Rowdy rests his chin on my knee, waiting for a treat. I think I spoil him if he thinks he always gets a treat when he sees me.
“He’s going to try and spin this,” I say.
“Probably.” Bo’s mouth curves slightly. “But half the town’s here.”
I nod, then Lila appears with the pie and a conspiratorialsmile. “I saw the whole thing, and you were awesome,” Then she disappears again.
Daisy flies through the door a few minutes later, canvas bag swinging, and stops when she sees my face. Then she sees Bo. Then she does a quick scan of the room.
“I missed it?” Her shoulders drop. She plops onto the stool on my other side. “I was literally two blocks away. I ran here as fast as I could, and I still missed it.”
“How did you even know?” I ask.
She holds up her phone.
“Kevin found her. Get to Ethel’s,”she reads aloud.
“From who?” I ask.
She shrugs. “That’s not the point.” She slumps forward dramatically. “I can’t believe I missed it.”
“Sorry, Daisy. You missed it,” I confirm.
She drops her head onto her folded arms.
Bo, to his credit, says nothing. He just slides the dessert box out of range of Daisy’s elbow.
Alex comes in right after that.
She comes in, laptop bag on one shoulder, and spots us immediately and comes over.
“Someone in line at the pharmacy told me Kevin was confronting you. Please tell me I didn’t miss it.”
“You missed it,” Daisy groans.
Alex looked bummed.
When did my personal life become part of Everwood's group chat?
“I was literally next door.” Alex huffs. “Okay. Tell me.”
I tell her.
“For the record,” she says, “that was not a breakup conversation.”
Bo and I exchange looks. “Then what was it?”
“Kevin never could accept that you weren’t interested,and since Bo came home, he’s afraid you’ll choose Bo, and you did.” She picks up my fresh coffee and takes a sip.
She is right. I doubt he’ll talk to me for a while.
Daisy and Alex stay to gossip, while Bo and I leave, Ethel’s pie box under Bo’s arm, Rowdy trotting next to us.
The morning had been eventful for only four hours of daylight. The street is busy enough that we have to angle around a couple coming out of the hardware store, and Bo shifts the pie box to make room.
I look at him sideways. “Did you know what Kevin was going to say?”
He is quiet for half a beat. “No,” he says. “But when Jake pointed him next to you, I had an idea.”
