Chapter 8
Eight
The next week and a half passed in a hurry.
I sat outside in the mornings a few days, but Josh never showed when I was there.
To say I was disappointed would be ridiculous.
We didn’t really know each other. He had a daughter to worry about and a party to host. And I was keeping myself busy spending time with Ashlyn.
It was why I was in Amethyst Bay, so I really couldn’t complain that my sexy potential summer fling wasn’t working out.
The day the tent was scheduled to arrive, Ashlyn warned me not to leave the house. “Just in case Hannah comes to oversee things. Josh said she might.”
I agreed, then promised myself I would absolutely not spy on Josh’s ex-wife.
I lied.
When the truck rumbled into his driveway mid-afternoon, I slid down the cushions to hide myself in case anyone looked in the windows.
All the lights were off, and the only clue I was there was my car outside, which definitely drew attention being red and a convertible, but I had nowhere else to put it.
Movement outside had me peeking out, but I didn’t dare go closer to the windows and risk being caught.
Hannah ran things like a drill sergeant.
She argued with the man in charge of installing the tent until he sighed and shook his head, letting her have her way.
The tent went up relatively quickly, although I had never seen one installed.
When the last anchor was pounded into the ground, the men scattered to get away from Hannah.
The foreman held out a clipboard for Hannah to sign, and they spoke for a few minutes, then the truck pulled away.
I watched, wondering what she was going to do, and was surprised when she let herself into Josh’s house. With a key.
Wow. I didn’t know a lot of divorced couples, but giving your ex-wife a key seemed incredibly familiar.
Again, not my business.
She emerged thirty minutes later and glanced around before getting into the large SUV parked in Josh’s driveway and leaving.
I went through the rest of my day feeling the urge to get out of the house.
I had already read the books I checked out from the library weeks ago, plus the new stack I came home with last week and a few of Ashlyn’s, and I was so bored.
Reading all day all summer sounded like a great idea until I spent three weeks doing it.
I needed human interaction and to move my body.
Before I could come up with an idea, Ashlyn was home from work.
“Short day?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, thankfully. I’m exhausted. Want to order in tonight?”
I groaned internally and forced a smile. “Sure.”
Ashlyn sent in an order, then retreated to the bathroom for a shower. I curled up on the couch again and waited.
Over our dinner, Ashlyn told me about her day and asked how the tent installation went.
“Hannah was here.”
Ashlyn’s eyes went wide. “Did she see you?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. She didn’t come to the door or anything. She let herself into Josh’s house. She has a key.”
“Okay?”
“I just thought it was weird. She’s his ex.”
Ashlyn shrugged. “Since Evie goes back and forth, I’m guessing it’s just easier for Hannah to be able to get into his house in case Evie ever forgets something.”
“Yeah, but she let herself in when no one was there. Don’t you find that odd?”
Ashlyn narrowed her eyes. “Why are you getting so upset by this?”
“I’m not.” I forced calm back into my voice. “I just don’t like people overstepping their boundaries. I don’t think it’s right for her to make herself at home in her ex-husband’s house.”
“I like Josh, but I don’t know him well. We say hello and he’s friendly enough, but we’re not close, so I can’t tell you what’s normal for them. I would guess if she’s letting herself in, he knows and is okay with it.”
“I doubt it.”
Ashlyn looked at me for a minute, her gaze assessing and confused. “Is there something going on I don’t know about?”
“No.” I sighed. “What do you think would be going on?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, but I feel like there’s something I’m missing.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re not missing anything. But I am bored. I need to get out of here and do something.”
She grinned. “I wondered how long it was going to take you to be annoyed sitting around. You lasted longer than I expected.”
I snorted. “I haven’t had this much free time in years.”
“I know. Do you want to come to work with me next week?”
“Bring your bestie to work day?” I teased her.
“Only if your bestie is awesome.”
I laughed. “Sure. But I need to find something else to do all summer. I don’t want to just invade your work.”
“No one will care. Plus, I have a few potential new client meetings and some walk-throughs, so I’ll be in and out.”
“Sounds good. What are we doing this weekend? Do you have to work tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I work tomorrow. Saturday, we’re going to the party,” Ashlyn said, tilting her head in question.
“Oh, I forgot you were going to that. Sorry.”
“You’re going, too.”
“What? Why? I don’t know them.”
