I feel my face blush immediately and release a snort. “I know.”
“He said he ain’t ever datin’ again. Women are trouble.”
“I just want to say hello, Andi. I promise not to ask him to date me.”
She rolls her eyes and huffs, “Fine.” It makes me smile.
Nash’s truck pulls up right in front of Andi. I watch him lean over to the passenger side and push the door open. “Come on, peanut. Hurry up.”
“Um, Nash?” I say, raising one finger to get his attention.
“What?” he snaps.
“Can I talk to you for a sec?”
He glares at me, and I want to curl up in a little ball and roll away. Far, far away. “What do you need?” he says in a steely voice. He hasn’t said my name, which leads me to believe that he has no idea who I am.
“It’s about, erm, school.” I walk around to his side of the truck.
“What about school?”
I lean in to whisper. “Reading.”
“Reading?” His voice is loud—loud enough to get Andi’s attention. She’s stopped herself as she’s about to buckle herself in. “What about reading?”
“Erm, I’d like to read with Andi.”
The next question isn’t from Nash; it’s from his daughter. “What for?”
“Well, Andi”—I feel myself grow even more nervous than I was before—“I thought it’d be fun to read together since you don’t have time at home.”
“Fun?” Nash asks. “Is that what school is now? Fun?” He’s practically sneering. “We don’t have time for fun….”
“Miss Harmon,” Andi helps him out.
Nash glares at Andi, then at me.
“That’s Isaac’s sister, Daddy.”
He turns to Andi; then his head moves back slowly to me. As he stares down at me, I can’t decide what his expression means. It’s not happy, that’s for sure. “I know who she is.”
If he knows, then why does he pretend I don’t exist?
His army green eyes are staring straight into my baby blues. “We done?”
“No, I—”
“Yeah, we’re done. We’re late.” He puts the truck into gear and adds, “Watch your toes. Wouldn’t want to dirty up those fancy college-girl shoes.”
I stare down at my cheap Target wedge sandals. Cute, yes. Fancy, no. And college girl? What does that even mean? When his tires start to roll, I step back far enough away that he won’t run me over when he turns the corner.
Watching his truck move down the road, I can’t help wondering what I ever did to that man to make him dislike me so much. Heck, he used to talk to me back when he’d hang out at our place. Well, okay, it’s not like we had lengthy conversations or anything, but he’d at least acknowledge my existence back then––say hi, ask me how school was, that sort of thing. I can’t figure out what changed. Why, after all these years, does he treat me like I’m the enemy or, worse, a stranger? I’m tempted to ask Isaac about it, but he’ll just call Nash, and that will end up being a whole thing. I don’t want that. No, what I want is a chance to read with Andi. She’s bright. It won’t take her long to get the hang of things. She just needs the time and just a little help.
I cross my arms over my chest and stare off in the direction the truck just went. I’m not giving up on this, on Andi. She needs help, and I’m going to give it to her no matter what that stubborn mule says. “I’ve got news for you, Nash Watson. It’s my job to help these kids, and I’ll be darned if I’m going to let some broody jerk stop me from doing just that.” Even if I have to drive out to his farm after school, Iwillhelp Andi.
5
Nash
