“How are you, Mrs. C? I see you’re still the style guru of Lake Howling.”
Faith shuffled sideways so she could look at Ryan and check he wasn’t mocking Mrs. C. No way would she allow that. His face showed nothing but admiration.
“I try, boy, and sometimes fail. But it’s the trying that’s important, the way I see it.”
“That’s always been my motto.” Ryan smiled at her.
Faith felt something warm in the pit of her stomach that she put down to the delayed reaction from the coffee she’d gulped. His teeth were white, and the smile pretty much lit his entire face and made it downright disturbing.
“You still baking those cool cakes, Mrs. C?”
“I’ve always liked you Ryan,” Mrs. C lied, as she’d not seen the man for years, and back then he’d been a teenager full of angst like the rest of them. “How long has it been? Sixteen years?”
“Eleven, and that’s a very nice thing to say. I’ll let you in on a secret, Mrs. C.” Ryan leaned in, and Faith leaned back so he didn’t get too close in case he smelled good. “You were always one of my favorites too.”
Faith smiled inwardly, smug that Mrs. C would see through this BS for what it was. But the woman was preening. She even giggled.
“Come on! You’re not buying that, are you?”
“What?” Mrs. C shot her a look.
“Ryan’s BS.”
Noah, she noted, was watching the entire thing silently with a look on his face that suggested he knew something she didn’t. She’d deal with him later.
“We’re just being honest, Faith. I think it’s important that when you think something needs saying, you say it. I spent years suppressing words.” He gave Mrs. C a sweet smile that had Faith’s teeth grinding. “I’ve thought often about this place and the people in it, and perhaps absence has made me realize just what I left behind.”
Mrs. C sighed. “Are you judging, Ryan?”
“Judging?”
“The talent show. We need a judge, and my guess is you know what you’re about when it comes to music.”
The side of his mouth kicked up. “I won’t be in town long enough, but if I was, it would be my honor to judge the talent show, Mrs. C. Especially if you’re performing.”
“This mutual admiration is making me nauseous,” Faith snapped. She leaned in and dropped a kiss on Mrs. C’s soft, lined cheek and hoped her lips didn’t come away covered in powder. “See you later in class.”
She didn’t give Ryan another look; she simply walked away. Noah fell in beside her again.Dammit.
“Here’s the thing—”
“Must there be a thing?”
“There is always a thing,” Noah said. “And because I love you like a sister, which you are, and even more as you are my other half.”
“I thought Lucy was your other half?”
“Can I have three halves to me?”
“A third?”
“Shall we call it that you and Lucy take up all the space in my heart?”
Faith swallowed. “I like that.”
“Me too.” He slung an arm around her shoulders. “The thing I was getting at is, Ryan will be in town for a few days or longer and likely reappear regularly due to the imminent arrival of his niece or nephew. I have no idea why you bristle like Bandit facing Gussie Neeps’s arthritic old pug dog when you see him, but you need to get a handle on it.”
Faith sighed.