“Obviously.”
He smiles, but it's not a particularly friendly one. “I was just taking a drive around and saw it. Don't s'pose you're looking to sell?”
I eye him over. I highly doubt that he's actually interested in buying my truck, but I can't tell what his intentions are.
“Nope.”
He takes another bite and then speaks with a mouthful of apple. “Too bad. Two-thousand-and-eleven was a good year. For the truck, I mean, of course.” My jaw clenches tight at his implication. Yes, that's the year of my truck, but it's also the year my life turned to shit, and I don't think it was a coincidence that he brought it up. “Anyway, I'll be on my way,” he says, taking a step backward and tossing his apple core off to the side. “Let you get back to things.”
He turns around and walks back to his car parked on the road while whistling.
Well, that was fucking weird, but if that's the newest tactic to try and intimidate me, it failed.
I start toward my house but then remember that I have a couple of fish to unload, so I walk back down the dock to the boat and then finallyhead back to my house.
As I open the front door, despite all the thoughts that ran through my head during the night, I get excited at the possibility that Remi is still sleeping on my couch.
I'm disappointed, though, when I walk in to find the couch empty. The bathroom door is open as well, so I know she's not in there.
The silence in here is something that I'm used to, but I find it extra quiet now after having Remi here so much and all the talking we did last night.
I notice a piece of paper on the coffee table, so I walk over and pick it up. It's a message from Remi. I guess she's more thoughtful than I am.
“Good morning! I had to go home and get ready for work. I'll see you tonight.”
I guess I have all day to prepare for her to come back here again.
CHAPTER 16
Remi
“Okay, seriously. Did someone make a deposit at the bank of Remi recently?”
I almost choke on my saliva and look over at Tahnee leaning on the counter.
“You are so crude sometimes,” I answer with a chuckle. “And, no.”
Unfazed, she settles in further and replies, “Well, something good happened. You've had this creepy permanent smile on your face for a couple of days now.”
“Uh, thanks for calling my face creepy.”
She smirks. “I didn't call your facecreepy, just the smile you're wearing like you're in one of those nineteen-fifties commercials where they're constantly smiling.”
“Can't I just be in a good mood?”
I don't actually know why I'm feeling so happy. What I learned about Jacob a few days ago is anything butsomething to be happy about.
Of course, I feel bad for him, devastated, really. But the reliefI feel causes a feeling of freedom to run through my veins. I feel so light now despite the heaviness of everything.
Her eyes narrow as she looks me over. “I guess. Hey, don't forget we're having drinks with those guys, probably sometime in the next week.”
“Yep, sure,” I answer, not really paying attention.
“Alright, well, I'm going to head out now.” She straightens up off the counter and stretches her arms out above her head. “Do you want to come over and watch a movie tonight?”
I busy myself with the rack at the counter while trying to come up with a satisfactory answer. I hate that I still have to hide the fact that I'm spending time with Jacob. But until I can figure something else out, I guess I just have to suck it up.
When no good excuse comes to mind, I settle for the most basic answer. “I can't tonight. I have some things to get done.”
