“Go on.” Her eyes glance past me, and I turn around to see her husband waiting for her in his truck. He’s exiting the driver’s side door and moving towards me. Oh shit, I’m about to get my ass kicked. “What do you want with my wife? And…”
I show him my hands. “It’s not like that, Ennis; I just wanted to see if Hattie was free tomorrow to do me a favor. “
“You want my wife to do…what kind of favor?”
“Honey, it’s OK,” Hattie insists to the burly man in the ball cap.
“Make it quick,” he grunts.
I turn to Hattie.
”I just want you to know I’m sorry about how I left things when we were teenagers, Hattie. I want you to know I never cheated on you, but I’m sorry I just let you believe that story when I left town. It was a lot of people spreading rumors for reasons I may never understand, but I need you to believe me.”
Hattie shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “Why is it so important to you that I believe you?”
“Because I need a favor. It pays well.”
“How well?”
“More than you and your entire staff makes in a month.”
Hattie barks laugh. “You know I am a three-person salon, right? Two people cut hair, and another person does manicures. And that’s it. And we have a full slate of appointments tomorrow. So I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
Her husband is anxious for them to go. “Come on, babe, let’s get out of here.”
I watch them walk off to his truck, and as he opens the door for her, I shout, “I’ll pay you $10,000 to reschedule your appointments tomorrow.”
Hattie freezes and then turns to me with a severe look. “Are you insane? You could solve a lot of problems in Darling Creek with that much money.”
I ignore that last part and add, “But I bet you know plenty of colleagues who would be willing to rebook their appointments tomorrow.”
Hattie looks at me hesitantly and glances over the truck’s hood at her husband, who appears downright pissed. He looks at me and then looks back at Hattie. Then he shakes his head, utters a low curse, slides behind the wheel, and closes the door.
Hattie cocks her head. “It took guts to come to me for a favor. Almost makes me think you’re telling the truth, that you never did cheat on me. Maybe.”
“Ask Rachel,” I say. “I’m sure she’s not repeating that story after all these years.”
We leave it at that, and I head back to the motel. While scrolling endlessly for something to watch on the TV, I hear a text message notification on my phone.
Casey: Hey. You left before dinner time.
Immediately I add her to my contacts, my heart thumping wildly.
Me: I was a mess. I wanted to go back to the hotel and get cleaned up. What did I miss?
Casey: Lasagna by Chef Joy.
Me: Based on what I know of her biscuits and gravy, I’ll bet it’s fantastic.
Casey: Thanks for all your hard work today.
Me: Well, I must ensure the lady always gets her money’s worth.
Casey: Can you ever have a conversation without flirting?
Me: I doubt it. Can you ever have a conversation without being ridiculously stubborn?
Casey: Probably not.