Heart-Shaped Hack(27)
Kate handed her phone to Chad. “Look.”
Chad studied the dashboard in the picture. “That is definitely one of the most authentic replicas I’ve ever seen, at least from an interior standpoint.” He turned her phone over, looking at it from several angles. “What kind of phone is this?”
Kate grabbed it back from him. “It’s a special new phone.”
“Who owns the Shelby?” Chad asked.
“A friend of mine.”
Chad laughed. “Not ready to tell your big brother about your new man yet?”
“How do you know I have a new man?”
“Because the only girl a guy is going to let drive his Shelby is one he’s interested in. I hope you didn’t squander the opportunity.”
Kate mouthed the words one hundred and ten. Chad whistled.
“What was that all about?” Diane asked.
Kate and Chad smiled and said, “Nothing.”
Few things were as entertaining as visiting a favorite bar the night before Thanksgiving. It was like a mini class reunion, and Kate looked forward to it every year. Chad handed her and Kristin a beer, and Kate made the rounds, chatting with her friends from high school. Her phone vibrated in her back pocket.
Ian: You are apparently at some sort of honky-tonk in Indianapolis.
Kate: Oh hi, stalker!
Ian: Turn around.
Oh God.
She spun in a circle, heart pounding, eyes searching as she looked for him.
Ian: If I were AT THE BAR, I’d be a stalker. But I’m at my apartment. I’m just taking a break and wondered what you were up to.
Kate: I knew you weren’t really here.
Ian: Sure you did. Are you enjoying yourself?
Kate: I’m having a blast.
Ian: I bet there are peanut shells on the floor and men wearing Western shirts.
Kate: You forgot cowboy boots and buckets of beer.
Ian: Please be mindful of your liver.
Kate took a picture of herself drinking from a longneck bottle of Coors Light and sent it to Ian.
Ian: Who’s the man standing behind you?
Kate clicked over to her photos. Her photobomber had his arms in the air and his tongue extended toward her. Ewwww.
Kate: His name is Russ. We went to high school together.
Ian: He looks completely hammered.
Kate: He said he’s been here since noon.
Ian: Maybe you should move away from him.
Kate: I already did because Kristin and I are about to join the line dancers.
Ian: It’s like a giant hoedown, isn’t it?
Kate: Yee-haw!
Ian: Who’s driving home?
Kate: Chad. He agreed to be the designated driver because he was planted in front of the TV all day while the womenfolk slaved away in the kitchen.
Ian: Sounds like a fair trade.
Kate: I have to go. Two words: Electric Slide.
Ian: Bust a move, tiny dancer. I miss you.
Kate stared down at her phone and smiled.
“Come on, Kate.” Kristin yanked on her arm. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll be right there,” she said.
Kate: I miss you too. xoxo
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Watts family Thanksgiving celebration commenced in a flurry of final dinner preparations followed by the immediate arrival of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and assorted cousins. Kate had already answered the inevitable questions about her career change at last year’s dinner, and this year she fielded multiple follow-up queries about how the food pantry was doing. Unfortunately, she also had to deal with a considerable amount of nosy fallout over her breakup with Stuart.
Kate couldn’t wait for dinner to be over.
When the last relative had departed, Kate cut two pieces of pumpkin pie and transferred them to dessert plates, heaping whipped cream on one of them. Chad and Kristin were getting ready to leave for a visit with Kristin’s grandmother, and Diane was doing the last of the dishes. Kate found her dad on the couch in the living room watching TV.
“I sure hope that pie is for me, Katydid,” he said.
“With extra whipped cream. Just the way you like it.”
Kate and her dad had a tradition where they would skip dessert and eat their pie together later after everyone had gone home. She handed him the plate and sat down beside him.
“Sure is nice to have you home,” he said, taking a bite of his pie. “Your mom and I have missed you.”
“I won’t stay away for so long next time.”
He smiled. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
Though they’d both tried their hardest to pretend nothing had changed, Kate’s relationship with her dad had been a bit strained during the past year and a half. Steve Watts had spent thirty years practicing law and was now one of the most respected justices on Indiana’s Supreme Court, and while he’d never pushed either of his children to follow in his footsteps, he’d been incredibly happy and proud when they had. Chad had already been practicing law for two years at a large firm in Indianapolis when Kate passed the bar. In law school, she’d focused on public interest with the intention of pursuing a legal career in community outreach. But upon graduation, when she found those openings in incredibly short supply, she accepted a position as a corporate attorney at the same type of large downtown firm where Paige and Audrey worked. It had been the biggest mistake she’d ever made.