Page 30 of The Art Of Starting Over

Devorah rolled her eyes and adjusted her dress for good measure. If her coworker—whose name she hadn’t bothered to remember—wanted to run to Sheriff Crow, then she was going to give her something good to say.

“Tell him.”

“I can’t believe you were having sex in here,” she seethed as she pointed into the bathroom.

“Don’t be jealous.” Dev reached for Hayden’s arm and followed him out of the diner. He opened his car door for her. She got in, knowing he’d drive them out of town to finish what they’d started.

At least, she hoped so.

Devorah’s cheeks flushed red at the memory of her first-ever orgasm. It was unexpected and something she didn’t really understand until she talked to Laila about it later. “What was her name? The woman that caught us?”

Hayden shook his head. “I don’t remember. She was only here for the summer, but she knew you were Crow’s kid and threatened to tell him. Shit, I was so scared.”

“Too scared to take me home.” She popped her eyebrow up and then rolled her eyes. “He wouldn’t have done anything to you. He liked you.”

“That’s because he doesn’t know about the things I used to do to his daughter. Even now, if he knew, he’d probably slap the cuffs on me and toss me into the back of the cruiser.”

She looked over her shoulder at the window and saw her dad sleeping. Dev wished he would’ve done that to Chad, or that she’d been smart enough to see through his bullshit.

She leaned her arms and head on her knees and sighed. “Why do men cheat?”

Hayden sighed heavily. “Not all men cheat, Dev. Hell, women cheat too. It’s not something I understand. If you don’t want to be with the person you’re with, leave. I know leaving isn’t always easy, but it’s a hell of a lot easier than disrespecting the person you’ve vowed to love and honor, cherish and forsake all others.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’m pissed on your behalf.”

“I appreciate it.”

A line of cars filled with teens passed by. They were rowdy, yelling out the windows and honking their horns.

“That’ll wake Crow for sure,” Hayden said.

“Yep, he’s always had a knack for disorderly conduct.”

As if on cue, the screen door opened. Devy turned and looked at her dad, standing there with his belly hanging over his waistband, his hands on his hips, and the perpetual scowl on his face that never seemed to go away.

“Who was it?”

Devy and Hayden shrugged.

“I don’t know anyone around here these days,” Devy told her father.

“Same, sir.”

“These damn delinquents. I tell ya, they’re from the city.” The screen door opened and slammed closed behind him. Devy used to jump at the sound when she was little, but it had stopped bothering her by the time she was ten and started annoying her when she was dating Chad. She’d cut her curfew a bit too close one too many times, and because of that door, she could never sneak in.

“Or they just know how to press your buttons,” Dev muttered under her breath. Hayden must’ve heard her because he snickered.

The “city,” as everyone in town referred to it, was forty-five minutes away and where you’d find the big-box stores, the megaplex movie theaters, and the mall. When Dev lived in Oyster Bay, what later became the “city” had been nothing but farmland until a car dealership went in, followed by a chain restaurant. Those two establishments set off a boom of development that included homes, schools, hospitals, and any business you could think of. Some people left small towns like Oyster Bay for the bigger-city life, but a lot stayed. Something about the idyllic life along the water kept people there and brought in tourists.

After a moment of quiet, the storm known as Crow got started when an Oyster Bay cruiser pulled into the driveway. The deputy got out and made his way toward the front door.

“Evening, Devorah,” Miller Farnsworth said as he tipped his hat toward her. The last time Devy had seen Miller, he was hanging his head in embarrassment after he’d asked her to prom. The rejection was his own doing. She’d been with Chad for almost two years at that point.

“Hayden,” Miller said. “Didn’t know you were back in town.”

Devy chuckled. She highly doubted Miller didn’t know. He and Hayden hadn’t been friends in high school; surely someone had told Miller his foe had moved back.

“How’s it going, Miller?” she asked.

“Oh, you know.”

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