Page 4 of Changing Caleb
The smartass jab hits hard as Casey joins the crowd. She has an eyebrow cocked as she glares at me with a look of disgust. I remember a time when those fiery green eyes of hers used to look at me with passion. At least, that’s what I thought it was. We both used to think we had passion for each other.Lust. Love. Need.
“Not at all,” I answer, sipping my coke and ignoring the part of me that wishes it was something stronger. “Just surprised to find out Lilly is related to these assholes.”
Casey seems shocked, as though she doesn’t know what to think of me not making a jab right back at her. Her uptight boyfriend slips his arm around her waist but doesn’t say anything. I remember him being pretty quiet at Thanksgiving.Then again, no one was able to say much with all the yelling that was going on. And that was before food started getting tossed.
“I seem to remember there being only one asshole in Hollis, and unfortunately for us, he’s back,” Casey sneers.
Jade nudges her and leans in to whisper in her ear. I can guarantee she’s telling her to be nice. As if that’s possible.
“Avery came back too, so I guess you’re stuck with two assholes for a while,” I joke, and as if on cue, Avery walks in.
She grabs a beer from the bar and has half of it downed before she reaches us. I knew being back in Hollis would be harder for her than it would ever be for me. She doesn’t even come home during the holidays anymore.
“I’m ready to blow this shithole,” she mumbles. “Am I taking you home, or you catching a ride with Brady?”
“Some people say hello first,” Landon remarks sarcastically.
I smile and wait for it because I know it’s coming. Landon doesn’t know Avery, and she doesn’t care that he’s heir to a multi-million dollar company. He’s no one to her.
“Some people don’t wash their hands after they shit, but hey, that’s not my business,” she shrugs. Everyone bursts out laughing, and Landon shakes his head.
“We can go ahead and go,” I tell Avery, putting what’s left of my coke on the table.
“Already?” Brady asks. “You just got here.”
“We had a long drive. I’ll get with you tomorrow.”
Brady nods, and I follow Avery out of Jack’s. We ride in silence to our parent’s house, neither of us wanting to talk.
Avery is back in Hollis after swearing she would never return. News of her arrival hasn’t had time to start circulating the gossip mills, but it will, and it won’t be easy for her. I know she won’t be here long, and I don’t blame her.
As for me, I’m back, and I’m planning to be back for good. Hollis is my home, and it always has been. The hardest thing forme is figuring out how to move forward here when the past is constantly staring me in the face.
4
Casey
Ifiddle with the radio, unable to find a song I want to hear. What I want to hear is an explanation of how in the world Caleb didn’t snap on me. How he let me say those things and appear unaffected. It only fueled my anger.
“What was that all about?” Derek asks, taking my hand and resting it on the console.
“What was what?” I ask, my tone harsh.
I know exactly what he’s referring to. I was trying to get a rise out of Caleb. It was rude and childish. And it didn’t work.
“Casey, that man is part of your past. Perhaps you should leave him there,” he says, glancing over at me. “What I mean is, I want you to move in with me.”
“Move in with you?”
“It makes sense. You spend more of your time in Redbud than Hollis. When you finish school, your best chance at a career is in Redbud or Dallas. We both know Hollis doesn’t have anything to offer.”
I love Hollis, though. I love waitressing at Jack’s, being close to my friends. But with Caleb back, that changes things.
“Can I think about it?”
“Of course,” he replies, raising my hand to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to it.
We ride in silence, me mulling over Caleb’s behavior and Derek’s proposition. If I move to Redbud, I’d have to quit working at Jack’s. That might not be a bad thing, considering Caleb is back in town and will no doubt be eating there every day.
