"I can't believe you have a boyfriend."

Leann was looking mischievous over the rim of her cappuccino as we sat in the corner of Blissful Brews. A week had passed since my non-date with Alex, and since we'd gotten together exactly one more time after that, my best friend had a lot to say about our "relationship" status.

She was being absurd, and I was quick to set her straight. "He's not my boyfriend," I mumbled into my boring vanilla latte.

"Mmm. Your two dates would say otherwise," she countered just as quickly. Then her voice went all dreamy on me. "Drinks in the city, ice cream in Renlow Park. If he's not your boyfriend yet, then what the hell is he?"

Rolling my eyes, I set my cup down. "They weren't dates. And even if they were, two outings? That hardly makes a boyfriend."

"Whatever you say." She shrugged. "After casual drinks, ice cream dates are the natural next step. Then you'll be cooking dinner together at your place. And soon enough, sitting in dark theaters, watching movies and getting handsy. I'm calling it."

She was officially yapping and trying to get a rise out of me. I wouldn't let her succeed on that front.

"I don't think I'll be getting handsy with him anytime soon," I told her, keeping my voice neutral but firm. "Wherever this is going, if it's going somewhere, it will be slow and uneventful."

"Fine. But just know, I'll be waiting eagerly for all the details. Even if they're boring." She took a sip from her mug and then tilted her head at me. "Speaking of details, what do you have so far?"

"Nothing," I said honestly. "Remember the part about us going out twice? I haven't had time to learn much."

"Oh, come on," she scoffed. "You can learn plenty on two dates. What are his hobbies? Where does he see himself in ten years?"

Ugh. She was relentless.

I gave her a pointed look. "You know, Leann. When women gather together and all they do is talk about men, we let the patriarchy win. Do you want that?"

"Well, no," she mumbled, her brows crinkling in thought. "But I just..." She set her mug down and pouted. "I want to know how things are going, that's all. I worry about you. After breaking things off with Spence, you were like a zombie. And now you're hanging with this new guy and I don't know anything about him and I just..."

Her words trailed off, nagging at my resolve and frustrating me with the actual lack of details I had to share. I wanted desperately to humor Leann, to give her something she could take home and giggle about, but things with Alex just weren't at that level yet. I mean, when we got ice cream together in Renlow Park, we spent the whole time talking about our favorite movies.

Well, hey. That was something.

"He likes The Lord of the Rings movies," I told her with a cautious smile. It was super baseline, but it would have to do. "And he, uh...he likes winter."

Leann blinked a few times. "That's it? That's all you've learned about him?"

I pressed my lips together and nodded.

"Wow, that's..." She smiled and let out a small laugh. "That's really something."

"I'm sorry," I laughed also. "We just haven't really gotten into any deep conversations. We keep things light, and I sort of...like it that way. There's less pressure."

"Okay," Leann said slowly, dragging the word out with a load of uncertainty. "If you're happy, I'm happy."

"Thank you," I said firmly. The need to hold my ground was at an all-time high.

Leann dated a lot and I barely ever did. Our personalities were also different, which meant our methods of getting to know someone would naturally be different as well. Right?

There was nothing wrong with keeping conversations surface level and taking things extra slow, especially considering Alex and I weren't officially dating at all. We were just...seeing how things went.

The bustling sounds of the coffee shop called to me like a lovely distraction, and I did a slow glance around. Griff was busy at the counter but kept half an eye on his book collection as Mrs. Tinsley mingled with some of the other teachers at a nearby table.

I inhaled the smell of caramel in the air and could hear the froth machine buzzing. It was a typical evening at Blissful Brews and I was happy to soak up the familiarity of it all.

"One more question and then I'll leave you alone," Leann said, popping my bubble. When I turned back to her, she had her elbows on the table, hands folded under her chin as she stared me down.

"What is it?" I asked.

She gave me a charming smile, eyes lit up with anticipation. "Do you have another non-date planned?"

