Home to Whiskey Creek (Whiskey Creek #4)(35)
Author: Brenda Novak

“I’m fine,” she told her. “No problem.”

“I don’t want you on your feet too long,” Gran said. “I just thought it would be fun for you to get out of the house.”

“It is fun.” Addy sent another surreptitious glance through the crowd of people passing by. She was so busy studying every male face that Noelle Arnold was standing right in front of her before she realized who it was.

Of course, she might not have recognized Noelle even if she had been paying more attention to women. She guessed Noelle had had a nose job, at the very least. Somehow, her whole face looked different.

“So you like the necklace?”

Addy’s hand went to the Courage pendant hanging from around her neck. “I do. Thank you. I’ve been meaning to call. But my life’s been crazy the past couple of days, what with—”

“Oh, don’t worry,” she broke in. “You don’t have to explain. I understand what it’s like when you’re dealing with personal problems.” She lowered her voice for emphasis. “Believe me, I’ve been there.”

Everyone blamed her for her own problems. They blamed her for Kyle’s problems, too. But Addy was trying hard not to judge. Whatever had happened between Kyle, Olivia and Noelle was none of her business. “It was nice of you. Truly.”

She smiled. “Actually, I can’t take all the credit. Derek bought it. I just picked it out.”

Addy’s breath caught in her throat. “Derek?”

“Rodriguez. You remember him, don’t you?”

Addy’s nails cut into her palms. “Not really. We weren’t friends.” And they never would be….

“He says he knows you.” She leaned over the counter as if she had a juicy secret to share. “He’s hoping you’ll go out with him sometime.”

“Why would he want that?”

Noelle blinked at Addy’s deadpan tone. “Because he thinks you’re hot!”

No one had found her particularly attractive in high school. She’d been so shy that she’d hidden behind her hair, her schoolbooks and plain, unremarkable clothing. He couldn’t have been referring to the Adelaide he’d known back then. So when would he have seen her since?

Kevin was the only one she’d run into since coming home.

Unless…

Noelle was still talking. “He asked me to tell you about the calendar we’re doing. I’m on the cover. But he said you could be Miss June, if you want.”

Sudden nausea made Addy long to sit down. “What calendar are you talking about?”

“You know…one of those sexy swimsuit issues.”

“And why would he want me to be Miss June?”

“He said it’d be cool to have you pose in a guy’s baseball jersey—and nothing else,” she whispered with a wink. “He says all the guys who used to play for Eureka High will want one.”

Addy grabbed the support beam to steady herself.

“Noelle, we have customers here,” Gran said. “Can’t you see we’re trying to work?”

The interruption saved Addy from having to come up with a response.

“Sorry.” Noelle passed Addy a card. “Here’s the URL where you can see the calendar so far.”

Addy glanced at it, expecting to see the URL from her attacker’s sweatshirt. It wasn’t there.

Gran frowned at the fact that Noelle had passed her something but she didn’t comment. She was trying to help the man behind Noelle, since Noelle didn’t seem to care that she was holding up the line. Thanks to a sudden flurry of traffic, the Busath girls were also busy.

“Derek’s number’s on the back,” Noelle called as she moved away. “Feel free to contact him. He’s not paying for talent this time around. But…it’s a start. And it’ll give you something for your portfolio, in case you’d like to do some modeling.”

Noelle blended into the crowd milling about the snack bar and Addy, too shaken up to bother with the clasp, yanked on the necklace she was wearing in an effort to get it off as soon as possible.

“I’d like a chocolate chip cookie, please.”

Addy had Derek’s gift in her palm, the chain now broken, before it registered that she had a little boy staring up at her. “What did you say?”

He looked at her as if she had to be crazy to break her own necklace and picked up a chocolate chip cookie wrapped in plastic with a Just Like Mom’s logo on top. “I want one of these.”

Unable to bear the idea of touching anything that had come from Derek, she tossed the Courage necklace in the garbage.

“You don’t want that?” the boy asked.

She didn’t answer. “That’ll be two dollars,” she told him, and accepted his crumpled bills.

She was glad when he was gone, but there were others behind him. She served several people, moving mechanically while asking herself if Derek was the one who’d broken into her bedroom.

“Hi, Addy!” A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. It was Eve Harmon, whom she’d spoken to earlier at Black Gold Coffee.

“Hi, Eve. What can I get for you?”

Eve seemed slightly disappointed that Addy was all business. Addy had been so eager to become friends when they were teenagers that Eve probably wondered why she was so distant now. But Addy wasn’t about to form any more ties to this place, especially with someone so tightly connected to Noah.

“I’ll have a couple of lemon bars, three cookies and a popcorn ball.” She glanced wistfully at the long line curving around the snack bar. “Ted wanted me to get a hot dog, too, but…it’s almost half time and I don’t want to miss the show.”

“They have quite a celebration planned,” Gran said. The crowd, which ebbed and flowed, had dwindled enough that Savannah and Misty could handle the line.

“What are they doing this year?” Addy asked.

Eve paid Gran for the treats she’d ordered. “You didn’t see the paper?”

“Not the last one. I was too busy moving.”

“It’s a special tribute to the team that took state fifteen years ago. Coach Nobis is leaving for Arizona. They want to recognize him before he goes.” Her voice softened. “And they’re retiring Cody Rackham’s number. That’s why I came.”

“Is Mayor Rackham here, too?” Addy asked, but not because she wanted to see Noah’s father. She’d been dreading the moment she’d have to face him and his wife almost as much as the moment when she might be confronted by Kevin, Derek or her other ra**sts.