The phone rang, and I grabbed it off the counter. “Hair of the Dog,” I answered.
“Sunshine.”
Speak of the devil. “Well, hey there.” I rolled my eyes at Greta and sighed.
“Hero?” she mouthed.
I nodded and turned back to Tucker.
“I’m not gonna be able to pick you up tonight.”
“I know.”
“You know?” he asked.
“Yeah. Greta walked in two minutes ago.”
“Damn,” he laughed. “I didn’t think she would be that quick to get over there.”
“You didn’t need to call her. I could have just walked home. It’s not that far.” I pulled the brush through Tucker’s long hair, and he leaned into me.
“You live on the other side of town, Sunshine. No way you were going to walk home.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re acting like Rockton is some huge town.”
“Just go with Greta, Sunshine. That will be one less thing I have to worry about right now,” he sighed.
“You have other things to worry about?” I asked. “Are you okay? Greta said something came up and you had to leave town.”
“Just something I planned on doing today but shit went sideways.” He sounded annoyed and a little pissed. “Just go grab a bite with Greta, have fun, and I’ll call you later.”
“Oh, okay.” I really didn’t want to add to his worries. I had no idea what he was dealing with, but I could tell it wasn’t going good. “Do you want me to pick something up for you to eat when you get back?”
“No, Sunshine. Just worry about yourself. I’ll grab something.”
That didn’t sound like he was going to be back in town soon. “Are you sure there isn’t something I can do?”
“No, Reva.” His tone was firm and slightly annoyed. “Just eat and head home. Get me?”
“Yeah, sorry. I’ll let you go.”
“No, dammit.” He sighed, and I pictured him running his fingers through his hair. “I’m not mad at you, Sunshine. Just there isn’t anything you can do to help, okay? Just…I’ll call you when I’m on the way home, okay?”
“Okay,” I replied softly.
“Stay safe, Sunshine.”
He ended the call, and I felt slightly annoyed he had been too curt with me.
“What did his royal dickhead have to say?” Greta asked.
I set the phone down and sighed. “Just what you told me.”
“Uh, oh,” Greta groaned. “Was he a dick to you?”
“No.” Well. “Maybe.” I turned around and tipped my head to the side. “I really don’t know.”
Greta twirled her finger in the air. “Wrap up that pup and let’s get out of here, sugar. You need to have a little dinner with Aunt Greta. It’s time to learn the ways of an ol’ lady.”