“Dan? What do you got to say about him?” Evie asked.
Dan Hunt scratched his bald head. “I can’t really say legally. Be careful around him, ya hear?”
The remarks didn’t steer her the other way in one bit. It could have been a stupid thing to do, but Caleb had been nothing but nice to her until recently. And even then, he wasn’t mean to her either. He was just avoiding her.
But why? She suddenly thought, and with the thought crashing her brain, she tilted her head as if the thought itself slapped her in the back of the head.Maybe he’s having a PTSD issue.Or perhaps the divorce had taken a nasty turn.
Everyone parted ways in a friendly manner. Evie followed Joey to the table, but as she sipped her delicious and creamy drink, she thought deeply. It was a good thing she had made that last comment to deflect the fact that she was still––regrettably and possibly stupidly––holding out for Caleb. She had to play it off like she had someone in her life that wasn’t him, and never was him.
How the hell did anyone know about Caleb being at her house? It couldn’t have been Joshua who saw and blabbered itoff somehow, could it? Or Sarah? Evie’s house was too far from the road to really be able to tell that. Or so she thought.
Evie wasn’t about to waste any time. As they sat down, she put her stuff up on the table but immediately asked while removing her design folder, “Joey, I need you to be straight with me. Who told you Caleb and I had a stint together?”
Joey shrugged. “What does it matter? You guys did. I don’t know why you’re denying it. You guys would make ahotcouple!” She frantically shuffled things aside. “That is, if he could fucking take his meds.”
Evie shook her head out in irritation. “Because we didn’t. We never did. We’re friends on Facebook, and he came over when I was having a panic attack. He recognized what it was and saved me a huge hospital bill. That’s why he was over there once, and the second time it was to mow my lawn. If someone was snooping, they should have noticed him mowing my lawn.”
They stared at each other. Evie warned, “And you probably shouldn’t be telling people he’s on meds. That’s really private, you know?”
Joey gave a look of suspicious disbelief and slightly turned her head, ignoring the recent comment. “You have almost three hundred chick friends on your list. Why didn’t you reach out to them? Why did it have to be Caleb?”
Evie leaned her head back in frustration. “Oh my God, Joey. He plays guitar too, and we were having a conversation about flatpicking technique when my anxiety attack happened!” She began fixing her work. “Not to mention, with the way the women act around here, they would only make my anxiety worse.” She rested her hands on the table. “I really need you to tell me who told you.”
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s look at these awesome designs!”
Evie stopped her. She was getting mad. No, she was getting downrightpissed off. “Itdoesmatter because if word is going around that he and I are sleeping together, he could fucking lose custody of his kids, dammit!”
Joey blankly stared at her.
“Yeah! You didn’t think about that, did you?” She gathered up herpurse. “Nor does anyone around here think about anyone else but themselves.”
“Where are you going?” Joey asked as she turned in her chair to watch Evie leave.
Evie stopped at the door. “I’m sorry, but I have some serious damage control to do. Feel free to look at the examples I gave you for all I care right now.” She shook her head furiously. “I can’t believe you won’t tell me who told you.”
Joey protested, “It’s not gonna make a difference if I did! Why do you even care about that guy anyway if you two were never involved?”
“He’s a human being, Joey! He’s got emotions and hardships just like the rest of us. And he’s done a lot of nice things for me, more than anyone else here! Out of all the people who gossiped about this, the only one who doesn’t get to know about the gossip is the one everyone’s gossiping about! Who the hell are you trying to protect?”
Evie flew out the door and immediately dialed Caleb’s number when she was in the car. “Please pick up. Please pick up.” He wasn’t wrong when he told her that the town never shut up. But this time, it now affected her, and it had gone too far.
It went to voicemail, and she left a message telling him it was urgent. She then texted him, “I know you’re not talking to me now, and I can respect that, but this is important. Whatever I did to make you mad, I’m sorry. But this isn’t about that.”
He wrote back, “I have nothing to say to you.”
She nearly broke her phone slamming it on her steering wheel. “Caleb, please, I need to talk to you.”
Finally, she was relieved when he called.
He answered, “I’ve got about five minutes. What do you need?”
She sighed in relief and rubbed her hair out of her face. But all over her body felt like she nearly dodged a head-on collision. She turned her car on to get the heater going. “Did you tell people you and I were sleeping together?”
He paused on the other line.
She waited, drumming her fingers hotly on her lap.
He stammered, “I…thoughtyoudid?” At his job site, he told his workers he was stepping outside for a moment.
