“What’s wrong with you?”
Should have known he'd pick up on it right away.
I'd known him for a long time and Dan could figure me out faster than anyone I knew, besides Joanne. One look and he already knew I had a lot on my mind. I sipped at the steaming hot cup of coffee that was brought to me and shrugged.
"Ah, Jo was just in a mood that's all. I don't know what's
going on with her, but it seems like she's not going to tell me anytime soon," I said.
"Her mom just died right? Isn't she supposed to be upset?" He asked.
"It's not just that. I mean I think that's part of it, but they were never all that close to begin with. Besides, everything was going pretty well during the storm. We stayed in together, she helped out with the cattle, and everything was going great until she had to get back to work on the house this morning. It could just be her mom passing, but I keep getting this nagging feeling that there's more to it."
"Did you ask her about it?"
I nodded. "Of course. I wanted to see if she was okay, but she practically shooed me out of the house this morning. I don't know what to make of it."
Dan grinned. "You have a thing for her, don't you?"
I scoffed. "A thing for Joanne? No, nothing like that. I mean we've been friends for a long time and I know her a lot better than I know just about anyone else, but that's it. We've never even thought about each other like that."
"Did you guys sleep together?"
I glared at him. "None of your business."
"That's a yes."
"Dan," I groaned and shook my head.
"It's a valid question and a valid point. If you two stayed cramped up in that house of yours all cuddled up and happy then maybe there's more going on you know?"
I shook my head. "We both agreed it was just a fun little fling. I mean it's not like either of us thinks this is going to go any further. She has a job and a home back in Vegas and I'm here. I don't think there can be much had if she's going to be gone in a few days or a week or however long it takes her to clear back out of my life," I mumbled into my cup.
"See that shit right there? You obviously care. Why don't you at least tell her what's going on in your head and maybe she'll tell you what's going on in hers."
I thought about what he said. Should I tell Joanne that I wanted her to stay? I hadn't even really considered the possibility besides a brief fluttering thought here and there. She had a life of her own and I respected that. I did miss my best friend, but that didn't mean I wanted her to change her whole life for me either. That would be ridiculous.
"It'll be okay. I'm just going to give her some space for now. I'm sure things will calm down in a little while."
Dan nodded slowly. "I haven't seen you this concerned about someone in a really long time," he said. "Just be careful. You have a way of letting people get close to you and then when it doesn't work out you don't know what to do with yourself. I don't want the same thing to happen here."
I waved a hand. "It won't."
"I'm not saying don't go for it either though," he added. "If she means something to you then you need to say something."
I groaned. "Life used to be a whole lot less complicated."
Dan grinned. "The joys of being an adult without a clue what you're supposed to be doing."
I laughed and spied my food as it came out of the kitchen. Once it was sat down in front of me, I tried to focus on that and not Joanne. I didn't want to worry about her all day. I knew she was strong. If she said she could handle things, she could and she would.
Chapter 13
Joanne
I stared at the mountain of boxes that I'd stacked up. Some were going to be donated, some thrown away and a small pile of things that were going back home with me. I'd had to hire some help to get the house packed up a little faster and I was glad that I had. Four days of working around the clock meant the house was almost completely empty now.
I glanced around as more boxes were unloaded from the house by the movers. Everything was just about done. All I had to do was clean up really and then I could sell it. I ran a hand over the kitchen counter. As much as we didn't get along it's still sad to see it go. I’d stopped thinking about my mother, the house, all of it. Pretty soon it would be in my rearview and I would be back to my normal life.