Page 49 of Gin & Jewels
“I’m good. Just saw you out here and wanted to say hello.”
I nodded. “Well, hello.”
She giggled. “How long are you in town for?”
“A week or so.”
Holly played with her long black hair. “Maybe we could”—she shrugged—“hang out?”
“Yeah, maybe,” I replied even though that really wasn’t something I was interested in. I just wanted to hang out with my mom because it had been a long time since my last visit, and I wanted to make sure everything in her house was working properly before I left. Plus, something inside of me felt weird to consider going out with another woman when I didn’t know what had happened to Cassie. I felt as though there was no closure because she’d vanished without a trace.
“Let me give you my number then.” She bit her bottom lip as though that would turn me on. Maybe it would if I didn’t date for a living.
“Sure.” I almost told her that I didn’t have my phone on me, but then I thought better of it because I didn’t want her to have my number before I was ready to call her. I got my phone out of my pocket, and she rattled off her number.
“And just so you know,” she stated, “I decided to live with my grandma to save money.”
“Good deal.”
“So, anytime you want to get together, I’ll just be right over there.” She pointed to Mary’s house across the street and over one.
“Sounds good. I better get back to the yard work.”
“Okay.” Holly started to walk away, but then stopped and turned back. “Oh, and my friends and I have decided to go to Vegas the weekend before school starts. Maybe we can hang out then too?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that I usually charged for all of these “hangouts,” but I didn’t because my mother would be pissed if I were anything but nice to Mary’s granddaughter. Plus, I couldn’t chance word getting back to Mom that I was an escort. “Yeah, I know all the best places.”
She smiled brightly. “Cool. See ya later.”
“See ya.”
I stuck my phone back into my pocket and started to pull up the overgrown weeds in the flower bed.
Dovie’s was packed with the workweek lunch crowd when I arrived. I swore the entire town went there every day for lunch. There was a spot open at the counter, and I slid onto the barstool, already knowing that I was going to order a mouthwatering bacon cheeseburger and fries. When I visited Mom, my diet didn’t exist, since I had burned a bunch of calories doing the yard work. Plus, I was in the South where everything was better fried, and the portions were huge.
“What can I get ya?” Mom asked, not looking to see that it was me.
“One of everything,” I replied. “No, make that five chocolate milkshakes and two of everything else.”
She tore her gaze away from her order pad and then swatted me with it. “I didn’t realize it was you.”
“Clearly.”
“What do you want, honey?”
“Bacon cheeseburger, everything on it, and fries. I’ll also take a water.”
“You ...” She sucked in a breath as she looked over my shoulder at something or someone. “Hold on.”
I arched a brow as she walked off and then out from behind the counter. She tapped another waitress on the shoulder, pointing in my direction as she spoke. The waitress’s long blonde hair swung away from her face as she turned around, but she didn’t look up to meet my stare.
I blinked.
And I blinked again.
What the fuck?
It felt like slow motion as I watched my mom and Cassie walk toward me. Cassie stared at her feet as though she was embarrassed or something. Or maybe shy because I was certain Mom had insisted on introducing her to her single son, and from what I knew about Cassie, she wasn’t used to meeting new people.