"Nope," I answered, looking up at the ceiling and then down at my phone.

I was trying to seem uninterested in her question when, in reality, I was waiting for a text back from Alex. We were in the midst of making plans, but I wasn't going to volunteer any details to Leann until they were a sure thing.

"The county fair is this weekend," she mentioned, drawing my attention back up.

"Are you going?"

She nodded. "I'm going with my cousins. You know how Holly loves the fair."

"You love it, too," I smiled.

"Correction," she held a finger up, "I love funnel cakes and that cute guy who runs the lemonade slushie stand."

"Well, funnel cakes and cute guys are certainly good enough reasons to go," I encouraged her. Heck, it was more than I could say about the stupid county fair. I'd gone a handful of times, years ago, and hated each one. Too noisy, too many people, it was always too hot.

"Look, I know you hate it," Leann said as though she could see my thoughts in a bubble over my head. "But maybe you and Alex could meet us there?"

Saw that coming a mile away...

I made a face. "Maybe."

"It could be fun." She bounced her eyebrows at me. "You've never done the county fair properly, with a handsome date. It was always Dalton and Spence making you come along and watch them play those dumb arcade games."

Leann's eyes grew wary at the casual mention of Dalton, but I gave her a reassuring smile to combat her concerns. It didn't sting like I thought it might. It only got me thinking about all the times I'd gone to the fair with him and Spencer. We were just kids then. It seemed like forever ago and only yesterday at the same time.

Leann was mostly right. The boys did love dragging me along as they played games, but she forgot the part where Spence would always win me a stuffed animal and how good Dalton was at the ring toss. She didn't have the memories of my brother's laughter when he won or the way Spence would sometimes put his hand on my lower back when we walked around the fairgrounds.

Just thinking about it all, I was hit with equal measures of happiness and nostalgia, irritation and sadness. What a mess.

I leaned back in my chair and gave it some actual thought, breathing in the scent of coffee grounds to clear my head.

Making new memories at the fair wouldn't be the worst thing. I was sure the noise and crowds would be as frustrating as ever, but being there with Alex would be new and interesting. Lots of things to do and see, plenty of activities to keep us entertained. Low chances of running into Spence since I knew it was his weekend to work.

"I'll ask Alex," I finally said to Leann.

She beamed at me across the table. "I see a romantic ferris wheel ride in your future."

"Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's really not–"

My sentence dropped off when the bell rang above the door, my attention stolen as someone walked into the coffee shop. I held my breath, wondering if the peace was about to be interrupted by Debbie and Marceline's gossip again. Or if Leann was going to be distracted by another one of the men in black that had been meandering around Fairhaven.

Seeing the former police chief walk inside was a whole different level of surprise.

As often as I crossed paths with his son, I hadn't seen Mr. Lovejoy in a while. Spence told me a few months back that his mom asked for a divorce, but he didn't talk about his dad too much and I didn't ask, so I had no idea what he'd been up to since retirement.

I saw Spence's mom at the market here and there. She always looked great, happier and lighter than she'd been in recent years. I didn't want to make assumptions about her reasons for divorcing her husband, but it was easy to see how much better she was doing without the crooked weight of him on her shoulders.

Without really meaning to, I let my eyes follow his path toward the front counter, trying not to seem too obvious that I was creeping. I just couldn't help it. His slow and cautious walk made me pause. The sweatsuit he wore looked completely wrong, and he was in desperate need of a haircut.

For a man who'd always come off so confident in his work—sure of his steps, head held high, always dressed to the nines—the former Chief Lovejoy looked like a shell of himself.

"Is that Spence's dad?" Leann's voice sounded off next to me.

I nodded, keeping my eyes on him. He stood in front of Griff's register, his hands gripping the counter as he looked up at the menu like he'd never seen words before. Beyond the uncertainty, he looked so much like Spence, it was freaky.

