Page 65 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
“Go back, please, Mrs. C.,” Dan said.
“Boredom in the young, I’ve always said, is going to be the ruination of society,” June said, joining Mrs. C., who had ignored his warning and was now standing beside Dan.
“You need to find yourself a purpose, young man,” Dr. Hannah agreed, joining her friends. “And get off your cellphone. It’s not good for posture.”
Dan could hear the muffled laughter of JD and Red.
“And you”—Mrs. C. jabbed a finger at Reek—“should know better at your age. Go home, you old fool, I’m sure getting those leathers on can’t be easy for someone of your advanced years.”
“We’re starting a literacy class for anyone who didn’t learn enough in school this week. It’s held in the library on Thursday evenings,” Dan’s mother said. “Maybe you should all enroll because it seems to me you need something to occupy your time other than this skullduggery.”
“That’s an excellent word,” Dr. Hannah said.
“Jenny found it in a book and said she’d always wanted to use it,” Robyn Duke said. “I’ll be able to tell her tomorrow that I did.”
“I can read!” Grill snarled.
“Really? That does surprise me,” LouJean said.
“Ladies, you really need to move back,” Dan said, knowing that no one would listen to him. Grill was looking a little tight around the eyes now. “Leave, or I’ll let the women have you,” he added.
Grill sent him a look that said this wasn’t done, and then he and his buddies got on their bikes, revved the engines, and roared out of town.
“I think you should start a new crime-fighting force and enlist all of them,” Caleb said, waving a hand at the women, whowere all chatting like they’d just had book club and not a run-in with a mean biker gang. “Send this bunch in to defuse any situation.”
“You could be onto something,” Dan said, looking for Leah. He found her getting into a car with Fox and Betsy.
Shit.
Chapter 18
Five days had passed since Girls’ Night when Dan had arrived to find her crying out the back of the Rollaway, and Leah was now heading home from running some errands in town. She still didn’t know what to do about him, so she’d chosen to avoid him, and since he’d been busy, according to Birdie, this wasn’t proving too difficult.
Being back in Lyntacky was good for both Leah and Hudson. The ache of Cassie’s death still sat heavy, but she believed—hoped—that, in time, they could find happiness here.
That was, of course, if she steered clear of Dan Duke.
Her phone rang from the seat beside her, so Leah pulled over to take it.
“Leah, this is JD Hooper.”
“Hello, JD,” Leah said, wondering what he wanted. She didn’t know the man well, after all. His woman yes, but not him.
“Any chance you could stop at The Gnat?” he asked her.
“Ah, why?”
“I have something for Hudson I think he’ll love.”
“Okay.” This was weird. “What?”
“Nina, for pity’s sake!” JD roared into the phone, making Leah wince. “Look, I have to go. See you soon.”
She could hear him yelling at Nina as he cut the call. Leah tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She then did a U-turn and headed back into town because if she didn’t go, she’d spend the entire day wondering what that call had been about.
The Gnat was a long, low building where you could get all your beauty needs tended under one roof. Plus, they served coffee. It was an odd mix that worked, and after the initial resistance to change when JD had done it, the locals had learned to love it, or so one of Birdie’s emails had told her.
“Hi, Leah.”
