Page 15 of Pity Parade

“He seemed awfully nice,” Paige says encouragingly.

“Didn’t we go to school with his son?” Faith wonders. “Johnny, Jim …”

“Jake,” I tell her.

Missy touches her finger to the tip of her nose. “That’s it! I used to babysit him. He’s four years younger than us, I think.”

Heath leans over and asks, “Not a love connection, huh?” Of course, he couldn’t keep his yap shut about what was obviously a setup.

“Hardly,” I tell him. “The man is old enough to be my father.”

“If that was an issue, why was Tim so excited to introduce you?” he wants to know.

“Because Jeffrey was giving me advice about living in Elk Lake.”

“What kind of advice?” he demands.

“Why are you asking me this? What does it matter to you?” I sound a little hostile which is an accurate portrayal of how I’m feeling.

“I’m here for the summer. Maybe Jeffrey has some tips for me.”

I roll my eyes. “Leave me alone, Heath.” He looks hurt which causes me to feel a tiny bit contrite. But not enough to take it back.

Once our food arrives, I focus all my attention on eating. The beer-battered fish is so light and delicious, I easily consume three times more than I should. But I don’t stop there. I dig into the coleslaw—my second serving of the day—and french fries. I’m so invested in my meal, I don’t bother trying to carry on a conversation with anyone. Instead, I eat until there’s nothing left on my plate. I’m fairly certain that one more bite would cause me to pop.

Tim announces, “I ordered sampler dessert plates for everyone, so don’t fill up.”

Heath leans in and whispers, “Had he only mentioned that two pieces of fish ago …”

I can’t help but laugh. “As it stands right now, I’m going to need someone to roll me to my car.”

“We can take turns rolling each other,” he groans.

“Oh, I’m not staying out at the lake tonight,” I tell him.

He looks surprised by this information. “Things go better with Jeffrey than I thought?”

“Ha ha,” I tell him. “I have a place in town above the yarn shop. I’m renting the house next to yours for some … um … friends I have coming to town.”

His eyes widen. “Why don’t your friends just stay with you?”

“I only have one bedroom,” I tell him. “And only one bath. When you get to our age, people like a little more privacy, you know?”

“How old are you, anyway? I don’t recall your mentioning that on our date.”

While I want to remind him that we’re not talking about our ill-fated evening out, I don’t want to ruin this easy banter. If I have to spend the summer in the same small town as Heath, we might as well be on good terms. “I’m thirty-three,” I tell him. “You?”

“Thirty-six,” he says proudly. “And you’re right, I don’t like sharing a bathroom with anyone. Although, if I were you, I’d let my friends take the apartment in town and I’d take the cottage by the lake for myself.”

“I’ve thought about that,” I tell him truthfully.

“I don’t know about the rest of the neighborhood, but I hear you have a really nice neighbor.” He offers a mischievous grin that for once doesn’t make me angry.

“Really?” I joke. “I heard he was kind of standoffish.”

“What? No! I think he’s misunderstood.”

“Is that right?” I suddenly wonder if I’ve misread Heath. Maybe he’s not quite the bad guy I’ve decided he is. “Let’s see how the summer progresses. If I don’t have a lot of friends who take me up on my offer to visit, I might move out to the lake.”

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