Read Online Sweet Nothings by Kim Law - Free Book Online

why. He popped the cornbread in the oven. “Okay. I’ll back off it for now.”
    “Forever.”
    “ For now . I won’t say anything to Lee Ann. But I don’t see what the big deal is.”
    Cody tossed the apple back in the basket and grabbed a soda from the fridge. He popped open the top. “The big deal is, it’s too much. No one gives that kind of a gift to someone they just met. Even if they do look alike.”
    “I have it to spend.” Nick grabbed his own drink off the counter and turned it up, certain Cody was wrong. If he had it, there was nothing wrong with spending it on those he loved. He’d worked extremely hard over the last ten years to be able to do just that.
    “Then spend it on yourself. Or maybe on figuring out how to get Joanie to kiss you.”
    “What the—” He cut off as Coke splashed up his nose from jerking the can at Cody’s words. He wiped the back of his hand across his face. “What are you talking about?”
    Cody shrugged, and went into a monotone, “Lee Ann’s mother called this morning to make sure she’d heard the news. Linda Sue from the beauty salon had called. Said you got stonewalled on the front porch. Apparently in the middle of Linda Sue’s headlights.”
    Nick could only stare in amazement.
    Cody smirked. “Small-town living at its best.”
    “Wow,” Nick finally managed to get out. “Even more impressive than I would have given them credit for.” Especially since he hadn’t even gone in for the kiss. He’d only planned to. Until she’d stepped back.
    “Tell me about it,” Cody muttered. He sniffed the chili and made an appreciative noise. “It never stops.”
    Nick could handle the gossip. He actually thought it was charming. What he couldn’t handle was this fixation he had on Joanie. He needed information before deciding what to do next.
    “Any idea what the issue is with her?” he finally asked.
    Cody raised an eyebrow. “With Joanie?”
    Nick nodded. “Would be nice to know where the potholes are so I don’t blow out a tire before I get out of the gate.”
    Cody took another long swallow of his drink, eyeing Nick over the can. Finally he set it down and motioned for Nick to follow him. They crossed the living room, not stopping until they were in Lee Ann’s studio.
    “What’s the deal?” Nick asked, looking around. “The house bugged?”
    “No, but the kids are girls, they like to talk. And there’s a vent into their room in the kitchen. If they want to, they can hear everything being said in there.”
    Nick stared, his jaw slack. “So they know I bombed with Joanie?”
    “Oh yeah. But they probably already knew that. I am, however, making it so they don’t know everything else we’re about to say.”
    He supposed that was something. “So what’s the deal with her?” he asked.
    “Her mom walked when she was thirteen,” Cody started. “Joanie came home, on her birthday no less, and the woman had cleaned out her stuff. Just gone. It apparently wasn’t the first time she went with someguy. But unlike the other occasions, this time she didn’t come back. Or contact them again, as far as I know.”
    “Ouch. But that can’t be a secret. Not in this town.” Surely Cody wasn’t sharing with him something that hadn’t been public knowledge for twenty years.
    “Sure, everyone knows. But they don’t talk about it anymore. I’m not going to be the cause of them bringing it back up. It can be brutal when the past gets roused up. Everyone thinks they know every little detail—whether the ‘facts’ are based in reality or not—and they’re more than happy to share them with anyone who’ll listen.”
    Thinking about Joanie and her issues with her mother made him think about his own mother. She had never left, but he’d often wished she would. In reality, when he’d turned eighteen, he’d been the one to leave her. Only, that hadn’t turned out so well, either.
    He looked at Cody. “Anything else?”
    Cody lifted a shoulder, along