Chance Of Rain (7 page)

“Like five years now. She just wants a change of scenery. She thought she might try answering phones at a bank for a while instead. That’s where she interviewed this morning.”

“How’s the pay?” I asked.

“It’ll be less starting out. She can earn more down the road, though. She promised me a new wardrobe to celebrate if she gets it!”

“Come on, Nina!” I cheered.

“We’re here, Mom!” Bri called out.

“Hey! Come in! Come in!” Nina answered.

I loved Nina’s spirit. She was very colorful, and Bri got her spunk, which I adored, from her mom.

Nina was flying around the kitchen in a brightly colored muumuu. She wore her trademark thick makeup, and her bleach-blond hair was up in rollers. She was a full-figured woman, and she knew how to work it.

“How was school?” she asked.

“Same old, same old. Nothing exciting.” Bri responded.

We saw KFC on the table. The former Mrs. Branson did not cook.

“Well, don’t keep us in suspense. Will you be buying me a new wardrobe or not?” Bri asked as she washed her hands. I did the same, and we each poured ourselves a tall glass of iced tea. When Nina didn’t answer right away, Bri asked again, “Are we celebrating?”

Nina sat down and began making her plate. “Well…yes and no.”

“Do tell. Do tell,” encouraged Bri, as we sat down and filled our plates.

Luckily, the chicken had cooled down. The last time we had it, it was so hot, I could barely hold it with the tips of my fingers. I helped myself to a heaping pile of creamy mashed potatoes and gravy and placed a spoonful of coleslaw on my plate.

Their kitchen was cozy. It was painted yellow, and there were ceramic roosters everywhere.

“First off, I didn’t get the job at the bank.” Bri and I looked at each other and then at her with shock.

“What happened?” Bri asked.

“Well, the interview started out normal.” She paused to lick some mashed potatoes off her finger. “The lady asked me a few typical questions: my name, past work experience, et cetera. Then it got a little weird.”

“What do you mean?” Bri pressed.

“Outta the blue she asked me, ‘What’s the last book you read?’” Nina jabbed a large forkful of coleslaw into her mouth and continued to speak after she swallowed.

“You know me. I’m not illiterate. I like to read, but she was acting all snobby and condescending and threw me off. All I could think was,
Who cares, lady? I just want to answer your dang phone
. When I didn’t answer, she asked me again a little differently. She said, ‘What’s on your night stand right now?’ So I told her the first thing that came to mind. I said, ‘A crack pipe and a bottle of Jack,’ and I got up and walked out!”

Bri and I busted out laughing. “Mom! You…did…not!” Bri said. It was so funny to see her turn red. Her mother was the only one who could make her blush.

“I did! I did!” she said, laughing uncontrollably as tears squished out of her eyes. She wiped her mouth with a napkin then bit a hunk out of a chicken leg.

My stomach was hurting, and we all had tears in our eyes.

“So what’s the good news?” Bri finally choked out.

“Well, I left that stuffy bank, and I went directly to J.T. and told him I wanted a raise or I was quitting! So he gave me one!”

“That’s great, Mom!”

“Oh, it gets even better.”

“Just say it already!”

“He asked me to go out with him tonight…and I said yes!”

Later that afternoon Bri drove me to the police station so I could see if my dad was on duty. We checked the parking lot three times, but his truck was nowhere in sight.

We headed toward his dilapidated rental house, but his truck wasn’t there either. Bri stopped in front, and I scribbled a quick note, begging him to call me, and stuck it in the crack of the front door.

Then Bri took me home so I could get ready for my date with Trent.

VII

45 %

I
had the house to myself. It was very peaceful. I took an extra-long hot shower and slipped into a cute denim mini skirt with an emerald cotton top.

The closer it got to six, the harder my heart pounded.

At last I heard a soft knocking at the door. Since my mom was still at work, I went to answer it. I peeked out the window first, and my heart fluttered.

Trent drove a sleek black Challenger with darkly tinted windows. It fit him perfectly. He wore a T-shirt with a crazy design and jeans. He was tall, and his shoulders were broad. His dark hair was its usual irresistible mess.

The doorbell chimed.

Snap out of it, Ash!

I opened the door. All I could do was smile. He smiled back. “Are you ready?”

“Oh, uh…I-I just need to lock up.”

I made sure my mom could see the note I had written for her. I explained that I was with Trent. She probably would yell at me for not calling first, but I didn’t dare. I didn’t want her to tell me I couldn’t go. Besides, if I got back before her, I could rip up the note, and she’d never know I’d gone out.

I felt Trent looking at me as we walked to his car. “You look nice, Miss Devoe,” he said with a smirk. He raised his brows at me, and my pulse quickened. He came to the passenger side first and opened the door for me.

The engine rumbled melodically as it idled. He closed the door behind me and walked around.

I couldn’t believe I was actually sitting in the car of the hot guy from the Road House. His car still smelled new. The black-leather seats were soft and cool. It felt as if there weren’t any oxygen in the car—only cologne and leather; a girl could get high.

The dashboard emitted a soft-green glow, and seventies rock came quietly through the speakers.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He shifted the car into gear. “Not Starbucks.” He grinned. “So tell me about yourself.”

“There’s a lot to tell. You’ll have to narrow your search a little.”

“Narrow my search?”

“Yeah…what specifically would you like to know?”

