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“We brought separate vehicles. What sense would it make to leave together?”
“I rode with you, so it made a lot of sense to leave with Chase since we live in the same house.”
“Yet you ended up at the hotel out on the highway and not at home.”
My grin seems to be contagious because her lips roll upward at the same time mine do.
I shrug.
“Really? That’s all I get?”
“Oh, look at the time,” I say, despite not wearing a watch. I pull money from my pocket and hand it over for the two helpings of mocha ice cream I ate. “Gotta go.”
“You’re rotten, Madison,” she says, laughing as I walk away from her little booth.
Adalynn owns Fondante’s Inferno, the local bakery, and one thing about her is that she’s always hustling. If she can make it and sell it, she’s going to try. The town has rules about who can set up a booth at these events, and the wares for the day have to meet those requirements. Last week, Adalynn didn’t make ice cream at her shop, but today she’s selling five different flavors. She also recently got a freeze dryer because she went to the Travis Country Fair and saw people lining up for freeze-dried candy. If there’s a way to make money, this woman is going to find it.
Not wanting to hedge any more conversations about leaving the bar with Chase last weekend, I opt to head to the relief station, a small, covered tent with ice water and misting fans. Texas summers are brutal, but the town does everything they can to make sure people stay hydrated and safe.
From my vantage point, I can see almost every booth. As hard as I try to keep my eyes going once I spot Chase and the boys, it’s impossible.
The hometown hero is smiling and laughing as people greet him. They have enough manners not to bring things for him to sign, but I have no doubt that they’re mentioning them and waiting for an offer. Manners are everything in the South and Chase was raised right. I have no doubt that Rebecca Shears, Kalen and Kristina Alexander’s mother and president of the Sisters of Liberty, will have himagreeing to his very own meet and greet before the day is over. Hell, there’s a good chance the town will fit it in on its own special day despite the already bursting summer schedule.
Women of all ages surround the man, smiling and laughing when he speaks, as if they’re hearing the funniest things ever come from his perfect lips.
They’ll ask for help or advice. Since he’s back working at the store, I wouldn’t doubt if every single woman in town, regardless of age, has suddenly become a handyman. They’ll need the products he sells at Wooden It Be Nice, or they’ll need his help with some project they started and can’t seem to finish without him. He’ll no doubt deny them at first but once they plead and bemoan their mistakes, he’ll offer to fix it for them.
I make a mental note to drive past the store to see who’s parked there at random times in the upcoming week.
I’m not known for being a jealous person. Anger and blame have always been more my thing, but I feel the tendrils of that little green-eyed monster trying to raise its head inside of me as I watch Hailey, the woman who was working at the bar a few weeks ago, skate closer to him.
He looks relieved when she approaches and speaks to him. Several of the other women frown, waiting for him to divert his attention back to them. When he doesn’t after a few minutes, some of them scatter, making me wonder what she said that could make them think they lost their shot.
He doesn’t touch her or lean in close in a secretive way. She doesn’t do that Southern woman thing where she places a hand on his forearm. There are no coy smiles or seductive looks, but he pulls out his phone and adds her number as she recites the number to him.
Pain and misplaced betrayal lashes out at me as I can’t seem to pull my gaze away from the two of them.
Is this how Adalynn felt when Cash nonchalantly mentioned Hailey giving him her number a while back?
I know better than to read too much into what we’ve been doing. I know where I stand. I just didn’t know I was going to need to take a number and get in line while we were doing it. We never mentioned exclusivity, but I didn’t think we needed to. This is my mistake, and asking for it now seems too possessive. It reeks of emotional entanglement, and that was definitely on the no-no list.
I feel too much already, despite telling myself that continuing anything with him after that first night was how I was going to take my life back. If I don’t get these emotions under control, I’m going to end up breaking my own heart.
I was sideswiped by obsession with Sam, only Chase isn’t that man. He’s like an open book. I need to take everything he says at face value. Ifhe says he isn’t going to get emotionally involved, then he isn’t. Any hurt I get from the interactions we’ve been having is my fault alone.
There’s a whisper of something in the back of my mind, that voice that warns me against getting hurt, and once again, I can’t decide if it’s old pain or a true warning.
I pull my eyes from Chase, turning around and grabbing one of the provided plastic cups so I can get some water. Ruth, the owner of The Brew and Chew, provides the supplies in the relief tent. I try to focus on the peeling sticker on the side of the massive pitcher that has the diner’s logo on it as I pull down the spout nozzle and fill my cup. I use tongs to pick up a couple slices of lemon and huff a humorless laugh at how over the top it all is.
Even those suffering from the threat of heat stroke might want a little flavor in their rehydration supplies.
I keep my back to Chase and the interaction with Hailey he’s not even trying to hide. I shove down that bitter part of me that wants to dislike the girl. I defended her to Adalynn when my friend was unimpressed with her for being from out of town. With the shoe on the other foot, and me in the line of fire, I don’t feel so hospitable toward the woman.
When I turn back to face the crowd, I purposely keep my eyes from the area where Chase is holding court, smiling when I see Adalynn smiling.
Cash stands in front of her, his grin just as wide as my friend’s.
She tries to hand him a small cup of ice cream but he waves her off, his hands going to his stomach as if he’s claiming it’s bad for his health.
