Forged in Stone - Alyssa Rose Ivy Page 0,20

to be living with him. That was my story, and I was sticking to it.

Since I couldn’t look up James, I decided to look up the Calloways instead. James had said the son had played for Carolina basketball. Surely there was something on him.

I searched Kevin Calloway Carolina Basketball.

Every one of the results on the first page had the same headline: Star Player Disappears after Game Winning Shot.

James had said he quit, but not that he had disappeared. The idea of a house like that sitting empty had seemed weird to me in the beginning, but now it seemed weirder. I could push James for information, or I could go to what might be a much easier source. Debbie. She was nice and her son was married to the daughter. Surely she would know something about the missing son. I only needed to come up with an excuse to go over there. I’d never gone before, and I didn’t want to set off red flags. Maybe I could use the pregnant daughter-in-law excuse. Bring her over something to celebrate.

I was still formulating my plan when I heard the bell ding. It was time to serve another customer, so I walked back out front.

Except it wasn’t a customer. Brad strolled over to the counter. “Hey, Ainsley.”

I glanced at my watch. It wasn’t even quite eight. “You’re early.”

“I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss you.”

“I have to work until nine, so how would you have missed me if you showed up then?”

“You slipped out on me last night. Maybe you’re tricky.” He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a collared shirt. He looked like most of the guys I’d gone to college with. It wasn’t a bad look, but it wasn’t different. Nothing about him was different. Not like James. His clothes were the same, but that’s where the similarities ended. I shook myself. It wasn’t that I needed to give Brad a chance, but I couldn’t give James one. Not until I at least knew something about him.

I pushed James out of my mind. “I can’t leave early.”

“That’s fine.” He rested a hand on the counter directly in front of me. “I’ll just wait.”

“Can I get you something?”

I figured I might as well be polite.

“Sure. Let me think.”

He was indecisive. I thought about how quickly James had made his decision. What was wrong with me?

“Is the chocolate soft serve good?”

“It’s the usual run of the mill chocolate soft serve. You can try a sample if you want.”

“Oh, that would be great.”

I grabbed a spoon and got a small amount for him.

He tried it. “I’ll take this.”

“Cone or cup?”

“Cup. I always make a mess with cones.”

Did that mean he wasn’t good with his tongue? I tried not to laugh. “One cup of chocolate yogurt coming up.” I filled a cup and handed it to him.

“Thanks.” He held out his credit card.

Suddenly a credit card seemed boring. I ran his card for the three dollar purchase and gave it back to him with a receipt. “It’s going to be a bit.”

“I’ll sit and watch.”

“And watch?”

“Yes. You’re pleasant on the eyes, and I didn’t get to enjoy that last night.”

“Uh, thanks…” And I thought James was creepy. I really needed to continue my break from men.

He settled into the same table James had sat at. “You’re very welcome.”

Awkward took on new meaning as Brad did exactly what he said he would. He watched me while taking small bites of his yogurt.

For once I was glad when more customers came in. I didn’t even mind how long they took to pick a flavor, and I was disappointed when they took the yogurt to go.

“Do you like working here?” Brad broke the silence that had settled in once the customers left.

“Not really.”

“Then why do you?”

“Because it pays the bills.” I seemed to use that phrase a lot.

“Don’t you also have a day job at a law firm?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t pay much. I need to pay off my student loans.”

“I was lucky and didn’t have any.”

“You’re right. You were lucky.” I knew plenty of kids whose parents footed their entire college tuition. I was jealous, and I wasn’t always great at hiding it.

“What do you like to do when you’re not working?”

I thought about it. I didn’t have much time anymore when I wasn’t. “I like to read, get sun, swim in the ocean.”

“I like the beach too. We should go together when the weather warms up.”

I smiled non-committedly. Assuming we’d even be