“Let’s see.” He rubbed his chin and jaw dramatically, as if he were trying to solve a difficult math problem. It was very distracting. “Tell me about your family,” he finally said.

“Hmm, sore subject. Sorry…no can do. Next question.”

“You can’t do that.”

“It doesn’t have a happy ending. I don’t want you to have to fight back your tears in front of me. That would be awkward for me and embarrassing for you.”

“Ha. Ha. Try me.”

I hesitated. “I’m not sure where to start.”

“How about at the beginning?”

I took a deep breath. “Once upon a time, my mom and dad were married. My brother Mike and I lived with them, and for the most part, we were pretty happy.”

“Sounds good so far. What happened?”

“My dad is a cop, and he loves his job—sometimes more than us, I think.”

“Why do you say that?”

“His job is the reason my parents separated. He works undercover. It’s dangerous, and he’s gone a lot.”

“I’m sorry.” Trent smiled sympathetically. “I know you must miss him, but he sounds like a good guy.”

“He is. He’s a
good
cop too. I mean, it was only a few months ago that he made a
big
drug bust. It was a meth lab or something like that.”

We rode in silence for a while. I mostly looked out the window, but now and then, I turned to watch the headlights of a passing car light up his face.

Trent looked at me and smiled as he turned on his blinker.

“We’re here.”

It was a charming little farmhouse that had been converted into a restaurant. It was nestled in some overgrown trees. They had huge roots, and their limbs were heavy with acorns and dripping with strands of long gray moss.

“I’ve never been here before. What’s this place called?” I asked.

“The Gnarled Oak. Not too many people even know it’s here. That’s why I like it. It’s not crowded, and it’s quiet. You can actually have a conversation.”

Trent came around to my side of the car and helped me as I got out. We walked up the steps, and he held the door open for me. Warm air welcomed us in from the chilly evening. The aroma of someone’s cinnamon dessert wafted toward us, and it smelled like Christmas morning.

We were quickly seated at a table for two in the back corner. The lights were low, and votive candles flickered on the tables.

Trent looked over the menu. “I think I’m going to have a little more than coffee. I’m starving.”

“I’m still full from lunch with Bri and her mom. I’ll stick with coffee.” Then I spotted the dessert section of the menu. “Mmm, and maybe I’ll have some homemade blackberry cobbler to go with that.”

“Now you’re talkin’.” He smiled approvingly.

I proceeded to tell Trent about lunch with Bri and Nina. We shared a good laugh, and then we ordered. When our waiter left, we talked about our classes for a while.

“So I guess it’s your turn now,” I said.

He looked at me a little unsure. “My turn
?
” he questioned.

“To tell me about you.”

Just then our waiter set Trent’s chicken fried steak in front of him. It looked delicious and was served with fluffy mashed potatoes and peppered white gravy. Steam was rising off it. Without any fuss the waiter handed me my cobbler then quickly left us.

“Well, this won’t take long. There’s not much to tell. My parents and I weren’t getting along. I don’t even remember why now—stupid stuff. Anyway,
we got into one too many arguments, and now here I am, all the way from Dallas. I’m staying with relatives.”

“I’m glad,” I said without thinking. “I mean, I’m sorry about your parents of course…but I’m glad you’re here.” I bit my bottom lip then quickly took a sip of coffee so I wouldn’t embarrass myself further.

I wasn’t sure if I was being paranoid, but I could’ve sworn Trent had a funny look on his face for a second.

Why did I said that? It was too much.

Finally he said, “I’m glad I’m here too.”

I felt better. But then he smiled very sweetly, and said the F-word!

“Being new in town, I need all the friends I can get.”

Friends
. I did my best to smile as I tried to squeeze my cobbler down my throat. My hopes of our having a relationship died at that moment. I could almost hear the thud of the dirt as it hit the lid of the coffin.

Thoughts of Blake flashed through my mind, and I felt terrible all over again. I figured this was my payback. I wished I could be half as confident as Blake, but all I felt was deflated.

We ate our meal while discussing politics, music, and movies. We discovered we had a lot in common.
It’s good for “friends” to have a lot in common
, I thought sarcastically.

I sighed. Trent and I would have made a great couple. His nose really was a wreck, though. I bet a girl had broken it when he had called her his “friend.” His teeth were straight enough, I guess. But he really did need to see someone about that crooked lip; it threw off his entire smile. Maybe it was the lighting in there, but he really was a mess.

I finally finished my cobbler. “I guess I’d better lay off the coffee,” I said, pushing my cup away. “I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t.”

Trent paid the bill, and we headed back to my house. Despite the coffee I’d had, I was exhausted. I leaned my head against the seat. We didn’t speak the entire way home. And I didn’t feel any pressure to either. I allowed the rhythmic thud of the tires on the road to lull me.

As we pulled into my driveway, Trent made small talk. If he were Blake, I would have known he was stalling because he didn’t want to leave. But he wasn’t. He was Trent. My
friend
.

I barely heard a word he said. I was mesmerized by his lips as I watched them move.

“Are you listening?” he asked.

Busted!
“I was thinking about…what a nice time we had.”

He smiled. I decided to shut up before I ruined something.

“Thanks again for dessert.” I turned to open the car door.

Trent surprised me when he placed his hand on mine. My pulse quickened, but before I could even look at him, he moved his hand away.

“I’ll see ya tomorrow.” He gave me a quick, friendly smile.

“OK,” I said, as I got out and closed the door behind me.