You and Me by Carrie Ann Hope

Author:Carrie Ann Hope [Hope, Carrie Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-03-27T16:00:00+00:00

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TWELVE

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Clearly, Will’s presence at Spider’s was a huge draw. There were always a few extra people hanging around whenever the boys got together to play—three or four, at least, sometimes as many as ten—but when Tom pulled the truck onto the long dirt driveway that led to Spider’s place, Penny was amazed to see a whole lineup of vehicles parked on either side. Anywhere there was enough space to accommodate a car or a pickup or a motorcycle or some other kind of transportation, somebody had parked there.

“It’s like an actual concert,” she said after a rough count had brought her up to 26 things with wheels, all of which looked like they were drivable, unlike the collection of junkers Spider had out back. “Or a big yard sale or something.”

Tom laughed at that. “Something like that.”

He had to troll up and down the road for a few minutes to find a good spot for his truck, and even then, he had to wedge it in, careful to leave them enough room to open the doors and get out. He held up a finger to ask her to wait, then wiggled out, circled around to her door and held it while she squeezed through the opening.

He still seemed a little concerned, like a kid going in to take a big test he wasn’t sure he’d studied for long enough. But eager at the same time, as if he couldn’t wait for the moment he could announce to somebody (or mention it in passing; either way) that they were a couple.

Even though she’d said nothing about abandoning her plans to go to Austin.

How that would work out in the long run, she didn’t know. Eventually, she’d have enough money to get back on the road. But how much money that ought to be, she wasn’t sure. She supposed it would make sense to save as much as she could so she could give herself a better start. A nicer apartment, a cushion to fall back on. That would give her a good reason to stick around Constantine for a while—a few months, maybe. Through the summer, maybe on into the fall.

What would happen after that wasn’t at all clear.

One part of it was pretty obvious, though: sooner or later, she would have to say goodbye to Tom.

One morning a while back, while she and Margie were working together making the beds, something had made her bold enough to ask, “Is Tom—is there someone he—a girlfriend?”

Margie had heaved a sigh and pressed a hand to the small of her back. Working out the kinks, she’d said. All the bending and crouching and lifting and reaching did a number on her, and bless Roy Don for having spent the money on that hot tub before he passed.

“No,” she said. “Not so’s you could say.”

Penny didn’t ask why—that was a little too bold, and really, none of her business—but she supposed the question was there in her eyes.

“Kinda think he’s scared,” Margie said softly.

“Why?”

Everybody got scared, Penny thought.

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