“Yeah, but it’s in my backyard.” She pointed to the massive tent that covered most of her yard and half of Josh’s. “Josh won’t care if there’s one more person there.”
“We’ll see.”
“Are you worried he’s going to yell at you again? I told you weeks ago I talked to him.”
“I know. It’s fine.”
Ashlyn looked closely at me again. “It’ll be fun. I promise.”
Ashlyn did not let up all day Friday or Saturday morning before the party. She insisted we needed to both go. That it would be rude to stay home when everyone else was basically in her yard.
I knew she was right, but I felt weird going to Josh’s daughter’s graduation party when I wasn’t invited and we hadn’t spoken in two weeks. If he was brushing me off, showing up at the party was a sure way to be the kind of woman I refused to be.
But Ashlyn didn’t know any of that, so I changed into a pair of jean shorts and a high-neck top that was loose and light and would be comfortable for an afternoon and evening outside.
Almost as soon as we walked out, a young woman with dark blonde hair and stunning green eyes bounced over to us. “Hi, Ashlyn! I’m so happy you could come.”
“I wouldn’t miss it, Evie.” Ashlyn hugged the graduate tightly. “This is my best friend, Reegan. She’s staying with me for the summer.”
“Nice to meet you,” Evie said, offering me her hand.
“You, too. Congratulations.” I shook the girl’s hand, surprised by the strength in her grip and confidence.
“Thanks. I am so relieved to be done with high school.” She groaned like she’d endured the worst life had to offer. “College is going to be so great.”
“Don’t let your dad hear you say that,” Ashlyn teased Evie.
Evie snorted. “Right? He’s already freaking out about everything.” Car doors slammed, and the squeal of teenagers drew Evie’s attention. “I’ll talk to you guys later.” She raced to the driveway where she met two other girls in a hug that almost toppled the three of them and left them laughing.
“She seems sweet.”
“She is. I don’t know how with a mother like hers, but I’m guessing Josh had a bigger hand in it,” Ashlyn mumbled as we walked across the yard to where a table was set up for gifts.
Ashlyn set a wrapped package on the growing pile.
“I put your name on the card. She had a gift registry. Stuff she’ll need for college. ”
“Let me know how much I owe you.”
Ashlyn snorted. “You don’t owe me anything.
I was going to get something for her anyway.
You being here makes the day easier for me.
I won’t get wrapped up in talking to anyone I don’t want to.
Like Hannah.” She nodded to the woman in question, arriving with a man in a suit who looked very out of place in the backyard setting.
“Evie looks just like her,” I whispered.
“Yeah. It always takes me by surprise, too.” Ashlyn smiled and waved to someone.
I turned and saw Josh walking out of his house, waving back. He saw me standing next to Ashlyn, and his mouth tightened into a grimace. He glanced around the yard, catching sight of Hannah and her husband. He closed his eyes and dropped his head, then headed toward them.
I fought the sting at his obvious displeasure that I was there. “I’m already warm. I might have to hide in your air conditioning before too long.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Ashlyn said. “Let’s get a drink.”
I turned away from Josh as he greeted his ex-wife and her husband, not caring to watch the weird family reunion.
Ashlyn and I grabbed plastic cups and filled them with water from a glass pitcher with cucumbers and lemon floating in the water.
A server in a white shirt and black pants smiled at us as we helped ourselves to the drinks, then moved to the appetizer line.
“Do you want to sit?” Ashlyn asked.
I shrugged, not really sure what we were supposed to do. It was a graduation party, but I didn’t know the kid graduating or any of the other people there, so I was going to follow her lead.
We claimed a table on Ashlyn’s side of the tent, leaving the tables close to the food and drinks for Evie’s family and friends. “I think there’s a band coming and yard games. We’ll see how this goes.”
“We’re just here to congratulate Evie. It’ll be fine.” I lifted my hair off the back of my neck, enjoying the cool breeze floating by. “It’s a shame this is the hottest day so far.”
“Right? Oh, Josh is coming over to say hi.” Ashlyn set her drink down and smiled as he approached. “Hey. We saw Evie. She looks beautiful.”
“Thanks, Ashlyn. And thanks again for letting us use your property. Please let me know if there’s anything that’s damaged so I can make sure it’s fixed.”
“All good.”
Ashlyn opened her mouth to say something else, but Josh spoke before she did. “I’m Josh.” He stuck his hand in my face. “We haven’t officially met. But I wanted to apologize in person for yelling at you when you first arrived.”