Page 41 of Home Sweet Home

Evie shook her head. “Maybe he’s not.”

“Dudes don’t just casually touch your clavicle. Not if they don’t want to jump you. Trust me. Personal experience.”

“It’s just… He’s not going to be here for long.”

“Maybe he will.” Kayla looked at her bare wrist as if there was something interesting there.

Evie raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“Checking my imaginary watch to figure out how long until you run out of excuses. I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. You, sweet Evie, are good at lots of things, but you’re bad at letting people into your life.”

Evie tucked her arms around her stomach and gave herself a squeeze. “You’re in my life.”

Kayla snorted. “And I deserve a fucking medal for making that happen. Remember that Buzzfeed quiz we took? Our spirit animals?”

Evie nodded. “Yours was a lion.”

“Hell yeah, I am. I’m cute and cuddly, and I love a nap, but fuck with me, and my claws come out,” Kayla said. “You know what your spirit animal is?”

Evie searched her memory. They had taken the quiz under the influence of a bottle of merlot, giggling at how to answer each question. Her memory of that night was a bit fuzzy. “Penguin? Maybe.”

Kayla shook her head. “You have penguin-like tendencies, sure. But you’re a turtle. Remember when I started at Joe’s? I spent months asking you to hang out. Asked you so many times, I started to sound desperate. You always said no. I thought you hated my guts, until one day, Joe overheard and told me that’s how you are.”

When Kayla had walked into Joe’s with bright-blue hair and red lipstick, Evie could tell she was confident and effortless in ways Evie could never imagine being herself. “I thought you were trying to be nice. You intimidated me.”

“And when dudes come up to you, you literally wrap yourself into a goddamn pretzel,” Kayla continued.

“I don’t have time for that,” Evie said. “And I’m a twenty-four-year-old with a seventeen-year-old kid. That’s a lot of baggage.”

Kayla sighed. “You’re turtling, Evie. I’m not saying hook up with every random guy. That’s not what I mean.” She put her hand over Evie’s. “I know you have a shitty dad who did a shitty thing. It really fucking sucks, but don’t let it convince you everyone else will do it too. I’m still here, aren’t I?”

It was like a Band-Aid ripped off a burn, exposing raw skin to the air.But he is actually going to leave.“It’s too hard.”

“Yeah, it’s hard, but all the good shit in life is hard.”

Evie glanced out the window, where there was movement in the parking lot. Kenny was getting out of his car, his jumpsuit smeared in oil and other gross substances, and he had Ryleigh with him.

“You don’t regret things with Kenny?” Evie asked. “Even though they ended?”

Kayla glanced out the window, a burst of warmth on her face when she saw what Evie was looking at. “Not for one second. I loved Kenny. Looooved Kenny. Even when he pissed me off. And I wouldn’t trade Ryleigh for anything in the world.”

“How much do I owe you for the session?” Evie asked with a small smile.

Kayla slid off her stool and flipped the switch on the coffee machine, which whirred to life. “I like you. So this one’s on me.”

The door chimed, and Kenny walked in, bending down to let Ryleigh off his back. She ran up to Kayla and leapt into her arms with enough force to knock Kayla off-balance.

“Whoa! You’re way too big for that, honey.” Kayla kissed Ryleigh on the top of her head. “But nice to see you too.”

“Hey, Evie,” Kenny said with a warm smile, sliding onto a stool at the counter.

“Hey, Kenny,” Evie said.

Kayla poured Kenny a cup of coffee, and Kenny took a sip before saying, “The daycare said to give them a call when I picked her up. Something about her drawings. They said you’d know what it was.”

“Fuck me,” Kayla said through gritted teeth.

“Swear jar,” Ryleigh said, holding out her hand, and Kayla dug into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a crumpled dollar bill.

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