“You’ve invited me to the wedding, but you haven’t said anything about taking me to your parents’ big celebration.”
Rebecca felt a flicker of apprehension. “You don’t really want to go to that, do you?”
“Why not? Half the town will be there, including that cute little Katie from your salon, right?”
“Er…yeah. Probably,” Rebecca responded.
“Then I’m in.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know about that.”
“Aw, come on. You can get me an invite, can’t you?”
“Rebecca, your father’s on the telephone again,” Booker’s grandmother called.
For a little old lady barely five feet two with wispy gray hair, translucent skin and brittle bones, she had quite a voice. Rebecca scrambled off the couch. “I’m just on my way out, Hatty. Could you tell him I had to go to my old place to finish up a few things?”
“But it’s almost ten o’clock, dear. Are you sure you want to go back tonight?”
Yes! Rebecca wanted to wash her hands of the old and concentrate on the new. She also wanted to sleep late in the morning. She didn’t have to work until ten. “This stuff is important, I’m afraid,” she called. “Tell him I’ll stop by his office tomorrow at lunch.”
Hatty said nothing more. Rebecca nudged Booker with her knee. “Want to go with me?”
His eyes flicked away from the television screen. “Not especially. I’m beat.”
Now that she had a roommate again, she hated the thought of going alone. “What would it take to convince you?”
He considered for a moment. “Is A&W open this time of night?”
“Not during the week.”
“Then I guess you’re out of luck.” A half smile curled his lips as he went back to watching television.
“What about a rain check?” she asked. “I’ll take you out for ice cream tomorrow.”
He made a big deal about turning off the television, tossing the remote aside and getting to his feet. “I didn’t know you were going to be such a pain in the ass when I said you could move in here,” he grumbled.
She gave him a sweet smile. “You’d be bored stiff without me.”
“Don’t get cocky just because you’re the only person in this town I can tolerate—besides that cute little Katie.”
“Katie’s only twenty-three.”
“She’s older than eighteen,” he said, trailing her through the front door, down the porch steps and to her car.
“I don’t think she’d be very responsive,” Rebecca said. “She’s had a thing for Josh Hill’s older brother as far back as I can remember.”
“Older brother? I thought you said she’s only twenty-three.”
Rebecca unlocked the doors, took the driver’s seat and reached into the back for a sweatshirt. “She is.”
“How old is Josh’s brother?” he asked, climbing in beside her.
“Let’s see…” Her radio blasted through her speakers as soon as she started the car. She turned it down before throwing the car into reverse. “He was a senior when Josh was a sophomore and I was a freshman, so he’s got to be thirty-six.”
“If they didn’t go to school together, how’d she get to know him?”
“Her family owns Don and Tami’s bakery. Tami is Josh’s mother’s best friend.”
“Thirteen-year age difference. She must like father figures,” he said. “I can be a father figure.”
Rebecca couldn’t help laughing. “Good luck.”
They spent the next fifteen minutes fighting over which radio station to listen to—country western or acid rock. Booker was still trying to find something suitably repulsive when Rebecca pulled into the drive of her old rental house and cut the engine. “I don’t believe it,” she murmured, staring at her yard in astonishment.
“Now this…this is music,” Booker said, as loud screeching guitars and someone screaming into a microphone made the whole car vibrate.
“My key. I should’ve insisted he give back my key.”
“What are you talking about?” He finally looked up, then blinked in surprise. “What’s all this?”
“My furniture,” she said numbly. “Everything Josh helped me move into storage. He had the duplicate key to my unit—he must’ve gone in there and brought everything back.”
IT WAS LATE, but Rebecca couldn’t sleep. She was in a new place with different sounds and smells and textures. She was worried about her furniture, which was still sitting on the lawn of her old rental house because she and Booker had been too exhausted to deal with moving it again tonight. And she was angry.
“You’ll get yours, Josh Hill,” she muttered for the hundredth time.
Fortunately Booker and his grandmother were both asleep, so she was alone with her thoughts. Booker had stayed up for a while, drinking a beer and watching television, but Rebecca couldn’t get interested in any of the sitcoms he preferred. She’d needed a more physical outlet and began to pace, silently cursing Josh Hill, and Booker had eventually dragged himself off to bed.
“Who does Josh think he is?” she said aloud, pivoting at the end of the family room and coming back for another pass. Just because she didn’t want to be his friend didn’t mean he had to turn on her.
Finally, she sat down at the small built-in desk in the corner of the room to call Buddy, hoping his calmness would soothe her. He wouldn’t like her spending so much money on long-distance calls, instead of e-mailing, but she needed to hear his voice.
“Hi, honey,” Buddy said.
“You’re not sleeping?” she asked.
“No, I’m surfing the net.” He surprised her by not saying anything about the money she’d owe Hatty for this call.
“What are you looking for?”
“Just checking out some new games, stuff like that.”
“Find anything fun?”
“Actually I did. I was visiting an astrology page my mother told me about and read something I was going to e-mail you. Now that you’re on the phone, I’ll just read it.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“Proof that we’re meant to be together.”
“Really?” That sounded good. Exactly what Rebecca needed at the moment.
“Here it is—‘What Attracts the Scorpio Woman…’ Just a sec, I’m pulling it up.”