feel the heat of his fingers against mine. “She’ll do great. Plus, it’s good for kids to hang out with other kids. At least that’s what I’ve heard. Not that I would know anything about kids.” I laughed, but it sounded jagged.
If Kyle heard it, he ignored the strangeness of my rambling. “Yeah, so I’ve been told. Anyway, I’d better get going.” Our moment, if you could call it that, was over. He gave Meg a squeeze and me a halfhearted wave before paying his tab and heading for the door.
“Well, that wasn’t weird or anything,” Meg muttered as we made our way back to the booth where we had been sitting.
“Hey, I’m sorry for being a jerk earlier. I don’t know what my problem was,” I told her.
Meg frowned. “Sure, just stop being a jerk, okay?”
“Easier said than done, I think.” I tried to laugh again, but that edginess was still there.
Meg swirled the melting ice in her drink. “So, back to you and Web. Do you think you finally want to tell me what happened between the two of you?”
“Kyle’s a good guy. I wasn’t so nice to him. End of story.”
“Yeah, you said all that before. But things have been super tense between the two of you since you came home. It’s like you’re dancing around each other without acknowledging what’s really going on.” She raised an eyebrow. “You know he was majorly in love with you for years, right?”
My heart swelled and then deflated like a popped balloon.
“Yeah, I do. But that was a long time ago.”
“And he went to LA to stay with you,” Meg continued.
“He did.” I hated thinking about that weekend. It filled me with shame. And longing. And regret.
“What happened?” she prodded.
“Why does it matter?” I countered.
She leaned on the table toward me, her expression hard and unyielding. “Because he’s one of my best friends and you’re my pain-in-the-ass sister. And we live in this tiny, little town that isn’t nearly big enough for your issues.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no issue.” I downplayed it just right. She stared at me for a few minutes, obviously debating whether to make me tell her. She’d be waiting a while. Kyle hadn’t told anyone, and I wouldn’t either. There were some things best left in the past.
“Okay, whatever. Keep your secrets.” She was irritated with me again.
I took her hand and smiled at her. “Thank you for caring, though.”
Meg’s expression immediately softened. “Of course, I care about you, doofus. You’re my big sister, and I love you. And I’m really glad to have you home.”
Gah, she was trying to wear me down with her unrelenting affection. She was brutal.
“Glad to be here,” I said with just enough sincerity to be believable.
Chapter 3
Kyle
The sound of my cell phone ringing pulled me out of a deep sleep.
I sat up, feeling discombobulated. My first instinct was Katie. Where was she? Was something wrong?
But once my mind cleared, I checked the time on my clock—it was 4:50 in the morning. Katie would still be asleep. She had started sleeping through the night at six months old, and I knew I had at least another two hours before she started calling for me.
My next thought was my parents. What if something had happened to my dad? He wasn’t as spry as he used to be and had been at the doctor for a heart arrhythmia not long ago—
I picked up the phone, and when I saw the number, I wanted to throw it against the wall. I thought about ignoring it but knew that if I did, she’d only call over and over again until she got hold of me.
With a deep breath, I put the phone to my ear and prepared myself for whatever catastrophe Josie Robinson had in store for me.
“Hello?” I sounded groggy, my voice thick and rough. I felt myself tense, waiting.
“Hey, Web. Did I wake you?” Josie spoke softly, whispering so low I could barely hear her.
“Well yeah, it’s not even five in the morning, Josie.” I tried not to sound irritated, knowing it would only escalate things, but I couldn’t help it. Josie was an inconsistent communicator, and her calls usually came at times that weren’t very considerate of me or our daughter. I had grown used to these late night/early morning interruptions.
“I’m sorry.” And the thing was, she sounded like she meant it. Which, she probably did. As upset as I was with my ex and how she’s acted,