Page 91 of Where Roads Lead

Besides, it was nice to have a friend in town. Especially one in control of the coffee situation.

But it wasn’t an elderly neighbor walking into Hughes. It was Theo, who I’d found out over the last week was actually one of Will’s best friends, despite the way he’d treated him in the town square that day.

“Hi!” I waved at him.

He’d become a friend of sorts, too.

He wasn’t as fun to interact with as Will was, but that’s because he was so good-natured, it was hard to find anything to pick on him about.

But I figured a friendship without banter was still a friendship worth having, even if it didn’t invigorate my mind the way Will did when I searched for a response that might shock him the most.

Theo took a step toward our table, and Will lowered himself back down in his seat, apparently deciding he wasn’t needed back behind the counter right away.

I figured he must want to talk to Theo, too, who had been intercepted by someone at a nearby table.

These people, I thought, they see each other almost every day, yet somehow act as if they might not get the chance to talk to each other for weeks.

“You know he wants to date you, right?” Will yanked me from my musings by the shock of his comment.

“What?” I laughed.

“Are you oblivious?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at me. “Every time he comes in, he tries to ask you out.”

“Not-uh.” I stared at him with wide eyes.

Will really didn’t understand the art of my banter. It might look like a flirtation to some people, but it’s just how I navigated the world.

God forbid a girl have some quippy conversations.

“Yesterday, for example,” Will continued, determined to prove his point. “He asked you what you were doing on Friday night.”

He widened his eyes at me, as if that meant something.

“And I told him,” I countered, unimpressed, “that I was passing out candy to trick or treaters.”

“And he said,” Will emphasized, “‘Halloween’s a great night for watching scary movies.’”

“And I told him I hate scary movies.”

I’d watched Pet Sematary as a kid and had to sleep in my parents’ room for a month. It was safe to say Stephen King had me traumatized to this very day.

I shuddered visibly.

“And he came out with the godawful line, ‘You might like it better if you had someone there to protect you while you watched.’” Will rolled his eyes.

But I didn’t care if Jason Momoa himself was there holding me, I wasn’t watching a scary with anyone. And I’d told Theo as much the day before.

“What’s your point?”

“My point is, he was trying to get you to invite him over.”

“He’s never asked to come over.” I squinted.

“Because he’s trying to be subtle about it, but clearly it’s not working.”

“Well, I don’t mind if he comes over.” I shrugged. “I get lonely.”

Will’s jaw clenched, probably because the notion of wanting company was so foreign to him. “How could you possibly get lonely? You spend every day here, surrounded by people.”