Me:You never need to ask. You’re always welcome.
Kaylee: How about Sunday morning? I'll come early and make brunch. Tomorrow, I have plans with my dad.
Me:And a date, according to Geo.
Kaylee:Ah, the date I canceled, when I had dinner with you. We rescheduled, and he's coming out here.
I hate him already. How much can you kiss up by coming all the way out to Whiskey Run for just a date?
I've been on edge all day. No amount of manual labor seems to help me get this energy out, and I hate feeling this way. I've resorted to moving the hay bales in the barn from one side to the other for no reason whatsoever.
"Okay, enough. Go get showered and head into town. We all know that's where this is going. Why you insist on keeping that girl at arm’s length, I will never know," Geo says.
"I don't know what you’re talking about,” I say, wiping the sweat from my forehead. "And you know why." I level him with a glare.
He just shakes his head at me. "Get out of here."
I jog back up to the house and shower, shave, and get ready like it's me she's going on a date with, even though it's not.
It should be, but it's not.
Even though I should, I don't have a plan. So, I just drive to the diner and decide to simply have dinner at Red's Diner. I head straight to the counter where Violet is and smile at her.
"Hey there, Violet. How is JJ?" I ask about her son.
"Oh, he's doing well! Growing like a weed. Ledger and Liv are over there, so you make sure to congratulate them on their engagement before you leave. You here to eat dinner or cause trouble?" She winks at me like she knows why I'm really here.
When she nods to the corner over my shoulder, she confirms it. I turn to see Kaylee there with some skinny guy, who couldn't fill out a pair of wranglers if his life depended on it. What does she see in him?
There’s a twinkle in Violet’s eye like she knows exactly what I'm about to do. "I'll have my usual, Violet," I say and tap the counter in front of me, before standing up.
I stop at Ledger and Liv’s table to congratulate them on their new engagement, but I never take my eye off of Kaylee. After no more than a few words, I go right over to where Kaylee is.
She's sitting along the wall where there’s one long booth, a table, and then on the other side, a chair. Thankfully, she’s on the booth end, so I just slide in right beside her and throw my arm over the back of the booth behind her.
"Hey there. Who is this?" I ask, nodding to the city boy across from me.
"Garrett, what are you doing here?" She asks, not sounding a bit surprised to see me.
"I came to get dinner. With the horse’s birth and all, no one really has time to cook right now, and I needed a break. Geo got to come into town earlier, so it was my turn. Are you still coming by tomorrow to see the new addition? She doesn't have a name yet." I add, knowing that thinking up a name is her favorite thing to do.
"Yeah, I’ll be by like I planned. Oh, and this is Jason. He's friends with Becca's brother, and we’re making up for the date I canceled on earlier this week," she says.
Huh. A makeup date so soon? And he drove all the way out here for it? I eye him up, wondering what game he's playing.
"Jason, this is my best friend, Garrett. We grew up together. You can think of him as my overprotective older brother," she says and elbows me in my side.
I grunt and bring my arms down to protect myself in case she gets any ideas to do that again. Older brother? I think not.
"Come on, sweetheart. There’s nothing brotherly about what we did after prom," I smirk and watch her eyes go big.
We don't talk about us sleeping together, but I can tell Jason here is already nervous with me being her friend. If he knows we slept together, there’s a good chance he won't be comfortable with me in the picture at all, and she has dumped guys for less than that.
Watching Jason, I know I'm right. He's very uncomfortable now, shifting in his seating and checking his phone. If I'm right, he's going to make up some fake emergency and have to leave.
"Oh, hey. My mom texted, and she needs me to run and pick up her medication refill. I better go, before the pharmacy closes. It was great to meet you both, and Kaylee, I’ll call you later."
He bolts out of the door before either of us has a chance to say anything. The moment he's gone, she turns and hits me in the chest.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She says so loudly that the whole diner stops to look at us both.
"He isn't the one for you," I stand up and toss some money down on the table to cover her food. I head over to the counter, get my food from Violet, and then stomp out without looking back.
I don't have to look behind me, because I can feel the daggers she’s shooting me from here.