Page 56 of Indescribable
“I know you’re not, but it’s a nice night so indulge me.”
“Whatever that means.”
We get to Boone’s house and Cody hugs both Naomi and I goodbye before he runs inside. Boone pops outside quick to tell Naomi hi then retreats back inside, not before I see him wink at me. He might think he’s discreet but he’s far from it. Naomi notices the wink.
“Want to keep walking?”
“Absolutely.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve taken a walk just to take a walk. It’s never been something I enjoyed doing all that much. The entiregoing for a walkthing always seemed boring. But it’s far from boring right now. It’s peaceful aside from the fact that with every brush of her arm against mine I have to fight the urge to thread our fingers together.
“This is nice,” she whispers. “I love going for walks to clear my head. When I’m in a writing funk, I change things up and walk outside for a while. It always helps.”
“I never go for walks but you’re right, this is nice.”
Our pace is slow as we stroll down different streets of Red Oak.
“Do you think everyone in town has already heard about the fight between you and Wyatt?”
“I’m sure. But I don’t really care. His dad will probably give me a call tomorrow morning to get my side of things.”
“He’s a good guy. I have to admit I kind of miss him.”
“Dale is definitely a good guy. He wants so badly for Wyatt to be a bigger part of the business but it’s pretty clear that’s not what Wyatt wants.”
She barks out a laugh and shakes her head. “Not at all. I don’t think evenheknows what he wants, but running the family business is not it. He feels stuck, though. At least, that’s what he always told me. Maybe things have changed now.”
“He needs to tell Dale, then. It’s not fair for Dale and it’s only making the terd bucket more miserable.”
“See? Isn’t that a fun word to say?”
“Sure is. And pretty fitting, too.”
Naomi smirks. “That’s what I told Wyatt, too. About just talking with Dale and explaining that it’s not what he wants. Pretty sure Wyatt wants to have the money he gets from not working there and still not do anything else. Lazy terd bucket that he is,” she grumbles.
“You’re probably not wrong.”
“Enough of Wyatt. I’m so sick of him taking over my thoughts. Especially when I’m having such a good time.”
“Deal.”
We’ve walked so far that we’ve made it uptown. Not many places are open on Sunday nights in Red Oak but the diner’s lights are still on.
I gesture with my head toward the diner. “Pie?”
“You read my mind.”
Only a few tables are occupied in the diner and it looks like they’re getting ready to close up.
“Do we have time for just a slice of pie?”
“Sure thing,” the waitress replies. “Have a seat anywhere. Anything to drink to go with that?”
“Decaf coffee? Cream and sugar?”
I hold up two fingers. “Make that two.”
From behind the counter she nods, filling our cups and asks, “We have peach, cherry, and mixed berry left for pie.”