Page 36 of Home Sweet Home

Kayla arched an eyebrow. “He likes you too.”

Evie scoffed. “You can’t possibly know that.”

“Trust me. There was a big old mess of tension floating around in my salon last night.”

For a second, Evie allowed herself to entertain that absurd possibility. He had asked her if she had a boyfriend, but only after she’d asked if he had a girlfriend. It was the logical follow-up question. “I was flirting with you,” he’d said that day in the bathroom during the tornado drill. The key word:was. Past tense. “I’ve got pies to bake and cool before going over to Della’s. Can you slice up those peaches for me?”

“Fuck yes.” Kayla tipped the rest of the wine into her mouth and stood, looking Evie up and down. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

It was the hottest day of the summer, and even in Evie’s denim cutoffs and tank top, next to no fabric covering her skin, she had practically melted in the parking lot of the bank earlier. “What’s wrong with this?”

Kayla sighed. “You sweet summer child. Let’s see what you’ve got in that closet of yours.”

CHAPTERTWELVE

While Evie mixed cookie dough,Kayla put Evie’s tiny and expired makeup collection to work.

“Stop. Scooping,” Kayla said, attempting to smooth mascara onto Evie’s lashes as Evie plopped perfect circles of dough on the cookie sheet.

While the cookies baked, Kayla made Evie try on every piece of clothing she owned, and the only acceptable garment, according to Kayla, was a cotton sundress on a hanger hidden in the back of her closet. It was white with yellow sunflowers, cap sleeves, and a hem that brushed the middle of her thigh. Evie vaguely remembered buying it from Goodwill a few years before for a date with a guy who had ended up canceling on her.

“Hottie alert,” Kayla said with a grin when Evie slipped it on.

The brass knocker was smooth beneath Evie’s fingers as she clanged it against West’s front door. Josh stood next to her, Tupperware full of four dozen cookies under his arm. Evie examined her reflection in the glass pane of Della’s door, wondering if maybe Kayla was right. Her skin had browned from all the time in the sun, and the white dress set off her tan. Her hair was under control for once, despite the humidity, and this was the first time in a few weeks she’d had time to shower properly.

“Remember,” Evie said under her breath. “Be nice.”

Josh scoffed just as the door opened.

“It’s the Cauleys!” Della said in her familiar Texan drawl, arms spread as wide as her toothy smile. “Such a treat, finally having y’all over. Come on in.” As they walked in, Della gave Josh a once-over. “Well, you shot up like a weed. Last time you were in here, I was looking down at you, and here I am, looking up.”

Josh blushed at the attention, and Della added, grabbing the cookies, “I’ll take these off your hands. Come on through to the dining room. Get dinner while it’s still hot.”

As they walked through the kitchen, a wave of grief washed over Evie. Without their mom around to fuss over them, it was no one’s job to do it, and Evie didn’t realize how much she had missed the feeling until Della had looked at Josh in the same way Evie’s mom used to look at her. Seven years later, and this was how the grief usually found her. She would be somewhere doing something, then she would remember what she’d lost, and it would all feel overwhelming again. Evie pinched herself on the thigh to distract herself.

West looked up when she walked into the dining room, eyes widening, and Evie’s fingers tugged at the hem of her dress.

Della gestured to the empty chairs. “Sit yourself down, now. Don’t be shy.”

Evie hovered by the chair next to West then decided it was too close, so she moved around the table and settled into a seat across from him. Slinking down next to her, Josh wrapped his arms around his stomach in a self-hug.

“Can I help bring anything out?” Evie asked, getting up from the chair, but Della waved her off and disappeared through the door into the kitchen.

When Evie looked at West, he was staring at her. No grin. No laugh waiting to escape his mouth at her expense.

Evie’s hand reached up to her face, wondering what had caught his attention. “What?”

“Nothing—” He cleared his throat. “It’s just… You clean up nice. And hi, Josh.”

Josh grunted out a greeting, and Evie hugged herself, suddenly feeling too exposed even though the dress covered up more than her shorts and tank top did. How many times had she shown up to practice covered in sweat, the distinct aroma of fryer oil clinging to her skin and clothes? “Are you saying I’m normally unclean?”

“I’m not—” He shook his head and sighed. “Just take the damn compliment, Peach.”

He looked good, too, his wavy hair flecked with golden streaks that glimmered under the light, every square inch of skin tanned.

“Here we are.” Della came back into the dining room and laid out platters of food on the table. “Ribs. Just grilled them. And the sweet corn was picked this morning. Go ahead, eat.”

Evie tonged a few ribs to her plate and reached for a slice of the bread Della had set out. “Looks delicious. I can’t thank you enough.”

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