
“Mason!” she called, to no avail. “Liza!”
The little boy sprinted into Ally’s yard, across the grassy expanse and up the porch steps, where he climbed into the swing next to Shay. Liza stopped and waited for her mother.
“Hey, Mason!” Shay greeted him with a warm smile and slipped an arm around him. “What’s up?”
“Oh, not much. I’m going to get in trouble when Mommy comes. But I saw you over here, and I just started running because I wanted to see you close up. I like seeing you close-up, Shay.”
“That’s so nice, buddy. I like seeing you close-up, too.”
Sure enough, DeAnne was only seconds behind him. Ally often marveled at the speed at which toddler-wielding moms could move. “Shay, Ally, hi.” Scaling the porch, she shook her head at her son. “Mason, I’m speechless. How many times do I have to tell you not to run out of my sight?”
“But I’m in your sight, Mom. I know because you followed me real easy.”
Ally could see that Shay was trying not to smile. She did an admirable job until DeAnne lost it and then both women laughed hard. Ally couldn’t quite bring herself to join in, but she managed a smile while DeAnne tried to explain the intricacies of “in sight.”
The women proceeded to visit for a few minutes until Liza toddled off across the yard. DeAnne began to fidget when she neared the road.
“Do you want me to take him?” Shay held out her arms for the baby. “So you can round her up?”
