Dan looked at Evie. “I think it’s great you’ve been designing some local work. You’re really good with it. The school loves the new design you did.”
Joey called with her back turned, “Yeah, you can thank that tall, cool glass of water Caleb Wright for putting that bug in her head. Too bad he’s a jackass. He’s a fine jackass with a fine ass, but he’s still a jackass.”
Dan looked at Joey and put his hands on his vest straps. “What? Why him?”
Joey slid Evie’s order over the counter and raised her brows. “Don’t you know? They had a brief stint together.”
Evie’s feet went absolutely fucking cold.
“Ohreally?” Dan asked teasingly.
Evie looked around. Her heart pounded. Memories of him were drowned in her blood by the whiskey still. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb, Evie. The whole town knows.”
What?!
Evie thought back. Neither Caleb nor she had posted anything about it. She didn’t tell anyone at all. Didhetell people? She grabbed her stuff off the counter and asked, “What makes you think Caleb and I had a stinttogether?”
“Evie, his truck was seen at your house a few months ago like twice. Or three times. I don’t remember.”
“I recommendknowingbeforegossiping.He’s a contractor, and that was almostthreemonths ago,” she explained. “He was fixing stuff at my house. Everyone in town knows where I live and how crappy it is. It’s no secret.”
Joey raised her brow and put her hand on her hip again. She wasn’t buying it. “Uh-huh. He was at your house at midnight on a Friday?”
Evie was infuriated. Who the hell would know that? It was like someone was watching her house!
Dan corrected with a sip of his coffee, “That would technically be Saturday morning.”
“Shut up, Dan!” Joey said with a grinning scrunch of her face and rapid little head shake. “I’m trying to get tea, here.”
What was Evie going to say? She looked left and right.
Joey said, “Dan, read her face. Is she lying?”
Evie bit into her bagel. Dan smiled and stoutly said, “I’m not gonna disclose that. That’s her personal information.”
“Oh, you suck, Dan,” Joey laughed.
But then Dan turned to Evie with a sharp eye. “I know you support law enforcement a lot. One of our deputies, Jake, recently got back on the market. You’d be good for him. I can hook something up if you’d like. I’d feel a lot better about you going out with Jake than Caleb. I’ve been dispatched to that house one too many times.”
She smiled and winked. “No thanks, Dan, I’m not the cheatin’ kind.” Evie tried to say the expression to derail Joey from thinking she ever had a stint with Caleb. She planned to play it off like she had been seeing someone else. Even if he ditched her, she still wanted to respect his privacy. It wasn’t about her. It was about him and his kids.
“That’s horseshit,” Joey said again. “You’re not involved with him anymore obviously. Why does it matter? Jake’s hot as hell.”
Evie grinned and shrugged. “Who said I was talking about being involved with Caleb? I got someone else.” She raised her brows.
Joey turned. “I hate my customers today.”
Everyone laughed, and Atlas barked.
“Alright, let’s get to the tables. I wanna see what you designed. I’m so excited for this shit.”
Evie stopped them for a moment to ask, “I don’t understand. What’s everyone’s problem with Caleb? My pawpaw said he was bad news but never told me why. What’s everyone’s beef with him?”
Joey put her hand on her hip and slammed her other hand on the counter. “Because he fucking threw a chair at his wife for one. Then he always screamed at her and then cheated on her. Not to mention he also got kicked out of the bar here in town for fighting with someone. Dude’s fucking gone.”
Everything Joey saidcould’vemade sense, except for the cheating part. That part was a wild card for sure. Caleb was loyal to a marriage that was ending, because he never had sex with her and wouldn’t. Evie looked to Dan, hoping he wouldn’t say the same thing. Her breath felt uneasy within her chest, but she tried not to make her emotions apparent and refrained from shifting around on her feet.
