Ah, so that explained why Colby hadn’t been out last night. He probably had an early day with his dad scheduled. I grabbed two menus, then motioned for them to follow. “I’m glad the weather cooperated. Looks like it might rain later.”
“Seems like it might.” His dad nodded. “Sorry we missed your grandma’s party. I hear it was really nice.”
I glanced at Colby, knowing if that information came from him, he was just being polite.
“What can I get you to drink?”
They both ordered iced tea as they flipped open their menus.
“Great. I’ll go grab those.” I was in the process of putting ice in their cups when Colby came up behind me.
“Hey.”
I turned around. “Hey.”
“I didn’t mention to Dad that Luis was in town. Maybe we can leave that out?”
“Um, okay.” I waited for more of an explanation.
“So Landon said you two went to the bonfire last night.”
I hadn’t expected Landon to keep it secret, but I really wasn’t expecting for Colby to question it either. “We did.” I turned back to the cups and filled each with tea. “Missed you though. Figured you would be there.”
“Dad wanted me up at four.”
“That’s crazy early.”
He grinned. “Yeah, it is. Did you, um, have fun?”
“It was okay.”
“Oh, well maybe I’ll make it to the next one.” He lifted his ball cap and ran his hand over his hair before mashing it back down under his hat. He looked exhausted, considering it was barely lunchtime. I really felt bad for him. “Guess I should get back to Dad.”
“Hey Colby,” I called as he walked away. “You obviously don’t have to tell me now, and I will understand if you decide to never tell, but I’d really like to know what’s going on between you and Luis.”
He looked away, then back at me. “Isla, no offense, but your brother just really isn’t a good person. There’s not much more to say than that.”
I offered a half smile. “No, he’s really not. But do I really have room to judge considering I’m the one to blame for everything?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know. The divorce. Them moving away. All that. It’s because of me. And I’m not making excuses for him, but I think part of the reason he’s the way he is is because he harbors a lot of resentment over how I, you know, ruined the family.”
His eyes narrowed. “Who told you that?”
“Luis.” I laughed humorlessly. “He’d never let me forget it.”
“That son of a…” he muttered. “We need to talk.”
“You and Luis? I don’t think that’s a good—”
“No. We. As in you and me.”
“Oh, okay.” I glanced at the table where his dad sat patiently awaiting his drink.
“Not now. After your shift. What time do you get off?”
“Eight.”
“Can you come by my place?”
I grabbed the glasses and walked with him back to his table. “Sure.”
“Sorry for the wait.” I apologized to Mr. Callahan.
“No worries, Isla. I saw Colby and you talking.” He closed his menu and stirred his tea.
“Okay, well, I’ll send your server over to get your order. Let me know if there’s anything else I can get you.”
I walked away with a smile that fell as soon as I got back to the hostess stand. Was Colby finally going to tell me about Luis? That had to be it. Unless it had something to do with the bonfire last night. But Landon wouldn’t have said anything that quickly, would he? It’s not like he would’ve been up at four in the morning.
The rest of my shift alternately dragged and flew by. Sometimes I’d glance at the clock and be shocked to discover an hour had passed, whereas at other times, I’d be disappointed to find only three minutes had.
When my day finally wound down to the last hour of my shift, I rushed through my closing duties. No way would I lose the opportunity to talk with Colby because my shift ran late.
About ten until eight, I’d finished everything assigned to me and leaned into Eddie’s office. “Hey, just finished up. Need anything else?” It was a gamble because if he said no, I could slip out a few minutes early. If he said yes, I could be stuck here ten minutes more.
“Nope, looks like we’re all good. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“Thanks, Eddie. See you tomorrow.”
I made my way to my car, and shot a quick text to Colby letting him know I was on my way. His place was a ten-minute drive from Eddie’s so hopefully he’d see it before I got there.