other than that, screw it, they deserve each other.”
“Amen to that.” Jayne lifted her mug, and they all clinked.
“Now,” Maya said. “Since you’re all here, maybe one of you can clue me in on why Brett’s parked out back. I saw him sitting there when I went to let Ellie in.”
Regan looked straight past Jayne and pinned her gaze on Ellie, who’d been quietly sipping her tea until then. “Ellie?”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t ‘hmm’ me. Why’s Brett parked out back? And more’s the question—”
Ellie squeezed her eyes almost shut and pressed her cup against her mouth.
“—what was he doing parked in your driveway all night?”
“What?!” Jayne and Maya bolted upright so fast the entire couch jerked forward, making Ellie slosh her tea. From her spot in the armchair, Regan nodded.
“Exactly. Now ask me how I found out.” Of course she didn’t give any of them a chance to even open their mouths. “Judy Schwann told me! Judy Schwann! The biggest busybody this side of Duffey Lake, and I have to find out from her!”
Ellie scrunched her eyes tighter before finally opening them and charging into what was sure to be a bloodbath. “How did Judy find out?”
“How did—” If Ellie didn’t know better, she’d have thought Reggie had a small seizure, she twitched so hard. “Not that it matters, but she and Ross were down at T-Squared’s and overheard Warren Link telling Bikeshop Tim.”
“How did Warren know?”
“Who cares?” Maya cried, but Ellie needed a few more seconds to get herself sorted out, so she just kept staring back at Regan until she explained.
“From what Judy says, Warren met up with Dickie this morning to buy parts for his truck, and guess who has front row seats to everything that goes on at your place? Now, if we’re done playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, can we get an answer to the question, please?”
Ellie wasn’t stupid; she’d known it would get out that Brett’s truck had been in her driveway all night. She just hadn’t expected it would get out that fast.
“What exactly did, uh, Dickie see?” she asked, cringing back against the cushion.
“How am I supposed to know? I was still reeling from the fact that you not only spent the night with him—of all the guys in this town—but then you let me find out from someone like Judy Schwann! Judy Schwann! I mean, seriously, Ellie. What the hell?”
Maya’s mouth flapped like a guppy’s before she finally managed to speak again. “You mean it’s true? He spent the night? With you?”
Could Ellie do this? Could she actually sit there and lie to these three? Or should she just…wait a second…maybe she wouldn’t have to out-and-out lie. If she answered truthfully where she could and avoided questions that would require her to lie, she might be able to pull this off. With her brain still buzzing, she took a deep breath and nodded.
“Yes. Yes, he did.” Truth.
“But you hate him!”
“Please, Maya, I don’t hate him.” Again, the truth.
“And your mom didn’t mind you and him…you know…while she was in the house? In the next room, actually?”
“She’s gone to Gabbie’s for a few days.”
Jayne couldn’t seem to stop shaking her head. “I can’t believe this. Just last week he finally agreed to let me set him up again.”
“I’m just like…” Grouping her fingers near her temple, Maya pulled them away in a sharp jerk and spread her hand wide. “Boosh!”
“I must be missing something here.” Regan pushed out of her chair and paced the length of the tiny room. Took her about three steps before she had to turn around. “Two weeks ago you were cursing him out for revoking your license….”
“Not even two weeks,” Jayne piped up.
“And now you’re sleeping with him?”
Don’t answer that. Just sip your tea. Atta girl.
“So what happened between then and now?”
Think think think.
“I don’t know,” she answered slowly, using the time to pick her next words carefully. “I guess somewhere between him rescuing me and my bike, being forced to sit through dinner with him, ball practices, and all this safe-driving business, I started realizing you guys might be right. He’s a good guy.”
Truth, truth, and more truth; all she needed to do was ignore the fact that all her truths were wrapped around a big fat lie.
“That’s it?” Regan snorted. “ ‘He’s a good guy’?”
“Who looks damn good in uniform,” Ellie added with a wink at Jayne. “Not hard to look at out of uniform, either.”
She meant that he looked good in regular clothes, too, but of course