Page 24 of The Huckleberry Bookshop

“Give lover-boy a taste of his own tardy medicine and leave. Don’t be the pathetic woman who puts her own life on hold, sitting around ready and waiting until he deigns to show up.”

“Nobody says ‘tardy’ anymore.”

Her sister smirked. “Come on, I want to go poke at some credit card readers for the store. You promised you’d help me decide.”

Athena held up a finger. “Just gimme another minute.”

She dialed Chad. No answer. She texted him, waiting to see if he’d shoot back a reply. Nothing.

Not cool.

With her face freshly scrubbed of most of the photo-session makeup, Athena stood in the San Antonio sunshine, fuming that she’d been right about Chad. He was cut from the same cloth as Lonnie. He would never fully respect her or her time.

Meddy stood on the passenger side of Athena’s car, waiting for her door to be unlocked.

“Just a sec.”

“Do. Not. Call him,” her sister commanded.

“I’m not.” She tapped her phone, realizing Chad still had his location shared with her from earlier. He was five blocks away at a convention center and hotel.

Gotcha.

“I have to do something.” She tossed Meddy her keys.

“Athena!”

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s already too late to go, anyway. I don’t have time to cross town and also get ahead on my work. Take my car and pick whichever card reader you want.”

Her sister’s eyes narrowed, her shoulder-length earrings swinging. “Where ya going?”

“Someone needs a piece of my mind.”

“Promise me you won’t give him so many pieces it makes you stupid.”

“Meddy!”

Her sister smirked, circling to the driver’s side. “Oh, I almost forgot. I want to hire a contractor.”

“But we already got our bookshelves sorted out.”

“No, for Mom. An early Mother’s Day gift.”

“Mother’s Day isn’t for five months.”

“I know. But she can’t get onto the porch in her wheelchair without help, and Dad needs freedom. She needs independence, and sitting on the porch is good for her. It’s less isolating.”

Athena nodded, realizing how true that was. Their mom used to read, knit and sip sweet tea on the covered porch, and call out to neighbors as they went by. In many ways, that was her social life.

“A little plywood and some nails, and boom! Some ramps so she can come and go on her own. Dad would do it, but he’d probably nail himself to something.”

Athena laughed softly. Their dad was a lot of things, but not handy. “Okay. I’m in. I’ll cover half.”

Meddy grinned and took off in Athena’s car, tooting the horn as she pulled away from the curb.

Athena, holding on to her frustration with Chad, stormed across the city’s downtown, formulating what she wanted to say. Who did he think he was? Elbowing his way into her project and then ditching so he could go have a quickie?

She was supposed to be shopping with her sister, not tracking him down.

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