Page 32 of Cherry Picked
Mrs. Williams’s face lit up. “You knit? How wonderful.”
“No, ma’am. But I heard a pair of their handcrafted double-pointed needles make a great—”
“Sock-making tool!” I blurted, suddenly 100 percent convinced my friend was going to reveal more of her mysterious obsession with weapons. “DPNs are great for those pesky toe closures. Heh.”
Both women looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
Crys looked back at Luke’s mom. “—gift for people who knit charity hats for babies,” she finished calmly. “And several of us at the Tavern chipped in to get some nice ones for Andrea.”
I felt a bead of sweat run slowly down my temple. “Oh. Ha. Yeah. That, too.” I was still pretty convinced Crys had purchased herself a pair of handcrafted old-lady shanks.
I couldn’t quite imagine someone using a set of double-pointed needles to take down an enemy, but if anyone could do it, it would be Crys.
Mrs. Williams smiled back at her. “Well, nice to meet you, dear. Hawk, I’m off to see your uncle and his beau for an early dinner. Drew’s making hisspecialbrownies.” Her eyes twinkled. “Too bad Webb and Luke are… otherwise engaged.”
I smiled grimly. Uncle Drew was particularly uninhibited under the influence of his special brownies, and when Webb and Luke wereotherwise engaged, it usually meant everyone else in the farmhouse should sleep with noise-canceling headphones. “That’s… great. Just great.”
“Newlyweds!” she said with satisfaction I wished I could share. “Take care.”
She bustled out of the cafe, and Crys burst into giggles. “You crack me up, Hawk Sunday.Pesky toe closures.”
“And you stress me out,” I grumbled under my breath. “Even more than thinking of my previously straight brother fucking his new husband does.”
She threw back her head and laughed. “Keeping you off-balance is a gift, my friend. And it brings me joy.”
I couldn’t help but allow a partial grin. “It brings me something. Not sure what yet.”
She leaned over and ruffled my hair. “I like you. I didn’t expect to make a friend like you when I moved here.”
I wanted to ask why the heck she’d moved to a small town like the Hollow if she hadn’t planned to make friends, but I didn’t want to seem judgy. Not when her friendly affection warmed my heart and helped mitigate my recent rejection just a little bit.
“Want to come over and watch a movie or something?” I offered. “I heardDeath Comes to Pemberleywas on tonight, and I can make Marco’s chicken salad recipe—”
“No can do,” she said, standing up and chucking her empty cup into a nearby receptacle. “Got a hot date with a chick I met at the knife-throwing thing.”
I stared at her. “What?”
“You heard me. Just becauseyouare determined to overthink Simon’s offer until you’re old and gray doesn’t meanI’mgonna be sleeping alone tonight.” She winked. “Look, I get what you’re saying about Jack. You have hashtag real-feels. But you also need relief. And you were willing to make do with a friends-with-bennies thing for Jack, right? So why not with cute Simon? Think about it, okay? See you tomorrow!”
I scrambled after her. “Wait, I need details. How the heck did you meet someone at the knife place? I was with you the whole time!”
“Ladies’ room,” she said with a shrug. “She said if I wanted more practice, her family has some dead trees on their property we could throw things at. Texted me her number and added a shit ton of emojis.” She grinned. “In like Flynn, baby. I don’t know why dudes need to make stuff so complicated.”
I wrinkled my nose. “She asked you to throw things at dead trees… and that’s an invitation for sex?”
“Sure. Throwing stuff around is excellent foreplay. I’m gonna score in all the ways.” She reached out a fist to knuckle-bump me, but I refused and shoved my hands in my shorts pockets instead.
“Dear god. Literallyeveryonein this town is having sex except me. It’s fuckinginjustice, is what it is!”
Crys’s eyes narrowed, and she grabbed me by the front of my shirt. “Okay, Hawkins, I’ve tried being patient, but maybe you need some tough love instead, so listen up. Plenty of men in this town would love nothing more than to deflower your virgin ass, and you know it. The trouble is, you’re hung up on the one guy who won’t. You have an idea in your head that he’s the perfect guy and you’re meant to have this perfect love, but perfection is for storybooks. In real life, sometimes people need to fuck up before they figure shit out. Sometimes, their timing is off. And that’s okay. Real life issupposedto be hard and messy. That’s how you learn shit. That’s why it’s fun. But if you keep thinking of Jack as one of your romance heroes and wondering why he’s not sticking to the script, you’re gonna be miserable forever, boo. You are responsible for your own happiness. Don’t wait for him to fix your life. Go out and take action. Grab what you want.” She paused for a moment. “But, like, wear a seat belt and remember to bring protection. Okay?” She patted my chest gently, smoothing my shirt back into place. “Okay. Good talk. See you in the morning.”
She strode across the parking lot in the direction of the room she rented in an old house on Pine Street, leaving me staring after her.
How ridiculous!
I wasnotwaiting around for perfection, and I certainly didn’t expect anyone to fix my life for me. I worked hard, dang it. And my life was full of family and friends and projects that needed my help. I liked it just fine!
Well…
