Veronica raises a brow. “I see. You and Cross back together, huh?”
“Oh, no,” Kallie replies quickly, shaking her head. “No, not like that.”
“And why not? Have you seen this boy lately? He’s a catch, Kal. Every girl in town has tried their hand with this one.”
“Should I walk away for a while? Because this is a little awkward with me sitting right here.” I chuckle.
“Every girl, huh?” Kallie puts her face in her hands and watches me. “Do tell.”
Shaking my head, I grab a menu out of the holder and flip my attention to the words on the plastic. “I’ll have a ham and Swiss on sourdough, cheddar and sour cream chips, and a pop. Kallie?”
“Cobb salad, extra avocado and bacon, no egg, and a water.”
Veronica disappears into the back after whispering into Kallie’s ear. Once she’s gone, I breathe a sigh of relief. “So…”
“So…” she says, taking my menu and sliding it back in its spot. “Did you have a lot of clients today?”
“None as fun as you,” I say with a wink.
“Oh, I bet. I was a barrel of fun.”
“What did you do today?” I ask, watching the sun stream onto her face. It creates a halo effect around her blonde hair, which seems fitting.
“I had breakfast with Nora. Ran into Peck at Goodman’s—he hasn’t changed a bit.”
“Nope. He’s the same thirteen-year-old boy he always was.”
She laughs, relaxing back in her seat. “I hope he never changes. He’s so sweet and kind and handsome.”
“Do I have competition?”
She doesn’t answer, just rolls her eyes.
Plates of food are set down in front of us, Veronica making small talk with Kallie about her mother and once upon a time when Kallie worked at Carlson’s. I don’t touch my sandwich. Instead, I watch the girl in front of me act like she hasn’t been gone a day. On the other hand, it seems like she’s a completely different person.
Her old soul is still there; that hasn’t changed. It’s one of the first things I fell in love with. Her ability to think clearly and make good, solid choices was something I couldn’t do, and it drew me in like a magnet. It didn’t hurt that she was gorgeous, made straight As, and was the captain of the cheerleading team.
She was also too sweet, too forgiving. I took that for granted like a young, dumb motherfucker.
“What?” she asks, catching me staring.
“I was just thinking about you.”
She stabs a chunk of avocado and pops it in her mouth. “What about me?”
“Wondering why you really came home.”
She chews slowly, as if biding her time. The lines around her eyes crease as she considers her response. “I told you,” she says, pausing to take a drink of water. “My job got a little crazy and Sky moved. It was the right time.”
“That’s not true.”
“How do you know?”
Setting my fork down on the side of my plate, I rest my elbows on the table. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I don’t care, as long as you’re safe and you’re here. That’s all that really matters.”
“I’m fine, Cross. Safe and here,” she says, extending her arms to the side as if to say, Look! Here we are! “Maybe I just…” Her arms fall to her sides and she takes a gulp of air. “Maybe I got tired.”
My heart twists in my chest and I reach for her hand. She allows me to take it. I turn it over, palm up, and press my thumb in the middle.
“I’m not complaining,” she says quietly. “I don’t want it to come across as a pity party, but I’m just tired. I’ve worked my ass off since I was fifteen years old.”
“I know. No one can ever say you’re a slacker.”
“Not with a straight face.” She sighs. “I loved my job in Indy. It was exciting and challenging and something different every day. When my boss was indicted, it shook me to the core. I had no idea he was doing anything wrong,” she insists. “All of a sudden, what little time I did have was spent with investigators, telling them everything I knew so I didn’t get in trouble too.” She takes a napkin off the table and dots the corner of her eye. “I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. My stomach was in knots. I remember sitting on my bed one night at three AM and just thinking, ‘Why am I doing this?’”
Squeezing her hand, it takes everything I have in me not to bolt around the table and sweep her up in my arms.
Her chin dips down as she removes her hand from beneath mine. I want to snatch it back up, pull her over the table and onto my lap, and kiss the hell out of her.
As I watch her mind go elsewhere, mine goes back to the original question. “That all makes total sense,” I say carefully. “But it’s not enough to make you uproot your life.”