"Yeah, that's him," I answered Leann, still unable to process what I was seeing.

Same color hair, same strong chin. Stoic eyes.

"Well, divorce certainly isn't doing that man any favors. He looks homeless."

"Leann," my head flew in her direction, eyes wide, "be nice."

"Sorry, but this seems like poetic justice to me," she mumbled, pulling her mug up to her mouth like it was going to filter her next words. But it didn't filter them at all. They came out just as harsh and true as ever. "His entire career in law enforcement was about as corrupted as they come, from rookie to chief. He screwed people over left and right, let criminals off for a good price. The man is rotten. It's about time he experienced a downfall. And at the hands of his wife who probably dealt with her own version of his bullshit for years? Icing on the cake."

I stayed quiet as her words sunk in, knowing I had no response to them because she was right. It wasn't healthy or kind to take delight in the fall of others, but Mr. Lovejoy wasn't a good person. Not at work and, according to Spence, not at home. Seeing him like this carried a level of amusement I wasn't proud to admit.

"What can I get for you?"

Exuberant as always, Griff's voice was full of energy, his words clear as they rang through the coffee shop. But I couldn't say the same for Mr. Lovejoy's response, and my body did an involuntary lean forward to try and hear him better.

"I'm, uh..." He ran a hand over his mouth. "I don't know. I'm not sure what I'm..."

His words trailed off as he stared at the menu, shuffling a little on his feet. The longer I watched him, the amusement faded away. When Chief Lovejoy was still at the station, he'd never been such an indecisive man when it came to a simple coffee order. Just how much was this divorce affecting him?

After a couple minutes of silence and no order given, Griff's eyebrows went up with a warm smile. "Black coffee like last time?"

Mr. Lovejoy's head dipped down from the menu. "Yeah." He cleared his throat and nodded at Griff, handing over his credit card. "I think that'll be fine. A black coffee."

"You got it, sir." Griff nodded and put the order through on the register.

The rest of the transaction seemed to go as expected, but when Mr. Lovejoy trudged his way out of Blissful Brews a few minutes later, he still seemed lost in his own world.

I watched him through the window as he walked outside, black coffee in hand, and waited on the curb. He stood there long enough for me to start wondering if he forgot where he parked or something. But just as the thought slipped through my mind, a vehicle I didn't recognize pulled up and Mr. Lovejoy stepped into the passenger side.

I breathed a sigh of relief without fully understanding what I was worried about. It was just unnerving, I guess, to go so long without seeing someone and then they show up out of nowhere, a shadow of their former self.

"You look concerned," Leann mentioned softly, her voice bringing me back to our table.

"I'm not," I lied, shrugging as I took a sip of my latte. "It's just weird seeing him like that."

It was always weird seeing someone walk around with the older version of Spencer's face. Like looking into the future, one so far away from what I hoped or imagined his to be.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said about the poetic justice and all," Leann sighed. "I know you and Spence are close. Or...were close. But when it comes to his dad, I just, ya know..."

"No, I get it." I shook my head, knowing fully well that we were navigating tricky waters. When it came to Spence, it was often like that now.

I wanted to stay out of it, but I also wanted to call him. I wanted to forget I'd ever seen his dad out and about in town, but I also wanted to make sure everyone was doing okay with the big changes to their family dynamic. Rotten as Mr. Lovejoy was, and as angry as Spence had made me by following in his steps, I still cared. Despite my better judgment.

"Are you thinking about calling Spencer?" Leann asked, reading my damn mind again.

"No," I answered right away, lying. Hating the way my voice trembled. "It's not my business."

She gave me a lingering glance, eyes narrowed like she was trying to figure me out. But I hadn't figured myself out yet, and I didn't want her attention when it involved Spencer.

Reaching for my phone, I put that familiar, old mask on and gave her a smile. It was time to change the subject to something less heavy.

"I think I'll text Alex about the fair."