She’d dry heaved for ten minutes before she’d declared that she was finished and she would see me at her parent’s house.
She walked across the street, got into a Ford Excursion, and sat in the driver’s seat for a full ten minutes before she seemed to collect herself enough to leave.
I walked back into the coffee shop and ordered a pastry and a coffee, drank half of it, and never once stopped staring at my phone.
I didn’t know this lady.
I had, of course, heard about her.
Not from Sheriff Black and Gentry, though.
But from the talk of the town.
Apparently, Edith “Eddy” Wheeler was a powerhouse of a soccer coach.
She’d taken the girls of Jesper County Schools to state three times in her five years of coaching them.
She’d taken them last season as well, and they’d won.
They’d held a freakin’ parade in honor of them, and I’d gone, of course.
Our company had put our trucks in the parade, and I’d driven one out of obligation.
But seeing Eddy had been the highlight of my day.
She was captivating.
Not super tall, and very skinny, but she had captivating brown eyes the color of champagne, long, curly brown hair that was down to her ass, and the most beautiful porcelain skin that I’d ever seen.
She reminded me of one of those American Girl Dolls that my sister had loved to play with when we were kids.
I’d thought about her often since I’d seen her in that parade a few months ago.
She’d been walking down the road with a massive smile on her face, hair long and swinging, in running shoes, tights, and an oversized Jesper County Soccer sweatshirt.
Nothing super spectacular or standoutish, but she’d captivated me to the point where I’d wanted to know her.
And now there I was, helping her out of a nightmare.
My phone rang, and I answered it as professionally as I could.
“Hi.” Eddy’s voice was shaky. “I just really messed up, and I was hoping that you were free to come look at my parents’ house. I think I shorted an electrical socket out when I plugged something in, and now I’m worried that it might cause a fire or something.”
She sounded sick to her stomach.
I didn’t blame her.
I cleared my throat. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I hesitated. “Tell me the address.”
She gave me the address, her voice only a little bit shaky.
The drive to her parents’ place took me five minutes seeing as I was already in town.
When I arrived, she opened the door with the fakest smile I’d ever seen and urged, “Come on in.”
I went in only after grabbing my tool belt from the back seat.
She stepped to the side, and I said, “Where’d you get the electrical outlet jammed up?”
