Page 14 of Forever and Other Lies

“Because he returned the favor,” Jayna answered. “He’s such a brute.”

The bagpipes grew louder, as did Ophelia’s screeching. Burke let out a loud, annoyed sigh. “Now I have to deal with Shamus too. If you two join forces, this town will not be safe.”

After rolling up his window, Burke continued down the street.

“No police will be involved, I swear,” Jayna imitated him. “Get in the truck before I leave you stranded. Last time I ever listen to you.”

Chapter 4

“Last time I ever listen to you,” Derek mimicked Jayna’s voice, hitting the haughtiness dead-on. Ungrateful, that’s what she was—on top of being annoying, argumentative, and abrasive.

No good deed goes unpunished, his grandmother always said.

Case in point. It was Monday morning, and he was still fuming over her lack of appreciation. It had been the prank of the century. Okay, maybe not the century, but it had been pretty creative. Ophelia had screamed, and the cops had shown up. What more could you ask for?

What he needed to do was forget about Jayna. She wasn’t constantly around his parent’s house now that his sister was older and engaged. Though it was a small town, it wasn’t so small that he couldn’t avoid her.

Turning onto the bridge, he headed to the new coffee shop. He had meetings downtown today and was dragging his ass. A strong espresso was exactly what this morning called for.

He loved his job as a civil engineer with the new build construction company. From designing the blueprints to the smell of freshly turned soil on the first day, he enjoyed the hands-on aspects. The hum of heavy machinery as the numerous trades turned the vision into reality was such a sweet sound. However, he loathed the meetings. And there were so many meetings: architects, project managers, surveyors, urban planners, government officials, health and safety inspectors, contractors, and subcontractors. Meeting after meeting, the list seemed endless.

Today's meeting, though, was with the worst of them all—the investors. Securing funding for projects was a necessary evil. But schmoozing with wealthy investors to sell the vision of turning a simple farm field into a mini village made his skin crawl. He felt out of place in the polished conference rooms, surrounded by people in expensive suits more interested in profit margins than the quality of construction. His head already started to pound at the thought of today's discussions about budgets, timelines, and returns on investments. He should get a double espresso.

As he drove through town, he almost gave himself whiplash. It wasn’t an uncommon sight to find his grandfather on a bench with his best friend, Earl even on a cold winter morning. However, this morning, they were not alone. Jayna was snuggled between them, a large takeout coffee in her hand.

He slowed and pulled into a parking spot, killing the engine. The two men were notorious for getting into trouble on their own; they certainly didn’t need help from the likes of her. As he shoved open the door, he heard their laughter.

“Hey, Pops. Morning, Earl. If she’s holding a gun on you, blink twice.”

“Ha, ha,” Jayna chuckled. “Good morning to you, too. You’re obviously not a morning person either.”

“Either?” Derek’s forehead creased.

“Well, you’re a grumpy jerk at night,” Jayna lifted the steaming paper cup to her lips, taking a sip, and held his stare over the plastic lid. “And apparently, morning brings no improvement to your personality.”

Norm let out a loud guffaw. “She’s got your number, my boy.” He held up his cup. “Jayna bought Earl and me one of those fancy coffees from the new shop that just opened.”

Earl held up his cup as well. “Pretty tasty! It has that fancy foam milk on top.”

“Oh, here she comes!” Jayna sat forward and pointed to the sidewalk across the street. She pulled three glow-sticks out of her purse and snapped them, handing one each to Earl and Norm.

“Jayna was filling us in on your adventures the other night, or should I say misadventures?” Norm chuckled and wrapped the glow-stick around his coffee cup, as did Earl.

“We didn’t have an adventure,” he grumbled. He’d only helped her administer a little payback. It didn’t mean anything. It certainly didn’t mean that he liked her. Now she was about to get the two troublemakers into even more trouble. They didn’t need any help!

“Morning, Ophelia,” Earl called out, holding up his coffee so the woman could see the glow stick wrapped around it.

Ophelia paused at the bottom of the stairs leading up to City Hall, where she worked as a clerk. She turned and glared across the street, her mouth dropping open at the sight of the glowing bands on the coffee cups.

“Heard you had some strange visitors the other night,” Norm deadpanned.

“I should have known you’d be involved.” Ophelia pointed at Jayna and then moved her finger to Derek. “And of course, you as well, Derek Brennan. You were probably the mastermind behind it!”

Ophelia spun around and stomped up the stairs.

“She’s so calling your mom,” Jayna snorted, turning her stare back at him.

“Sure is,” his grandfather agreed.

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