Chapter 2
SUTTON
Damn Amos. I should’ve suspected that he was full of it when he said Lila was glad to have us stay for a few months.
Judging by the looks she gave me, I’m still not her favorite person.
Staying with my best friend’s little sister isn’t something I’m thrilled about either.
She was always such a goody two shoes when we were kids.
I used to love to tease her and get her worked up.
The urge to rile her up returned the moment I saw her glaring at me.
Maybe living here will be fun. It’s temporary in any case, while I wait for my house. If she decides she doesn’t want me here, I can always set a camper on my property like I planned in the beginning. In the meantime, I’m grateful for a cheap place to stay.
To show that, I text Lila that I plan to buy dinner for our first night here.
Me
Dinner is on me. I’m ordering delivery. What do you want? Pizza? Tacos? Chinese?
Lila
Why do you have my number?
Okay, things aren’t starting off great. Still, I can’t help myself.
Me
I knew you wanted my number and were too shy to ask. You’re welcome.
Lila
Your back must hurt from carrying all your bullshit.
A few seconds pass before another text from her.
Lila
Tacos
Amos emerges from his room—if you can call it that. It’s more like a walk-in closet. “Carson’s having a party tonight. You in?”
It’s been a long day of work and moving, plus I have stuff to do tomorrow that won’t be fun with a hangover. Besides, that really isn’t my crowd anymore. “No thanks. Not tonight.”
He slumps onto the couch and plays on his phone until Lila returns. She may have been a pain in the ass when we were young, but she has always been beautiful, and the years have only made her more gorgeous.
Dusty darts between my feet, tail wagging. He rushes between me and Amos, hyper and excited. Amos gives him a quick pet, and I sit on the edge of the couch to play with him. He licks my hand, then gives a little bark.
“Here,” she says, unable or unwilling to hide the disdain in her voice as she holds out a key to me. “It works for the front and back door.”
“Thanks.”
She hands another to Amos, then thrusts a piece of paper at him.
“What’s this?” he asks, taking it and skimming the text.
“A job application. The hardware store is hiring. You haven’t been fired from there yet, right?”
It’s a fair question. He probably has to keep a list of places where he’s not eligible for rehire.
“Relax, Liles, I have an interview with a distribution center in Hopkinsville on Monday.”
“Uh-huh. Keep it anyway.”
A knock at the door interrupts the conversation and I answer it to collect our food delivery. A few minutes later, we’re all sitting around Lila’s little dining table.
“Where do you work now?” I ask her.
“Little Hearts Daycare.”
“Do you like it?”
She shrugs. “I like the kids. Management is a nightmare. What do you do?”
“Road maintenance.”
“Like filling potholes?”
“Crack sealing most of the time. You know all those squiggly black lines you see on the asphalt?”
She nods, and finishes chewing. “That’s a state job, isn’t it?”
“It is. Good pay, excellent benefits.”
Her gaze darts over to Amos. “Why don’t you apply there?”
“And work outside when it’s a hundred degrees? Or when it’s below freezing? Hard pass.”
Lila doesn’t respond, and stays quiet through the rest of the meal. She gets to her feet and regards me. “You need to take your last two pay stubs to the office trailer on Monday. Management is expecting them. You can leave them in the drop box if they open later than you start work.”
“No problem.”
She nods and starts toward her room, throwing the words back over her shoulder. “Thanks for dinner.”
That woman is definitely not happy to have us here.
I’m not sure why it bothers me, but it does.
Maybe because she is clearly independent and being saddled with her brother who never met a person he wasn’t happy to depend on.
Amos has been my friend for years and he isn’t a bad guy, but I’ve seen swamp water less stagnant.
No goals or ambition whatsoever. I don’t understand him, but I owe him.
He pops into my room a couple of hours later. “I’m heading to Carson’s. Are you sure you don’t want to go? It’s a kegger. Lots of college girls.”
“I’m good here.” At twenty-seven, college girls aren’t what I’m looking for anymore. So much growing up happens between nineteen and my age.
“Alright. Can you loan me ten bucks? I’m almost out of gas.”
Well, some of us grow up between those ages. Dusty runs into my room and tugs at the leg of my jeans as I’m handing Amos the cash. His little growls are hilarious. I’ve always wanted a dog and visiting the rescue shelter is one of the first things I plan to do once my place is livable.
