Jolene nodded. “I used to think that having a lot in common was what mattered most with attraction. But, recently, I’ve discovered that attraction doesn’t always make sense. It’s just something that happens. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Joey liked you.”
Hope filled Cheyenne. “You think?”
“I think it’s extremely possible. You’re a beautiful, smart young woman. Why wouldn’t he?”
Jolene’s praise gave Cheyenne a boost of confidence. Why wouldn’t Joey like her? She was nice and pretty and smart. All she had to do was show him. But when Joey arrived a few minutes later with her takeout order, all her confidence evaporated and all she could do was sit there like a bump on a log.
“Here you go, Cheyenne. Two cheeseburgers with everything. And one hamburger with no onions.” When she didn’t say anything, he turned to Jolene. “Can I get you another coffee, Miss Applegate? Or maybe something to eat?”
“No, thank you. So how’s school, Joey? I bet you’re looking forward to winter break.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Do you have any plans?”
“I have to work a lot so I’ll probably just hang around here. But me and a group of my friends were thinking about having a Christmas party—adult supervised, of course.”
“That sounds like fun.” Jolene glanced at Cheyenne. “Are you going, Cheyenne?”
Cheyenne blushed and was about to say she hadn’t been invited when Joey spoke.
“You’re more than welcome to come if you want.”
It was hard to talk around her thumping heart. Joey Mac had asked her to go to a party with him! But before she could say that she would love to, her father’s voice cut in.
“Cheyenne’s not going to any wild teenage party.” Her father strode up to the table and glare at Joey. “Do you understand me?”
Joey swallowed hard. “Umm . . . it’s not going to be wild, sir.”
“Sure it’s not. I wasn’t born yesterday. I’ve been to my share of teenage parties.”
“Yes, sir.” Joey backed away. “I better get back to the counter.”
When he was gone, Cheyenne wanted toscream at her father for totally ruining her life. But she refused to cause another scene in front of Joey. With tears brimming in her eyes, she slid out of the booth and grabbed the bag and tray of drinks. As she passed her father, she said only three words.
“I hate you.”
Chapter Six
It wasn’tthe first time Cheyenne had said she hated him and Cal figured it wouldn’t be the last. But no matter how much he knew she didn’t mean it, the words still cut straight to his heart. He thought about going after her. But when she passed the front window and glared at him, he figured it would be best to let her cool down before he attempted to talk to her. Besides, he had already kept Jolene waiting long enough.
He placed his jacket and hat on the hook at the end of the booth and slid into the seat across from her. “I’m sorry I’m late. I had a Ford with a busted fan belt show up right when I was leaving. Nathan’s on lunch break so I had to deal with it.”
“That’s alright. I read while I waited.” She glanced out the window. “Cheyenne seems pretty upset. Maybe you should go after her.”
“I will, but I’ve learned that I need to let her cool off first. Otherwise, she just does a lot of yelling and screaming.”
Jolene looked at him. “Maybe she has reason to be angry.”
He squinted. “Are you trying to interfere in myparenting again, Miss Applegate?”
“I can’t see anything wrong with going to a harmless party.”
He cocked his head. “Harmless? Obviously, you haven’t been to many high school parties. If it were kids her age, I might feel differently. But Joey’s a senior. And when you were a sophomore would you speak up to a bunch of seniors if they were doing something you were uncomfortable with—like drinking or taking drugs?”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have said anything. But I think Cheyenne would. She seems to have much more confidence and courage than I did.”
“I don’t know about that. I heard all about you standing up to Malcolm Taylor when he was bullying Teddy Clark in middle school. I was even too scared to go up against Malcolm.”
