Finally, I got my wish. Derek turned and stalked to his car. He yanked open the driver's side door, got behind the wheel, and slammed the door behind him.
A moment later, I watched in silent mortification as his car squealed in reverse, did a sloppy U-turn, and then roared down the long driveway, leaving an ominous silence in its wake.
I turned my nervous gaze to Joel.
He was still there, but he didn't look happy.
Chapter 38
From the open doorway, I gave Joel a nervous smile. "I'm really sorry about that."
His brow wrinkled in confusion. "Why areyousorry?"
"Well, he called you a name for one thing."
"Forget that." He moved closer until we were standing within arm's reach. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, sure." I gave a shaky laugh. "We fight all the time, so I'm kind of used to it."
Joel's gaze darkened. "That happens a lot?"
"No. Not really." I glanced toward the driveway, where Derek's car had been a moment earlier. "But he's been in a rotten mood all summer. Honestly, I don't know what's going on."
After a long, ominous silence, Joel asked, "You want me to have a talk with him?"
"No," I blurted. "Definitely not." In fact, that was thelastthing I wanted. Trying not to be rude about it, I added, "But thanks. That's really nice." I ran a trembling hand through my hair. "But he's already gone, so…"
"So, I'll go after him, not a big deal."
That's where Joel was wrong. Itwouldbe a big deal. Already, it was a big deal. Looking to tone things down, I said, "It's fine, really."
"Sorry, but you're wrong."
I blinked. "What?"
"Talking to you like that? It's not fine. And you know it."
"Well, yeah. But you just saw the tail end." I tried to shrug it off. "He said some things. I said some things." I forced a laugh. "And you said some things..."
"Yeah. I did." His jaw tightened. "And he's lucky I onlysaidsomething."
I didn't ask what Joel meant, because I could see it in his stance, along with the way his gaze kept shifting to his car, like he was thinking of making good on his offer – to have a "talk" with Derek.
I summoned up a smile. "I know. And I appreciate it, really. But can't we just forget it?"
Joel still wasn't smiling. "Forget it."
"Yeah. I mean, you're already mowing my lawn. You don't need to fight my battles, too." I deliberately brightened my tone. "When you're done, I was thinking I'd make dinner."
"I'm already done."
"Seriously?" I turned to study the lawn. With all of the Derek-drama, I hadn't even noticed, but the front yard looked surprisingly terrific. And I'd heard Joel mowing out back, so obviously, that part was finished, too.
Still, I couldn’t quite believe it. "The whole thing?"
"Yeah. Unless there's more you haven't showed me."
I stared in amazement. "But you've only been at for a couple of hours."
