Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [56]
Squinting against the bright hallway light, he hurried through the kitchen and bar, eager to make his escape. He regretted ever coming to Devils Lake. The first thing he wanted to do when he got home was have a long, hot shower—to wash every trace of Sheryl from his skin.
If only he could as easily remove her from his life.
The biggest news in Buffalo Valley after the first of the year, Calla learned, was that Joanie and Brandon Wyatt were opening a video rental store. He’d continue to farm, and Joanie would manage the store. Apparently they’d been able to buy the inventory of another store in a nearby town, one that was going out of business. In addition to renting videos, Joanie would be carrying a number of craft items, such as knitting yarn and cross-stitch supplies.
The new store created quite a buzz. Calla enjoyed crafts and actually showed a talent for that kind of activity, which she supposed wasn’t surprising, since her mother was artistic. The one bright spot about attending school in Minneapolis had been the drama class and her work designing and sewing costumes. Her projects had received high grades and lots of praise.
The very best thing about the video store was that Joanie hired Calla part-time. Calla loved it. She could have spent her entire paycheck on craft supplies. In fact, the first week she collected her pay, she discovered she actually owed the store money.
Between her job and school, with the extra assignments Mrs. Sinclair had given her in order to make up the credits she’d lost while living in Minneapolis, Calla didn’t have time to worry about her mother. They’d talked maybe twice since she’d moved back, but their conversations had been stilted and uncomfortable. Calla had the impression her mother was glad to be rid of her.
Not that it mattered. She lived with her grandfather, and that was working out all right. Without her mother to see to his meals and the other household duties, Joshua McKenna was in pretty sad shape. He needed her, and frankly Calla needed him. Not only that, life with Gramps was a thousand times better than it’d been at her father’s. Calla wouldn’t even consider living with her mother and Dennis. No, the situation at her grandfather’s house was fine; it suited them both.
Friday afternoon, Calla was leaving the video store when she ran into Joe Lammermann. She played it cool with Joe these days. He kept his distance from her, too, although he was friendly whenever they happened to meet.
“How’s it going?” he asked, stopping in front of her. He wore a too-big jacket and a knit cap that fit over his ears. He’d grown taller since she’d left and now stood a full head higher than Calla.
“All right,” she responded without a lot of enthusiasm.
“You thinking about going to the Sweetheart Dance this year?”
“I guess so,” she said with a casual shrug. If he was inviting her to attend the dance with him, he’d left it till the last minute. Either it’d taken him that long to find the courage, or she wasn’t his first choice. She found neither option acceptable.
“I thought I’d go,” Joe muttered.
“Great. I’ll probably see you there.” She stepped around him and moved on without giving him the opportunity to invite her, if that had indeed been his intention.
With her spirits high—Joe was still interested in her!—Calla walked over to Knight’s Pharmacy. She was out of mascara.
“Hi, Hassie,” she called as she came through the door. The pharmacist stood at the back, behind the counter where she filled prescriptions.
“Hey, Calla,” Hassie greeted her. “Good to see you. Listen, could I impose on you to do me a favor?”
“What?” Calla had learned the hard way to ask what kind of favor first. Her stay in Minneapolis had made her wary of even the most innocent-sounding requests.