Page 181 of Show Me

“After she argued with me for ten minutes,” Dad says.

She arches her eyebrows while tilting her head to the side. “I encouraged you to bring her in.”

“You called me stubborn.”

“You were.”

“I was gathering information.”

She laughs while retrieving a peppermint from her pocket and popping it in her mouth. “I’ll have your medicine ready in a minute.”

Dad hooks two fingers beneath the brim of his faded cap, tipping it back. “Yes, ma’am.”

She rolls her eyes, smiling as she disappears toward the treatment area.

His grin fades as he studies me. “You alright?”

The question catches me off guard. Not because of what he’s asked. Because apparently everyone can tell lately. “I’m fine.”

His eyebrows lift. “You look tired.”

“I’ve had a long couple of days.”

He jerks his head toward the front door. “Walk me out.”

I turn my attention to the receptionist. “Tell Dr. Carter I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Cold air brushes across my face as we step into the parking lot. Dad stops beside his truck instead of climbing in. “You wanna tell me what's going on?”

My stomach tightens. “Nothing's going on.” Shit. Where would I even start?

“Ruby.” One word. Twenty-four years of parental skepticism packed into two syllables.

I sigh. “Things have been stressful.”

“This about work?”

I shake my head.

“The boy?”

Heat rushes into my cheeks as I glance over my shoulder. This is Brookhaven. Even the buildings have ears. “What boy?”

Dad gives me a look. “The one you've been mooning over since high school.”

“Oh, my God.”

“You think people didn’t notice?”

“I was hoping they didn’t.” Jesus. This is worse than I thought. Are people taking bets on when I’m going to realize Xavier isn’t going to commit? How humiliating.

“Well...” He scratches the back of his neck. “...you weren’t exactly subtle.”

Heat continues to ride up my neck and cheeks. “This is a mortifying conversation.”

“For you, maybe.” He nods his head as I lean against the side of his truck because standing up seems like too much effort. “You care about him.”

Not a question. And it’s pointless to try and lie to my dad. “Yeah.”