Page 44 of Highball Rush
I chuckled. She really needed to stop being so goddamn adorable. She was killing me.
We went out to my truck and I opened the door for her. Figured I could drum up some manners. I drove us into town and parked outside Moonshine. She waited while I got the door for her again. Took her hand to help her out. There was that smile again, making my insides feel all twisted.
Without really thinking about it, I clasped her hand while we walked. It was small and soft against my calloused palm.
It felt good.
Moonshine Diner had been a staple in Bootleg Springs for as long as I could remember. Hadn’t changed much, either, which I appreciated. Still filled the block around it with the scent of good cooking.
Most of the tables were full tonight, but there was an open one near the back. The din of conversation hushed for a few seconds when we walked in. Heads turned. People watched. Some whispered to each other.
I held Callie’s hand and ignored them. It only took a few seconds for people to go back to their dinners, the noise level rising again.
It was working. We were hiding her in plain sight.
Clarabell appeared next to our table half a second after we sat down. “Hey, y’all. This must be Maya. I’m Clarabell. So nice to meet you, sweetie.”
“Thanks,” Callie said. “Nice to meet you too.”
“Gibson Bodine, I’m plum tickled you brought her in,” Clarabell said. She turned back to Callie. “I’ve been dying to meet the girl who finally tamed this one. What with everyone else in his family pairing off, gettin’ themselves engaged and whatnot, it’s high time he settled down too.”
Callie gave me an amused smile. “You think he’s ready for that?”
“Oh sure. They all are, sweetie; it just takes some of them longer to figure out what’s best for them.”
“All right, Clarabell,” I said. “Can we just have our menus?”
“Of course.” She handed us each a menu.
I put mine down without looking.
“Can I get you anything to drink to start?” she asked.
“Water.”
“I’d love a sweet tea,” Callie said.
“Coming right up,” Clarabell said, then walked away.
Callie leaned across the table and lowered her voice to a whisper. “She looks exactly the same. Do they still have those huge waffles with the whipped cream topping?”
“For breakfast, yeah.”
Her eyes lit up. “Can we come back in the morning?”
God, that smile. “Sure.”
She scrunched her shoulders and went back to her menu.
Clarabell came back to take our orders and thankfully left out any more relationship commentary. Our food didn’t take long to come out—an open-faced turkey sandwich for me, roast beef with mashed potatoes for Callie.
Sallie Mae Brickman walked by our table no less than eight times during the course of our meal, pretending like she’d forgotten how to get to the restroom. And I heard people whispering things about us, as if they didn’t realize we could hear them.
’Bout timethat Gibson got himself a woman in his life.
With all his siblings fixin’to get hitched, it’s a good thing he found her.
They make a cute couple,don’t they?
