Word of this has probably spread halfway to Omak by now, and I suspect the next time you stop by the bar, everyone and their dog will be lining up to buy you a drink. Not that I’ve ever seen you there, but if I did I’d love to sit and visit for a while. Now, I have this five-dollar-off coupon, and with our double coupon code that makes it ten. That brings your total down to forty-three dollars and sixteen cents.”
She smiled at me again. I swiped my card, then hit the payment key, still off-balance.
“Thank you,” I finally said.
“You’re welcome,” Daisy replied, then she gave me a wink. “Now, get out of here before she thinks of a comeback.”
• • •
Half an hour later, I hopped out of the shower, pulled on fresh clothes, and made the executive decision that it didn’t matter how cute Joel was—for once I wouldn’t be doing my hair and makeup.
I just didn’t have the energy.
Instead I ran downstairs to get dinner started, because this long afternoon from hell still wasn’t over. We had guests coming for dinner, and come rain, sleet, or snow, nobody left the Garrett house hungry. I’d just started cubing sweet potatoes to slow roast on the grill when the kitchen door rattled.
“Tinker Garrett, if I hadn’t already married that Carrie bitch, I’d be proposing to you right now,” Darren declared, pushing into the room and carrying a midsize cardboard box. He set it on the kitchen island, and I stared at it, confused.
“What’s that?”
“That’s a case of wine,” Carrie said, following him in. I stared at her, stunned—sky blue eye shadow smeared her eyelids, and somehow she’d managed to tease her hair up into a beehive. “The girls at the Hungry Chicken diner pooled their tips to buy it for you. Asked me to deliver it. Guess they appreciated your little scene with Flora this afternoon, seeing as how she treats them like shit. Thought I’d dress up in her honor.”
She twirled around proudly, and I realized she was dressed entirely in pink. Not quite a copy of Flora’s waitress uniform, but it wasn’t half bad. I’d have laughed at the joke if I weren’t dying a little inside every time I thought about what’d happened.
“How does news spread so damned fast around here?” I asked, running a hand through my still-wet hair. Darren opened a drawer and pulled out a corkscrew, opening one of the bottles as Carrie went for glasses.
“Does it matter?” Carrie asked. “This is your victory wine. You’ve earned it, babe. Shame we can’t share some with Jamie, poor guy. I heard he dragged her home and dumped her off before heading back out of town. Guess he’s had enough of her shit.”
“Can’t blame him,” I replied, reaching for the glass Darren held out to me. It wasn’t the greatest, but it was alcohol. “Now, tell me that Joel can’t make it tonight and I’ll be happy.”
“He can’t make it tonight,” Carrie said. That caught my attention, and I whipped my eyes over to her.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Darren said. “He’s a single dad and his babysitter fell through.”
“I said he could bring the kiddo,” Carrie added, frowning. “But he likes to keep dating separate from his daughter. How selfish is that?”
Darren and I exchanged a glance.
“Drink,” he said, handing his wife a glass. “You’re just grumpy because you missed the show earlier.”
“True,” she admitted. “But I have to say, it’s damned unfair, because that’s a video the whole town could’ve enjoyed.”
“You’re sick,” I told her. She shrugged.
“I love Hallies Falls. I’ve lived here my whole life and I don’t want to live anywhere else, but I’m not delusional. It can be a boring place. Nothing like a good drama to liven it up, you know?”
“Fuck off,” I told her, and she laughed.
I chugged my wine and flipped them the bird, deciding the evening might not be so bad after all. An hour later I was in such a good mood that when Joel messaged Carrie to tell her he’d found a last-minute sitter and ask if the invitation was still open, I figured why the hell not, and told him to come on over.
GAGE
It was a long day.
We’d spent part of it looking for Talia, who’d gone to ground like the little skunk that she was. If she had any brains at all, she’d pulled a runner and was already in another state. I’d also had to meet with Dobie Coales to discuss my case. He