It occurred to him that he probably ought to run for it. Then the brown car’s window lowered, just a crack. And from within a voice said, “He did that to himself. No point you or I gettin’ dragged into it, is there?”
“Nope.”
“You had a blowout. You lost control and got thrown clear before the Caddy went over. You never saw any other vehicle.”
“That’s just the way it happened,” he said.
The window rolled back up and the brown car rolled away into the road.
Lily took her time getting herself put back together. Ethan was driving her so crazy she felt like her hair must be standing on end. But no, she didn’t look as crazy as she felt. She pulled on a flannel over her T-shirt, which was slate blue and bore a pair of stylized aviator sunglasses on the front.
By the time she emerged from the bathroom, Ethan was the only one waiting for her. Garrett had already gone.
“Hey,” Ethan said. He was standing in the middle of the living room.
“Hey.” She looked around her empty house. “I thought Garrett would want to talk to me.”
“They got a hit on that guy’s car already. Willow called. It’s been in an accident. No wonder, the way he was drivin’.”
“Oh.” She looked at the sofa, but didn’t sit down.
“I’m hoping Garrett can put him on notice that his welcome in this county is revoked. Scare him off.”
She realized she should be more interested in the criminal who’d threatened her, but most of her mental capacity was busy with the fact that they’d probably have had sex if Garrett hadn’t shown up—a fact that sat between them like a boulder. They both ignored it.
“The guy’s license plate didn’t exist,” Ethan said. “Silver-1. Garrett says it’s probably a custom fake.”
“But we know his name.”
“Yeah. So he’s keepin’ a deputy watching your house.”
“That’s good. I guess.”
Ethan was not sitting down. It felt as if he intended to leave. So she said, “Dad texted while I was getting dressed. He’s spending the night at Cat’s.”
“That progressed quickly, didn’t it? Are you okay with it?”
She took a breath and wandered past him into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and took out a pitcher of sweet tea. “I’m processing it,” she said. Then she got two glasses and filled them both without asking if he wanted one. She carried them into the living room, set them on the coffee table, and sank onto her plush brown-teddy-bear of a sofa. “I think my mom would be okay with it. She’d say, ‘Life’s short, and you ought to be as happy as you can every day of it.’”
With a sigh, he came around the sofa, but instead of sitting beside her, he took her dad’s recliner and reached for the tea. After a sip, he said, “He’s been lonely without her,” he said.
“He’s been heartbroken without her. And it’s been two years now. I don’t think she’d have wanted that. Now, though, since Cat…” She shook her head.
“He’s lit right up,” Ethan said. “Looks ten years younger and it’s only been, what? A week?”
“A week that I know of,” she said, in a tone that suggested there might be weeks she hadn’t known of. “I think he’s been tinting his hair. That stuff that works gradually?”
“I think it’s more than that,” he said.
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “He seems happy, doesn’t he?”
Ethan nodded.
“Well, I’m glad he’s happy. I think Mom was right, you should grab happiness wherever you can find it. And on that note?—”
“My label’s releasin’ ‘Home’ as a single.”
His attempt to distract her from talking about the two of them maybe having sex tonight was a complete success. A smile stole control of her face. “That’s fantastic!”
