Jenna chewed the inside of her cheek. “Weird bad or weird good?”
Delilah was silent for a minute. “I . . . I would actually say good. I’ve been worried . . . ” Her voice trailed off, and her gaze drifted. “I’ve been worried about Cal for a while. Not that I talk to him much or see him much, for that matter, but when I have, it’s seemed like he was turning more and more into . . . well . . . ” Delilah winced. “Jack.”
Jenna clamped down on the inside of her cheek so hard that she gasped. Jack Payton, Cal’s father, was a bitter, scowling man. At least, that’s the way he’d been back when she and Cal had been together. “I take it that Jack . . . ”
Delilah shook her head. “He’s not any worse, but he’s not better.”
Jenna sighed and picked at a sales sticker on the counter. “I never wanted that for Cal.”
“I know, sweetie.”
Jenna looked up. “Cal was never going to leave Tory, though. He was always going to stay here. I mean, I made the right decision. I didn’t want to ruin his life. Or mine.”
Delilah laid her hand on top of Jenna’s. “It’s not even worth it to look back. You know that. It’s not like you can change anything.”
Jenna swallowed, dreading the next question but asking it anyway. “Does he . . . have a girlfriend?” She didn’t recall seeing a wedding ring.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. To be honest, I don’t see him around a lot. It’s a small town, but most rumors are about Brent, not Cal. Although they are the most eligible bachelors in Tory.”
She didn’t know which relationship status for Cal she preferred more. Even though the thought of Cal in a serious relationship with someone else hurt, it also hurt to know he was alone. “I kind of hate this, Delilah. I had no idea this would still be all . . . fresh.” She looked into her friend’s deep brown eyes. “I thought time healed everything.”
Delilah’s face softened. “I don’t—”
Jenna’s phone rang, cutting into the moment. She pulled her cell out of her purse and rolled her eyes. “This is Dylan. I’m sorry. I have to take it.”
Delilah waved her on. “Don’t even worry about it. I have to close out the register anyway before we leave. Say hi to Dill Pickle for me.”
Jenna huffed a laugh and then answered the call. “Hello?”
“Hey, did you get my car fixed?”
Jenna clenched her phone hard so she didn’t say something nasty to her brother. He wasn’t a bad guy. But he had a serious lack of interpersonal skills. “I dropped it off. It’ll be ready tomorrow night. I’ll pick it up for you.”
A pause. “Where’d you take it?”
“Um . . . ”
“You took it to him, didn’t you?”
Jenna’s hackles rose. “Yes, I did, actually. Because we all know that’s the best garage in town, and I wasn’t driving an hour to the dealership.”
“He’s probably going to put a condom in my gas tank—”
“Oh, grow up, Dylan.” Jenna was over this. Her brother was thirty-four years old, and he needed to act like it. “Cal is a professional, and he’ll treat you like any other customer. If you do find a condom in the gas tank, it will be me who put it there!” She ended the call and huffed out a breath.
A strangled sound came from in front of her, and she lifted her gaze to Delilah’s wide eyes. “Did you just tell off your brother?”
Jenna winced, immediately regretting letting her anger get the best of her. “Crap. I should call and apologize, shouldn’t I?” She hovered her finger over the phone button.
Delilah reached across the counter and snatched the phone from Jenna’s hand. “Don’t you dare, Jenna MacMillan. I’m proud of you for yelling at Dill Pickle. Damn, that was the best thing I’ve heard in a while.”
Jenna ran her hand through her hair. “I lived and dealt with his dickishness for eighteen years. I’m over it. He can’t talk to me like that.”
Delilah raised her eyebrows. “Talk to you like that or talk about Cal like that?”
Jenna opened her mouth, then shut it, then opened it again. “Tomato, tomahto.”
Delilah smiled knowingly. “Whatever. Let me get this register closed out, and I’ll take you home.”
“Can we stop for some wine on the way home?”
“Of course, sweetie.”
Jenna didn’t have wine glasses yet. But on second thought, maybe she’d just drink straight from the bottle.
CAL HAD JUST sat down in his recliner with a newly opened beer when there was a bang on his front door. He stared at the baseball game on TV and waited. The knock was louder this time. He waited longer and cocked his head. Three more knocks and a muffled, “Let me in, asshole!”