isn’t two of my favorite guys.”
I was one of her favorites? I was the son of the man who’d left her, pregnant and alone, after he’d cheated on my mother. And I looked almost exactly like him. But Jenny had always been nothing but nice to me. Especially since she’d come clean about Callie being alive.
“Hi, Ms. Jenny,” I said.
“Look at you, pretty as summer sunshine,” Jimmy Bob said.
She beamed at him. “Sorry I’m early. I can wait until you’re ready to go to lunch.”
“What time do you have to work?” he asked.
“Not until two.”
Jenny was working with Whit and Clarabell over at Moonshine now. Word in town was that she’d be taking over the diner when they retired.
Jimmy Bob leaned to the side, turning to yell toward the back of the store. “Hey, Carl. Can you come on up here?”
Carl scurried out, his skinny arms so pale it looked like he’d never seen the sun. The crop of red hair on his head stuck out at odd angles, and the only thing that made him look his eighteen years was his height. Kid was tall but still had a baby face. He’d started working for Jimmy Bob last year.
“I need you to work the front while I go to lunch,” Jimmy Bob said.
“Sure thing,” Carl said with a nod.
Jimmy Bob took my cash, gave me some change, and handed me a bag. He looked over at Jenny. “I’ll be right back.”
She smiled again. She was always smiling. “I’ll be right here.”
I put away my wallet and nodded to Jenny. “Ma’am.”
“Oh, don’t ma’am me, Gibs.” She opened her arms. “We’re not strangers. Come here.”
I gave her a stiff hug, feeling awkward. She gently patted me on the back and pulled away, putting her hands on my arms.
“How’re you doing, honey?”
“Fine.”
“How’s Maya?”
“She’s fine.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Fine? That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’ll take that for now,” she said. “It’s good to see you, honey. We should have coffee again sometime. That was nice.”
I was a little surprised to realize she was right. It had been nice. I’d been a mess of confused feelings at the time—still was, really—but Jenny had a way about her. She’d made me feel better. I could tell why Jonah was such a steady guy.
“Yeah, that’d be all right.”
“Good. I’ll see you around.”
I nodded to her and left, feeling a bit off-balance. I liked Jenny. Nothing wrong with liking your half-brother’s mom.
But I didn’t really like many people, and it surprised me a bit that she was one of them.
I needed to get my head together. I stopped outside the store to text Callie—she was Maya in my contacts—to see where she was.
Me: You about done? Where are you?
Maya: Little change of plans. Ran into Shelby. Going to get our nails done. Do you mind?
A flash of irritation made me growl. I didn’t mind that she was with Shelby, or that she was getting her nails done. Girls were weird about that stuff, it wasn’t anything to me. But I couldn’t exactly park myself in the little nail salon and watch them get manicures. The desire to be with her—just to make sure she was safe, of course—was making my back prickle.
Me: Let me know when you’re done.
I pocketed my phone. I’d just have to kill some time while I waited. And if that meant I happened to wander around by the nail salon, who could blame me? Made sense to stay close.
People meandered up and down the street. Summertimers wandered with shopping bags and ice cream cones. Locals waved to each other or stopped for a chat. Trent McCulty lumbered by on a big green tractor. He had to stop for Mona Lisa McNugget. She bobbed her way out onto the road, then stopped right in front of the huge tire to peck at something on the concrete.
Scarlett came around a corner, dressed in a dark blue tank top and jean shorts. A dog tugged on a leash in her hands. She gripped it tight and leaned backward, like she was having a hard time hanging on.
“Who the hell’s dog is that?” I asked.
“Oh, hey Gibs,” she said, breathing hard. She shoved the leash toward me. “Take him for a minute, will you?”
I grabbed the nylon leash just as it went taut, the dog pulling hard. Wrapping it around my hand twice for a better grip, I gave it a solid tug. I pursed my lips and let out a shrill whistle. “Hold up, there.”
The dog stopped, turning