AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We spend the next couple of hours prepping food while Ryan gives me a rundown of what’s been going on in Walla Walla since I graduated high school. Interestingly enough, he doesn’t say much about himself.
Now I’m on a mission to find out what he’s been up to.
Chapter 12
Meet The Friends
Ryan
Someonetapsontheback slider door a few minutes before four o’clock. Hutch and his new girlfriend Stella poke their heads in. He looks massive next to Stella. He's nearly a foot taller than her, with the build of a tank, and the heart of a lion. Stella rests her hand on her pregnant belly and grins. Hutch waves. “Is this where the party’s at?”
I wave him in. “Yep! We were just about ready to head down to the yard and start up the barbeque. Wanna help me bring the food down?”
Babs rushes to Stella, who is nearly seven months pregnant. Stella has a long red braid down her back and a flowing white dress that accentuates her bump. “Here,” Babs says, taking the bowl of salad dressing from Stella's hands. “Let me help you.”
Babs leads Stella back out the sliding glass doors, onto the deck, and down the stairs to the backyard.
Livvie and I spent a couple of years revamping the area behind the shop and turning it into a backyard so she can have pool parties with her friends, and I can have my friends over for barbeques while she’s gone. Having to be on call for tow jobs makes it hard to socialize sometimes, but I know I can trust these guys to not burn down my house or my shop if I have to take off at the last minute.
Hutch leans over to me after the women disappear outside. “Whose your date? She looks familiar?”
My brows rise in surprise. “Do you remember Freddie Babson from high school?”
“The soccer player who went to WSU on scholarship?”
I nod. “That’s his little sister.”
Hutch’s gaze jerks to mine. “That’s Freddie’s little sister? The one you had a crush on? What's her name? Carrie?”
“How did you know I had a crush on her?”
Hutch slaps my back with his hand and laughs. “We all knew. You were the only one in denial.” Hutch rolls his eyes. “Apparently, you’re still in denial. Where did you find her?”
“Her car broke down yesterday.”
“Oh!” Hutch grins and wags his brows.
“At a cemetery.”
His face drops a little. “Oh.”
“After her father’s funeral.”
Hutch’s eyes bulge. “Ooooooh.”
I sigh. “Yeah.”
“That sucks, man. I mean. Great news she’s not married—she's not married, right?" he verifies.
I shake my head.
"Crappy news that her dad’s death is so recent. She may not be in the right frame of mind for a relationship right now,” he says.
“Tell me about it,” I mutter, picking up my tray of steaks and gesturing to the hotdogs and veggies to be grilled.
Hutch picks up the hotdogs. “What’s the customary waiting period in a situation like this? I mean, how long do you have to wait till you can hit on her?”
“Hutch!” I hiss.
