“You guys are the best.”
“Afternoon, Red,” Klaus said.
A large, bearded face appeared in Bart’s window. He smiled when he saw Blue.
“Well, now, look at that. Just the person I needed to see right now.”
“Why do you need to see me, when I don’t even live here, and you had no idea I was back in Lyntacky, Red?”
His smile widened. He was married to the firebrand that was Dee Heckler, and they were the most mismatched couple that worked and the poster children for a happy family.
“Jenna can’t do boys’ night. One of her brood is sick. You can fill in for me,” Red said.
“Ah—no, I can’t.”
“Sure, you can, and I’ll even pay you. You’ve done it before. Besides, you don’t take any crap from the men.”
“It’ll be good for you to get out,” Bart said, patting her knee. “She’ll do it, Red.”
“Awesome. See you on Friday night, then, Blue.” Red then straightened and she turned to watch him walk out of the Beckers’ driveway.
“He’s walking now?” Blue asked instead of getting out and yelling at Red that she didn’t want to work boys’ night. “I can honestly say I’ve never seen Red in shorts.”
“Dr. Hannah said he wasn’t getting any younger and carrying too much weight in the wrong places due to his unhealthy lifestyle,” Klaus said. “Unfortunately, Dee heard.”
“’Nuf said,” Blue said. Red’s wife wasn’t someone anyone messed with.
“Now back to you, Blue. You talk to your people. They’re good folk and will help you work through this,” Klaus advised. “But good things are coming for you. I know it.”
The honk of a horn had Blue looking in her mirror.
“You hold your horses, Larry Limpet!” Klaus roared.
Blue laughed.
“No one has to wait over five minutes at any time, and he sits on his horn,” Klaus said, shaking his head.
“Thank you,” Blue said, meaning it.
She drove Bart and his shorts home and then headed for hers, feeling lighter inside.
“Good things are coming for you, I know it.”
Klaus’s words ran through her head. She sure hoped that was the case because right now she couldn’t find the energy to get excited about anything.
Chapter 6
“Hi, Jay.”
He was sitting in Ryder’s cafe, The Swing Through Cafe, to be precise, another weird name in a town that thrived on them. Square dancing had a lot to say in Lyntacky.
Looking up from his laptop screen, Jay focused on the woman now standing at his table. “Oh, hey, Laurie. How are you?”
Laurie Day was the new teacher at the elementary school. They’d run into each other a few times, and she seemed nice. Her ready smile made it easy to imagine she’d be good with kids.
“That looks good.” Laurie pointed at his muffin. “I might have to get one.”
Exploding with flavor and topped with icing, itwasgood, and he told her so.
