The Apple Tree (Sunday Morning, #2) (8)

“Where are you going? Why do you need a flashlight and blanket?” Eve asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

I opened the back door. “I’m going down to the creek. I hear it’s a great place to stare at the stars and drink.”

Eve’s jaw came unhinged. “You’re a cruel man, Mr. Collins.”

I laughed.

“By the way, I charge ten dollars an hour to babysit.” She pulled her long, dark hair over one shoulder and inspected the ends as if her outrageous babysitting fee was no big deal.

I held back my response for a few seconds because she was something else. And whatever that something was made me want more of it.

“I don’t make ten dollars an hour. I’ll pay you four an hour, and I won’t tell your parents that you were planning on sneaking out tonight.”

She planted her hands on her hips as if that and a slight chin lift made her look tougher.

Damn. I had to fight my grin.

“Five an hour, and I won’t tell my dad that it was Josh’s poop he had to clean up off the bathroom floor yesterday.”

I cocked my head to the side. “You said you unclogged it.”

“I lied.”

“Why?”

She lifted a shoulder. “Because I didn’t want you to feel bad.”

“But you’re okay with me feeling bad now because you want to blackmail me into paying more?”

“No. I’m okay with making you feel bad now, and I’m blackmailing you because you’re going to my creek to do my thing, and you’re doing it just to spite me.”

I slowly nodded. “Five an hour, and I’ll be back in two hours.”

“Perfect.” Eve looked at her yellow and red banded Swatch. “I’ll have my mom come over to check in around seven, so when you return at eight, I’ll be in the clear to leave. Have fun, Mr. Math Teacher.” She spun on her toes and sauntered toward the stairs.

Devil’s Head was a terrible idea. That girl was trouble.





CHAPTER FOUR





JODY WATLEY, “LOOKING FOR A NEW LOVE”





Eve

“Hey, Josh,” I said, peeking my head into his bedroom as he played with his Matchbox cars on the floor. The walls were pink and white polka dot wallpaper from the previous owner, but Josh had a gray bedspread with blue race cars and a stuffed koala by his pillow.

“You can have the yellow Corvette.” He held up the car.

I smiled and sat cross-legged beside him. He was adorable.

“Do you know where you lived before here?”

He made duck lips for a second. “In a house.”

I laughed at myself for asking the question. Josh was five, and his answer was age appropriate.

“Was it just you and your dad, or did anyone else live with you?” I drove the car behind his, and he giggled when I drove over his car.

“Me and Dad,” he said, focusing on the cars he drove up the ramp made from books.

“Will you be in kindergarten?”

He nodded.

I stopped asking questions and played cars with him for half an hour before calling my mom from the kitchen phone.

“If you want to check up on me, then you should come soon because Josh will be brushing his teeth in thirty minutes, then I’m reading him bedtime stories. If you show up later than that, you could wake him.”

Or catch me getting into Erin’s car at the end of the drive.

“I don’t have to come over. I trust you,” she said.

“You do? I mean, thanks. There’s no reason not to trust me.”

“Did Kyle think he’d be out past ten?” she asked.

“He said somewhere between ten and eleven. I said that’s fine since it’s a short walk home, and I don’t have to be at work until nine tomorrow.” I played it super cool.

“Okay, call me if you need anything. I think I’m going to take a hot bath. I’ve had a slight headache all day,” she said.

“Well, I hope the bath helps.”

“Me too. Bye, hun.”

I hung up the phone for two seconds before picking it up again and calling Erin.

“Hello?” her mom answered.

“Hi. Is Erin there?”

“Oh, hi, Eve. Yes, I’ll get her.”

A few seconds later, Erin picked up. “Hey.”

“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you since yesterday. You have to come get me at eight fifteen. Pick me up at the end of the Tallmans’ driveway.”

“I thought you were grounded.”

“I am. But the guy who bought the Tallmans’ house has a five-year-old son, and I’m sort of babysitting tonight, but my parents don’t think I’ll be home until ten or eleven, and Kyle, the dad, will be back at eight. And oh my gosh, Erin! I have so much to tell you.”

“I can’t go out tonight. We were visiting my grandparents yesterday and we just got home a few hours ago, but I have a sore throat and a fever, so there’s no way my mom’s letting me leave.”

“Nooo. Are you being serious? Ugh! I’m so desperate to go out. My parents watch my every move, but tonight, I have a decoy.”

“Sorry. Call Nicole.”