Jake glanced over his shoulder. Kate had gotten out of her seat and approached the car. She looked good. That was Dani’s first thought. The Kate from her day had been skinny, dressed in goth, and had a chip on her shoulder telling the world to go to hell. This Kate had gained about ten pounds, had a soft smile, and even smoother skin. She looked happy.
“So the rumors are true.” Kate waved a hand. “Hi, Dani. It’s been a long time.”
They’d never talked except for one time. Both had been ordered to the counselor’s office. In the lobby, Kate cursed at her, and Dani moved down a seat. That had been the extent of the interaction and their history.
“Kate.”
“How you holding up against the Craigstown scrutiny?”
“Oh, you know, the power of one eye twitch can go a long way.”
“Yeah.” Kate laughed, resting on one hip. “The nonverbals in this town are legendary. I remember in school. I’d walk through a store, and by the time I finished making one trip, there were twenty different stories made up. I was either going to to rob the place or blow the owner’s son. Those were the two main ones.”
“Kate, do you mind?” Jake gestured to Dani before his hand fell back to rest on his holstered gun. “We were in the middle of something.”
Dani held up a hand. “Ignore him. I’d rather talk to you.”
“Dani.”
Kate’s gaze skirted between the two, then she glanced in the direction Jonah had gone. “So, is it true? Are you and Jonah Bannon an item? That’s what I heard from one of the regulars at the Piggly Squiggly. Everyone is talking about the two of you.”
“Kate!”
“What?” She looked at Jake.
The ends of his mouth turned down in sharp disapproval, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “I can’t believe you listen to that stuff. That’s just all rumors and gossip.”
“Say what you want. You get the best dirt there.” Kate shrugged. “So, is it true, Dani? You and Jonah Bannon?”
“Kate.” Jake’s laugh came out sounding forced. “Dani and Jonah? Seriously. If those two aren’t the oddest and complete opposites, then I don’t know who is—”
“Like you and Julia?” Dani interrupted.
Jake fell silent.
Kate remarked, “And opposites sometimes attract, Jake.”
“Or you and Erica?”
Jake shook his head. “That’s completely different.”
“How come?”
Kate closed her mouth as her eyes darted between the two. She edged back a step.
“Dani.”
“Jake.”
“Come on.” He now laughed. “What are you—are you serious? You and Jonah? Jonah Bannon?”
Jake had no right commenting or speculating on her love life. He’d been a part and played his part well, but he was out. He’d been out for a long, long time. He had no place passing judgment, no matter what was the truth.
She lifted her chin up. “Maybe.”
He went still. “Are you serious?”
Kate commented out of the side of her mouth, “I think you should be asking yourself why you care so much.”
“Kate.” Jake shot her a glare, and it shut her up.
Dani sighed. She was suddenly done with this conversation. Jake was jealous, but that was old news. He’d been jealous in high school too, and there’d been no basis for it then. She loved him, completely and whole-heartedly, and seeing him yesterday took her back there. It’d been brief, but hearing that same shit from him now, she was over it.
She was grateful to him for one thing, and that was realizing she truly was over what they had. She could safely answer Mae’s questions if she was going to get Jake back. She didn’t want him. Julia was welcome to him, but as for the rest of her aunt’s questions: Dani still wasn’t ready to admit them even to herself.
Her sister had been buried. She had been clothed, prayed upon, and blessed. She had been put into the earth’s dirt. It was something that Dani was beyond familiar with. Feeling the same emptiness that haunted her at night, she heaved a deep breath and shook her head clear. She couldn’t expel the shiver that ran down her back, putting the hairs on her neck straight up.
“Hello?”
Startled, Dani jumped and cursed.
“Sorry.” Jonah poked his head through the open door.
Dani realized that she’d forgotten to shut it. After leaving town, she went to the cemetery. She hadn’t planned on going, but she found herself parking along the gravel driveway. That was as far as she got, though. She stared at the set of tombstones where she guessed Erica was buried. She would’ve been put next to their mom’s grave. And sitting there a full thirty minutes, Dani couldn’t make herself get out. When she got back to the cabin, she couldn’t remember what she did for the rest of the afternoon. She remembered making coffee, and with a jerk, she was still standing in her kitchen.
Her coffee was cold now.
“What time is it?”
He checked his watch. “It’s about six-ish. You were going to let me drive the car, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” She frowned. “I, uh…sorry. I was just…” She pushed away from the counter and dumped the coffee into the sink. “I got busy and forgot all about tonight.”
“That’s okay.” He produced a package from behind his back. “Two steaks. I wasn’t sure if you went back in the store for them after this morning, so I did.”