But I was also serious, just not about his ass. It was this part that I liked so much. It was how easy he made it to lay it all out there. How he didn't make me feel like an idiot, even when I was probably being one. Kindle couldn't pull me away from this. If I had my way, nothing would - which was exactly why I needed to go.
Chapter Forty-Three
Cy decided he'd meet Kindle in Sherman for coffee the next day. Naturally, that thought spun through the back of my head all day long. In the morning, I asked if he'd set a time yet, and Cy said he was putting it off. At least there was that. But the farm didn't stop, and I had a few things to do today. My phone was in my pocket, just in case Faith tried something else at school. I made sure Violet knew I was headed out for a bit, and then I left Southwind.
First, I stopped at the feed store to pick up grain. Of course, Tanya had to let me know that Faith was hanging out with that loser boy from the trailer park. Considering she was just out of high school, I didn't snap at the girl too harshly. But when I went to pay for it all, Marge was there, glaring at me. I got a good old-fashioned harumph, although she kept it at that.
"Ten bags of horse feed," I told her. "Tanya's already getting it together for me."
The woman ran her eyes over me, then let out an overly dramatic sigh. "Luke, what are you doing up there at that place?"
"Making a hell of a lot more money than I ever did working for Simmons," I assured her. "Better hours, better bosses, and a good place for my kid."
"With those... men!"
"David says it's no more a sin than pre-marital sex," I told her. "In case you missed the memo, I'm the walking stereotype of that, having a kid and all."
"But it's not natural," she told me.
Oddly, I didn't feel that panic that I once had. I was just annoyed, and in a tired sort of way. "And unless you want to talk about the things you and your husband do in the bedroom, I honestly don't think it's any of your business. How people have sex, and if they do, is none of our business. No one would care if they were just good friends. All you're doing is hating people because you can, and it's not a good look." I slapped my debit card on the counter. "Gonna charge me?"
"And you think Faith belongs in a place like that?" she asked, swiping my card through the reader.
"I think I'm proud of my daughter for being open-minded and able to care about all of God's children, even the broken ones." I lifted a brow, making it clear I didn't mean Ash and Cy.
"Well, sounds to me like that arrest at the grill might make it a moot point." She passed back my card and the receipt with a little sneer that was supposed to have been a smile.
"My attorney's not too worried," I assured her, taking both and turning for the door.
But I was. The last few weeks had been too easy. Faith had a friend, my love life was looking up, and Cessily hadn't been yelling at me for making a mess of things. It had been nice, but that didn't mean I wasn't worried about the custody case. Faith still had two appointments with that shrink, thanks to the wait time to get in. The first was coming up quick, though. And if he didn't like what she said?
I knew that Marge talked to Jodi and Meredith. She was close friends with April's family, which was how she'd heard about Ash's article in that magazine. The one that called Leslie his girlfriend or something. But the fact that she'd mentioned the arrest? Yeah, that had my mind going. So, the moment my truck was loaded up, I turned the wrong way, aiming for the one place I knew I could get all the town gossip without the extra layer of bullshit: Mike's Garage.
Like always, the place was empty but there was a car in one of the bays. The other was closed, but I had a feeling Mike was working on some project in there. I found a spot out of the way, parked, and headed into the lobby just as Mike pushed through the door to meet me.
"Hi, what can..." He groaned at the sight of me. "New truck, huh?"
"Yep." I moved to lean on the chest high counter. "Busy?"
"Fuck no," he laughed. "Sounds like you've been, though. Come around back so you can talk while I balance these tires. I even got a cold beer if you want one."
I glanced back at the clock and decided noon was late enough to accept that, so I followed. I'd spent far too many hours in here. Usually, it had been bitching about women. Sometimes it had been worrying about work or my kid. Mike was always willing to listen, and sometimes do a bit of his own bitching.
The guy was decent enough. He wasn't a rocket scientist, but he was that good salt of the earth kind of guy who was dependable. A bit of a pig, too, if I was honest, and he didn't seem to know where the line was when it came to my girlfriend - which he proved as soon as he grabbed the beers and pointed me at a chair.
"So, you seen the model naked yet?" And he passed me a bottle.
I dropped into the seat and chuckled. "Girlfriend, Mike."
"Boning her?" he teased, pulling up the other chair so he was facing me.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I sleep in the same bed as her most nights."
"But are you boning her?" he pressed.
I groaned. "Yeah. Happy?"
He tilted his beer up and took a long drink. "Yup. She a dead fuck?"
