“A bra isn’t likely to stop me.” We head up to the register and listen as Dougie tells us at length that Claudia made a great choice in boots.
“If it was warmer you could hike down to Doe’s lake, but it’s a little too cool to take a dip. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.”
“No,” Claudia says with a little laugh. “Polar bearing is not my idea of a good time.”
Dougie nods in my direction, but keeps his eyes on Claudia. “Have him take you up to Dixon’s Peak. Great views from up there. And you can be up and back in a day. No need to camp.”
I look at Dougie as he glances between us and I realize that he at least has an idea of who Claudia is. I’m tempted to skip dinner and take her back up to the house.
“Well thanks, Dougie. We’re gonna head to the Notch tomorrow actually.”
“Oh another great spot. Enjoy.”
I take Claudia’s hand and walk her out to the car. “Everyone knows, don’t they? They know I'm the girl who almost got murdered and now I'm back.”
“You’ve been here a few days and people do talk. Especially Jad and May-Bell. And no one has seen me with a women in three years.”
“I guess that’s to be expected in such a small town.”
“Doesn’t hurt that you’re so beautiful either,” I say to distract her even though it’s the truth.
“Ugly girl would breeze right through this place, huh? No questions asked?”
“Pretty much.”
“Like I said, such a prince.”
I wink at her and nudge her toward the passenger door with a hand on her butt. We head over to Connie’s. It seems pretty quiet, but I almost slam my truck into reverse and floor it back to my house when I see Sarah’s Tahoe in the parking lot. I pull in between it and Connie’s truck. I take a deep breath. I’ve seen Sarah more times than I’d appreciate since she moved back to town. I can stomach it. I can, but Jad opened up some old wounds and I can’t pretend that everything between Sarah and I is completely okay. I know I will be, but I don’t want to act civil.
“That’s Sarah’s car,” I say.
“Oh. Do you want to go somewhere else?”
“The nearest place with real food this time of day is forty minutes away and I really want to crack that box open.”
She glances over her shoulder at the massive box of kink related devices and apparel. “Let's go in.”
“You're sure?”
“Yeah. I got this. Plus, we don't have to sit with her.”
“True.”
She flashes me a big grin and hops out of the truck. I'm right behind her and wait for her to come around to the other side so I can take her hand. Just as we cross the short distance of the gravel lot, the door to Connie’s swings open and out comes Sarah with a takeout bag in her hand. She takes half a step and then almost trips down the stairs. Claudia and I both stop walking at the same time.
Sarah quickly recovers though and lets out a manic laugh. She waves. “Hi. Hey!”
“Sarah,” I say.
“Hi.” She comes down the stairs with more success this time. She glances at our hands. “Claudia, I didn't know you were still in town.” I know she's lying. Her voice gets really high when she lies. “What are you two—what are you two up to?”
“Uh we just came down to run some errands and grab something to eat,” Claudia says.
“Cool, cool! How long are you in town? Thank you again for the flowers. They're on my dining room table.” Another lie. She lives with her sister and they don’t have a dining room table. My best guess is that she threw them out the second someone in town told her about us.
“Oh, good,” Claudia says. “It’s an open-ended trip right now.” She looks up at me and smiles. “Didn’t seem right to fly cross-country, drive all the way into town just to see this guy for like five minutes, so I’m hanging out for a little while. I finally got another pair of proper boots so we can explore a little.” She lifts up her foot and I think Sarah is going to throw up or her eyes are going to explode.
“Oh wow! Cute. You're going hiking?” she says, nervously.
