Tangle (Dogwood Lane 2)

I look at Dane. “See what I mean?”

“Yeah, I get it,” he says. “I don’t know what to do with her half the time.”

“I’m standing right here, thank you very much,” Haley says. “But not for long. I do have to go. I have to change clothes before I go to the library.”

“Do you have Mia’s leotard?” Dane asks.

“Yup. It’s in my car.” She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “I was too perturbed by a bad driver to remember to grab it.”

“You drive like a bat out of Hell,” I say.

“And you drive like a grandpa,” she fires back.

“It’s a gravel road.”

She turns her entire body to face mine. “I was late.”

“You’ll never get there if you’re in a coffin,” I say, my body facing hers without thought. “Talk about permanent late-makers.”

Dane breaks up the back-and-forth with a loud chuckle. “You two fight like married people.”

“If that’s what marriage is like, then I’m glad I’m off that path,” Haley says.

My gaze drops to her hand to confirm there’s no engagement ring on her finger. Still, her words prickle at me.

“Were you married before?” I ask. My tone stays unaffected. It hides the way my stomach clenches as I say the words.

“No,” she says. “Not married. Never engaged. And now I’m on a dating hiatus.”

“You’re on a dating freeze? Does this have anything to do with the hippie?” I ask.

Dane winces. “Do I want to know how he knows about Joel?”

“He sent me a text.” She rolls her eyes. “Apparently, he’s lonely.”

“If you have a date with him, I win,” Dane warns. “And while I really wouldn’t care if you dated someone you really liked, please don’t let it be Joel.”

I lean against my truck as Haley bites her lip. The back of my neck tightens as I watch her in this little standoff with Dane. I’d love to give my two cents about her dating this guy, a guy I don’t know but still feel pretty opposed to for personal reasons.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, she sighs. “No. I don’t have a date with Joel. But I really do have to go. Wanna follow me to my car and grab Mia’s outfit?”

“Sure,” Dane says.

I watch them walk away, unable to make out the words of their conversation. Trickles of Haley’s voice float on the breeze and twist around my gut.

Her brows furrow as she listens to something Dane’s saying. She watches him as if she’s hanging on every word. I take a step toward them, as if I have some right to interject myself into their conversation, before I stop. Because I don’t. As comfortable and strangely familiar as it is with her, she’s still a woman I met an hour ago.

Slipping my hands into my pockets, I shove off my truck and meander around the front of it. A massive horsefly is flattened on the grille. I bend down and inspect it like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. Otherwise, I’ll keep peeking over the side of the truck at Haley, and that’s just weird.

“Hey, Trevor!” Haley’s voice rings through the air.

I hop up like a damn bunny to see her leaning on the open car door, a hand on her hip.

“Yeah?” I ask, reflecting her smile back to her.

“If you’re afraid of gravel roads, take a right when you leave here. It’ll take you an extra ten minutes to get back to town, but you won’t have to drive like a geezer.”

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I ask.

Her chest rises, as if reality just caught back up with her, and she nods. “See ya around.”

“Later, Ohio,” I say.

She climbs into the car, does a quick three-point turnaround, and is gone way too soon.

Dane trudges up the hill, an amused look on his face. “Do I need to worry about you?”

“Worry about me? Why?” I drag my gaze from the driveway to the man at my right.

“There’s a certain look on your face that I happen to know intimately.”

My brows pull together. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Dane wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. “She’s a great girl. I love her like a little sister. She’s taken care of my baby—hell, she’s taken care of me—for the last few years.”

“I can see her doing that.”

“Yeah. She’s feisty but as sweet as they come, and that sweetness gets her in trouble sometimes.” He stands still, weighing his words. “Look, she can do what she wants. But you and I both know you’re not here long, so don’t play her out, okay? If you want a girl to entertain you while you’re in town—”

“Hey,” I say, holding my hands up. “I have no intentions of playing anything or anyone.”

He doesn’t look convinced. “Do what you will. She’s a big girl. But if you do anything to make her cry”—he grins before heading up the hill—“I’ll ruin your poodle spa.”