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“Anyti my arm around her

I gave her a squeeze, kissed the top of her head Then I noticed that they’d all stopped chattering and were staring at us I dropped my arm from around Sarah Jo instantly I had slipped up in front of her friends, in the bar where dozens of people could see Shit

“So is that e got free queso?” Layla crowed Her friends hooted and laughed

“No, nothing like that It’s because I’m Ryan’s sister”

“And for the record, ya’ll are some of our best queso customers It was a free appetizer to thank you for your business”

“Afraid we’re gonna go to Bryant’s for the chicken wings and cockroach special?” Layla said

“It’s the queso and the clean tables that keep you co back,” I returned

They took off I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d screwed up, that we hadn’t covered well enough I’d reached for her naturally, hugged her, kissed her head I hadn’t been on guard, hadn’t been paying attention to how it looked Acting on ireed to sneak around, keep our relationship from her dad and brother Her dad didn’t need a health setback, and if Ryan went ranting and raving all over town about his sister and me, it’d affect her dad’s recovery I couldn’t let her be hurt Not because I was careless She deserved better I wanted to text her and say it wouldn’t happen again, that I’d be et a text oing to have to leave it alone and not h I missed her

19

Sarah Jo

My dad was asleep in front of whatever was on the History Channel, his phone left in the kitchen where he hadn’t heard it So he was fine, and he’d even taken the anizer I cleaned up the kitchen, put in some laundry, and tried to call Luke I tried four times I wanted to make sure he kneasn’t ed me in front of ht they believed it Layla was the only one who ht still be suspicious, and if I had to, I could tell her the truth She could be trusted not to gossip about it; she just liked to know everything I tried to call hiht to voicemail

“Hey, Luke, it’s me I just wanted to make sure you were okay hat happened I don’t think it was a big deal, so don’t worry about it, okay?” I said, and hung up

I took a shower, leaned out twice to check es I rinsed reat pressure since he had fixed the shoeeks ago He had done that out of thoughtfulness and consideration for me It meant so much to me that he’d taken care of it I felt uncos with hioodbye It was to hide ically I knew that, but I couldn’t help thinking I ht have upset him If he’d just call me back, that would help I could explain and find out if I needed to fix things with him, or if ere okay I put onout about how this could screw up the best thing in my life I made myself turn over on my side, pull my quilt up toI couldn’t lie awake stewing over boy drama

I counted backwards from a thousand Tried to read a library book Tried to list things I was grateful for, only to discover that a lot more of them were kinds of food than people I needed to see Luke I checked ain No calls, voicemails, texts, e He wasn’t on call at the station, so he was probably asleep I got up, resigned to going over there I wasn’t going to get any sleep until I kneeren’t going to bed angry, either of us I threw on the same jeans I’d worn earlier, not worried about the ketchup stain on theer I pulled on a sweatshirt and brushed my still-wet hair into a ponytail I didn’t even bother with s werebecause even oninto the lumberyard