Amos takes off while I reach down to play fight with the pup. His growls turn to yips as he hops around, making me laugh. He wears down quickly, lies down and gnaws on one of my shoes.
“There you are.” Lila hovers in my doorway but she isn’t talking to me. “Come here, Dusty.”
He looks up at her and then turns to pounce on my foot again. “He likes me.”
“He’s trying to eat you. Dusty, come here, come on,” she coos. He ignores her again and ducks out of the way when she reaches for him. He darts around the room as she tries to catch him. “Damn it.” Lila’s words come out with a chuckle as she just misses him. He runs over to stand by my feet again.
“Would you grab him?” she asks, exasperated.
Dusty flops down, laying his head on my foot. “Betray my new buddy by handing him over? Never,” I tease. “Told you he likes me.”
“Yeah, well, he also likes to eat garbage. He’s still learning.”
He’s clearly exhausted and trying to fight sleep, but when I hold his collar to keep him from running, he still growls and gnaws my hand. “Little mean ass.”
“I’m going to assume that you’re referring to the dog,” Lila says, taking him from me and attaching his leash.
“I was, but you know they say that dogs take on the personality of their owners.”
She rolls her eyes and leads him out. I may not like her much, but I’ll admit her ass looks amazing in those jeans.
I’m up early to get some work done and judging by how hot it is already, it was a good call. The piece of land I bought two years ago and will soon be moving to sits on the edge of town. I acquired the lot for cheap because it contained a burned out shell of an old house and was auctioned off.
It was just what I was looking for, a large lot with lots of privacy thanks to the thin forest that winds between it and the neighbors.
It gives me plenty of space without being so rural that I can’t get good internet.
The house has been torn down and hauled away.
My container home will go in the same spot, but there are lots of things that need to be done before it’s delivered and set up.
One project will be the large but dilapidated shed that I’m determined to repair.
It isn’t in any shape to store things at the moment and is stuffed to the rafters with junk.
Luckily, my boss loaned me a cargo trailer to store my tools and supplies temporarily.
The dumpster won’t be delivered for a few days so the shed can wait. Instead, I get busy cutting the grass and clearing the perimeter where I’m going to build a fence. The heat and humidity are oppressive and by the time I’m done for the day, I’m a sweaty mess.
The driveway is empty when I return to the trailer. Since I have the place to myself, I turn on some music and crank it up before grabbing my clothes and a towel. Dusty trots out of Amos’s room, excited to see me. He follows me down the hall, almost tripping me twice.
“I’m going to shower and then I’ll play with you if you stop trying to knock me down,” I chuckle.
His response is a short bark as he dives at me. My quick step aside has so many unintended consequences. Dusty stumbles into Lila’s bedroom door and it pops open. It takes my brain a moment to catch up to what I’m seeing. I guess I’m not home alone after all.
Lila’s focused on taking a picture, and the longest five seconds in history passes as I take in the scene.
She sits on the edge of her bed with her feet resting on a furry red rug.
At least I’m assuming her feet are somewhere under the coating of white goo that covers them.
A bright red cherry is perched on her big toe.
An open jar of marshmallow fluff lies nearby, along with a container of cherries.
Under threat of imminent torture and death, I couldn’t have stopped the squeaking noise that slips out of me when I try to stifle a laugh. Miss Goody Goody is taking feet pics. Weird ones too. This is too damn good. At the sound, she looks up at me. Her jaw drops and her eyes widen in horror.
“What the hell are you doing?” she shouts.
“The dog…” It’s all I can get out before my snort interrupts my attempt to blame Dusty, and before I can finish, he darts over to her. Tail wagging like he’s discovered the greatest feast ever, he licks the marshmallow off the side of her foot.
“Dusty! No!” She tries to catch his collar and holds him back, but it only lasts for a second. Either the collar is too loose or he’s too determined. He pulls back, slips right out of the collar and dives back in.
A yelp leaps out of her as he bites down on her toe. “Ow! Damn it!” She shoves him back, and he decides the jar of fluff would be an easier treat.
“Get out of here!” Lila shouts at me, frantically scrubbing at her feet with a nearby towel. I’ve never personally tried to wipe melted marshmallow from my skin with a dry towel, but it doesn’t appear to be effective.
Any chance I had at suppressing my laughter fled when the pup tried to eat her toe like a doggy treat. It’s all I can do to take a breath as she abandons the towel and slams the door in my face.
I’m so glad I came home a little early.