Evie sighed, looking off.
Sarah tucked her chin and grinned. “Aw, sweetie. I know that look. You’re thinking about that tall hunk o’ burning love. Aren’t you?”
This was it. She had to play along. If she did, Sarah would eventually mention the name. And if she mentioned Caleb, she would know immediately that somehow Sarah Jackson was in on it. Evie smiled weakly and looked down. “Is it that obvious?”
“I think it’s cute,” Sarah said as she patted her arm. The rooster outside went absolutely crazy, but it only distracted the ladies for a brief moment.
“You don’t think I’m weird?”
“No, not at all.” Sarah crossed her legs and reached over to pat Evie’s lap. “I mean, we all know how much you support the police. With Hunt being single now, it’s no wonder why you’re thinking about him all the time.”
Evie felt an entire anchor get dropped on her stomach.
Sarah continued, “You should ask him out. He already makes specific rounds in this area now for you. You guys are friends. You’ve got nothing to lose.”
Now what was she supposed to do? She and Hunt had never had anything together at all, and most importantly Evie didn’t evenlikehim like that. She respected him so much, and she already knew that Huntwas quietly in love with another girl, the receptionist at the daycare. It was a fact she only knew due to Hunt telling her himself. She had kept that secret and would take it to the grave. With this, she couldn’t go on letting Sarah believe she liked Hunt, because it could jeopardize Hunt’s chances with the receptionist, who had helped Evie land her first freelance job in town by asking her to design a flyer for their fall specials for childcare.
Ever since then, Evie was a hit all over with the businesses, being even more respected there than with her own boss, Mr. Perry.
She had to. Being at a stalemate again, she had no choice but to weigh the pros and cons. Finally, and possibly regrettably, she spoke, “I’m sorry, Sarah, but that’s not the case. I don’t have a thing for Hunt. He and I are just friends.”
Joshua’s UTV was heard roaring up the pasture to the back of the house. Sarah asked, “Is it Jake? Deputy Jake Hawkins?”
Evie snickered lowly, “No, it’s not him.”
Sarah bounced in surprise. “Well, who is it? It can’t be Deputy Martin, because I said a ‘tall hunk o’ burning love,’ and Martin isn’t tall.”
The women laughed.
Joshua came in through the back, and Sarah called, “Hey, Josh! She admitted it’s not Hunt, Martin, or Hawkins. Who else could it be?”
Evie listened astutely.
Joshua kicked his boots off the back door rug and shook the snow off his Carhartt jacket. “Hey, Evie! I’m sorry about her prying.”
“Oh no, it’s okay.”
Joshua grabbed a cold beer and sat down on the adjacent couch and took off his hat to scratch his scalp. He said to his wife, “You need to stop butting your nose into other people’s business.”
The couple entered into a loving bickering match, and Evie thought about how unlikely it would be for Joshua to be involved. That was not in his nature in any way shape at all. What would he have to gain from it? He was friends with him on Facebook.
Joshua sighed and said, “I see Caleb Wright’s been at your house lately. You know, if you ever need help with your lawn, I’d be more thanhappy to help. I used to do it all the time, so it wouldn’t bother me none to do it again. I’d be wary about him being around you alone.”
Evie wanted to smack her own face.Not this again. Apparently being friends with someone on Facebook didn’t mean you actually respected that person. Evie tried to ignore it, but the threshold was getting harder to navigate. For a moment, she held her forehead as if to lasso her own racing thoughts in a physical way. It was useless. It felt like her brain splattered against her skull with the urge to make a list of everything everyone was saying. If she did, she would end up obsessing over that list as if playing detective with no actual clues and no real conclusion.
“Oh, really?” Evie yelped as she clutched her chest, trying to force a front. It really meant a lot to her, at least the offer did. “Thank you so much, Josh. I really could use all the help I can get. I thought I could do it with a push mower, but I was wrong. Caleb was at my house to assess certain things because I’m really in over my head. He was so helpful.”
Joshua leaned back. “Yeah, he’s a good guy. Has some problems, but I think he can be alright.” He looked down at his hands for a second.
Nope. It wasn’t Joshua.
Luckily, Evie found another way to sneak into the conversation. She slapped her thigh. “I mean, it’s insane though. I hate how he was over at my house to help and now the town thinks we’re together. It’s weird.”
“WHAT?” Sarah nearly choked on her water. Joshua didn’t react at all.
It wasn’t Sarah either. That, she now knew. The reaction was far too visceral to have been feigned.
“Yeah, isn’t it weird? I feel bad for him, because he’s at risk of losing his kids now, all because he tried to help someone.”
