I measured her words carefully against my already unbalanced heart. Hearing them didn’t register with my brain. None of it made sense. There was no way Tatum’s eyes did anything except narrow with annoyance at my presence. Partner in crime? No way. He probably wished I’d just head on right out of town.
Unsure how to respond to that, I mumbled, “Well, I guess I’ll go grab that towel now.”
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Paige. I’m sorry.” Mrs. Montgomery set her coffee mug down on top of the counter and took a step toward me.
“You didn’t. I just…” I paused and shrugged. “I just think you’re wrong about Tatum and me is all.”
She nodded and waved me off. “You’re probably right. Now, the swimming hole is about a ten-minute walk down the path. You don’t need to stray from the path at all, it will lead you right to it. It’s real peaceful, I think you’ll enjoy it.”
“I still can’t believe places like this exist,” I said with a smile.
“Surely you’ve been to the South for filming before, haven’t you?” she asked as she tilted her head to the side.
I shook my head. “I have, but it wasn’t like this. And I didn’t get a chance to explore or go sightseeing, you know?”
“Well, you’re here now. In the true South. Might as well enjoy it.”
My smile widened. “I couldn’t agree more.”
No Rush to Leave
Tatum
Fresh coffee and sandwich in hand from the café, I walked side by side with Buster down the narrow street back toward the garage. Buster was my dad’s dog, and he used to bring him to work almost every day. The damn dog even had a giant puffy bed thing in the corner of the office. Dad used to say that the dog would sleep all day long, snoring away through the pounding and the machines. He used to think that was the funniest thing ever, the way Buster would sleep through life. But he loved that dog. And I loved my dad. It sucked without him here.
I pulled my old man’s chair back from the desk, sat down, and turned on the computer. Buster whined at my side. “What’s the matter¸ boy?” He did that sometimes now. He’d stare at me and whine like he was telling me some secret I couldn’t understand, or he’d head over to the place where we found my dad’s body, then lie down next to it. Damn near killed me when he did that shit.
Pushing the memory from my mind, I shook my head and sipped my coffee. Opening up the latest e-mail from my tire guy, I read his response carefully.
It will most likely take me a few days, maybe even a week to get that kind of tire in. Who the hell is driving a BMW in these parts?
I laughed to myself and wrote back:
Just a tourist. Take your time with the tire; she’s in no rush.
Pressing Send, I sat back. What the hell did I just write? Take your time? She’s in no rush? Who the hell was I to speak for Paige? Clearly, I was the one who was in no rush to get her out of town. The bigger question was: Why?
A response pinged on the computer, and I winced at the e-mail’s title:
You’re in luck!
I clicked on the message to reveal the whole thing.
The tire will be in first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll have it delivered by the afternoon.
I responded with a quick thank-you, then slammed my fist on the desk before grabbing my coffee cup. Tomorrow? The last thing I wanted was Paige out of my life by tomorrow. Thoughts of her leaving drove me half mad.
I picked up the phone and dialed Mama’s number. When she answered on the second ring, I impatiently tapped my pen on top of the desk and asked, “Hey, Mama, is Paige there?”
“I just sent her off to the swimming hole. Sorry, hon.”
I stopped tapping. “Did she go there alone?”
“No. I sent her with all her friends.”
Smartass. “Very funny,” I snapped. “What if people are there, Ma?”
She sucked in a quick breath. “Shoot, Tatum. I didn’t even think about that.”
Even though the swimming hole was on our property, my high school friends and their little brothers and sisters would sneak on and hang out there most days in the summer. It wasn’t like we didn’t know they were doing it; we just didn’t care. It never mattered before today if our water was the most popular hangout spot in the area.
“I’ll head over there and make sure she’s okay,” Mama offered, and the fine hairs on my neck bristled.
“No. I’ll do it. I don’t want anyone giving her a hard time. With this hot weather, if she’s alone, I doubt she will be for long.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Did you hear about her tire?”
“It won’t be here for a week,” I said, the lie slipping easily from my mouth.
“Oh dear. She’ll have to stay for a whole week then, huh? I hope she’ll be okay with that,” Mama said sweetly, but her tone told me she was up to something.
“I’ll tell her when I see her. I gotta finish up some paperwork and make some phone calls before I head out. Talk to you later, Ma.”
I hung up before she said anything, knowing I’d get an earful for that move later. Mama hated being hung up on and scolded me any chance she could about my Southern manners. I should have called her back to apologize, but right now I was too flustered to think about anything other than Paige. Anyone could be at the swimming hole, and she had no idea she might have some unwanted company.
I knew she wasn’t some vulnerable and weak little girl, but something in me wanted to protect her. Maybe it was seeing her broken down on the side of the road, totally clueless about where to go or what to do. Or maybe it was knowing what her dickhead ex-boyfriend had done to her publicly that made me want to wrap her in my arms and lock her away. Hell, I didn’t know what it was about Paige Lockwood, but I felt like I’d go to battle for her.
Scrolling through the rest of my e-mails, I answered the ones I could and made phone calls with updates to the rest. I finished up my paperwork, checked in on outstanding orders, and called it a day. Before I left, I put up the sign letting people know I was away from the office for the rest of the day. That usually meant I was either at home, or driving out of town to pick up a part or an order. It wasn’t unusual for me to be gone for hours at a time on weekdays.
Everyone knew how to get a hold of me, and if anyone needed anything, I’d be right there. I handled a lot of farm machines and trucks, ordering new parts for the worn-out old ones and putting them in. The cars in this town seemed to last forever, but the machines tended to break more than they used to. Of course there were the typical new tires, oil changes, and the like, but most of the men here handled that stuff on their own. They would order the oil and tire from me, but as far as the labor went, they managed it themselves. It was when the big things happened, like engines and transmissions blowing, that I needed to get involved and get my hands dirty.
But the girls in town preferred to have every little thing done in my shop. Hell, they’d have me adjust their rearview mirror for them if I’d do it. I wasn’t stupid enough to pretend I didn’t know why; it just irritated me more than anything. I’d grown up with everyone here and had known them my whole life. That was the thing about a small town like this—it was hard to have feelings more than friendship for most of the people who lived in it.
After Brina dumped me, I’d never thought about girls much. Never gave any consideration to getting married, or having another girlfriend. I simply didn’t care anymore. Girls weren’t worth the heartache.
And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find it hard to trust again. Brina took every ounce of trust and belief I’d had in our relationship and discarded it like a piece of unwanted garbage. Talk about feeling worthless. It took me months to realize she was the problem, not me. But to say that I wasn’t scarred would be another lie.