Page 37 of The Last Love Song
“Whoa.” She snatched the cloth out of his hands. “I know you’re nowhere close to dumb.” She whacked the towel against his arm and then slapped it back on the table. “You caught me off guard.”
“I hate not going to school,” he admitted, a rare thing for him to say.
Wade hardly ever said anything negative about anything or anybody.
“I’m sorry you can’t be there. How’s your dad doing?” She tried to focus on him. It took an effort. She was interested, but she’d gotten really good at letting her problems eat away at her night and day.
“Same.” He shrugged. “No closer to going back to work.”
“It’s good of you to help out.” She couldn’t imagine if something happened to her dad.
“I still think it was the right thing to do.” He scrubbed harder, making her realize how slowly she’d been working. “I just didn’t have a good sense of how little money I’d make compared to what my dad brought in. Which maybe does make me a total dumb-ass, after all.”
She didn’t know quite what to say to that.
“Can I ask you a question?” She finished the ketchups and wiped off the last bottle. “And don’t bring up the dumb thing again. My grandmother never finished high school and my dad said she was the smartest woman he ever knew. And he teaches college and has a lot of friends who do, too, so—you know. What does that say about professors?”
Wade looked up, grinning.
“Your granny could have beaten their asses onJeopardy?”
“Um, no.” She smiled. “I think Dad meant that my grandmother was wise. You know? She didn’t need to know dates in history or how to solve for X. She raised five kids byherself on a waitress’s salary and could make her budget go a long way.”
“I get it. I was teasing anyway.” He finished his menus and started on the napkin holders. “So what was your question?”
“Do you think Bailey is the type of person who would text me mean messages months after I broke up with J.D.?”
“Mean messages like what?” Wade pushed his hat brim back as he propped his elbows on the table. His gray eyes were serious. Concerned.
“Asking me why I had to be at the wedding breakfast and ruin everyone’s fun. Stuff like that.” She hadn’t meant to confide in him.
Hadn’t meant to spill her problems on him when he had more than enough of his own.
Before he could say anything, one of the waitresses edged through with a big tray of fried fish, still steaming.
“Hey, kids.” Isabel Fielding balanced the tray with two hands, keeping her eyes on it to be sure she didn’t lose any pieces. “I’ve got a big order to wrap for a school group that’s doing a fish-fry fundraiser, and the Bakers had to leave for a press conference this morning, so I’m on my own. Come help me out front when you finish?”
Rodney Baker, their boss and the owner of the place, was on the town council with Megan’s dad. Her dad hadn’t said anything to her about a press conference, but then, he never talked to her much about his work with the town.
“Sure, Izzy.” Wade jumped to get the door for her. “We’re almost done.”
“Thanks.” Isabel disappeared into the dining area, her red miniskirt a popular attraction at the Owl’s Roost.
Not that Megan was jealous or anything. Izzy was sweet and fun, and that was half the reason she received great tips. ButMegan had seen male eyes follow her more often than not. It made her like Wade all the more that his eyes stayed on Megan.
“Meg, why would anyone send you something like that?” He went right back to their conversation, as if Isabel had never passed through the room.
Megan kept filled another napkin holder. It was tempting to tell him everything. She’d been scared and holding it in for so long. But what would Wade think of her if he saw that awful, awful social media site? No way could she tell him everything.
“Meg?” He moved to sit on her side of the table.
He sat so close she could have cried on his shoulder, if she was the kind of girl to do that type of thing.
“I got some ugly texts that day. Anonymous, ugly texts.” She hardly recognized her own voice. Gruff. Quiet.
Embarrassed.
Which made her mad. Why should she be embarrassed by someone else being stupid?
