Street and walked in silence. Ash tried to keep her short stride up with Eddie’s longer one. Curiosity got the better of her after a few minutes. “What happened to Savannah?”
He didn’t answer.
“Eddie? Hello?” Maybe she'd gotten the name wrong.
“It was just a date,” he said.
“Oh.” Ash dodged a trashcan that had rolled into the sidewalk. “You gonna see her again?”
He glanced over. “Don’t know. Maybe.”
“That’s a no.” She elbowed him. “What’s wrong with you?”
He stopped short on the corner of Elm Street. “Nothing, last time I checked. Why?”
“You know you’re totally self-destructive, right?”
“What’re you talking about?”
“This whole thing where you go out with women once or twice, show them a good time, get them thinking maybe you like them, and then never go out with them again…”
“I like women, Ash. What’s wrong with that? One date doesn’t mean I want to get serious with anyone. I like to keep my options open.”
“Well, that’s obvious.”
He frowned. “Now you’re mad at me? Are we fighting again?”
“No. Sorry. I just meant…you give women the wrong idea, I think.”
“I never make promises. Not to any of them.”
Yeah, I know. That’s what breaks their hearts.
A white pick-up truck missing a taillight rolled past them. The horn beeped, and Eddie raised a hand in greeting.
“You know him?”
He laughed. “Know just about everyone in Paradise.”
Ash considered that for a minute. “Does it ever bother you? You ever want to live somewhere else? Somewhere people don’t know your business?” The question, from deep in her soul, burned as it crossed her lips.
He shrugged. “Not really. Thought about it a couple of times, but I’m settled here, you know?”
They walked a few more paces.
“Thing is,” Eddie continued, “I don’t think other places, small towns or big cities, are any better at hiding out in.”
She jerked at his words and stumbled over a tree root growing through the pavement. “I didn’t say anything about hiding out.”
“No, I know.” He waved a hand. “I just meant that…well…everyone thinks the grass is greener. If they live in a small town, they think they got to move to a city. If they live in a city, they think a place like Paradise is better. Less scandal or corruption or something. But I gotta tell you, people have the same problems no matter where they go. Big city or small town, people get hurt. Friends steal from each other. Men cheat on their wives. Kids sneak out at night and get drunk while their parents think they’re sleeping. People get divorced, leave home, desert their kids. And people sure as hell die, same as every other place.”
He looked at the sky, as if counting the stars strewn out like a map above them. “At least here in Paradise, you know someone’s got your back. You know there’s always someone you can count on, someone you grew up with who’s gonna forgive you no matter how bad you screw things up.” They turned the corner onto Lycian Street. “So no, I’ve never really wanted to live anywhere else.”
Ash thought about that as they turned into the walk leading up to their house. Safety in a small town, huh? She wasn’t sure she could believe it. But then again, why had she moved here, and why was she staying, unless something about the way a no-name village drew its arms around her felt right? She glanced sideways at her neighbor. For a guy who hadn’t ever left his hometown, Eddie West sure seemed to know a lot about the ways in which the world worked.
“Thanks for walking me home.”
“No problem.” He dug his hands into his pockets. One dimple popped as he smiled at her.
“See you tomorrow, I guess.”
“See ya.”
She felt his eyes on her back all the way up the stairs.
* * *
Eddie pulled into the employee parking lot behind Frank’s Imports just shy of nine the next morning. Ash’s car, he saw, had been towed and dropped in front of the shop. Good. He pulled on a faded blue baseball cap and headed inside.
“What’s up with the Volkswagen?” Frank sat behind his desk, feet propped up, hands laced behind his bald head, an unlit cigar clamped between his teeth.
“Belongs to a friend of mine.”
“You better take care of Mrs. Myer’s oil leak first.”
“I got it. Don’t worry.”
Ash showed up an hour later, cheeks flushed and her hair pulled into a ponytail. Running shorts brushed the tops of toned legs, and a tank top curved around damp breasts. From the other side of the