Page 51 of The Woman with the Handcuffs

“I can order without having to talk to anyone.”

“You’ll talk to a homeless man for twenty minutes, but placing an order over the phone is a nonstarter?”

“I never claimed my anxiety was rational. Half this menu is more junk food. Chips, ice cream sandwiches, and bagged popcorn.”

“That can’t be everything.”

“Two kinds of pizza and dumplings.”

“Weird-ass menu.”

“The actual meals are amazing. But it’s the overnight. So, pizza and dumplings?”

“Sounds food-adjacent.”

“They’re veggie dumplings.”

“Tomorrow, we’re having salads for lunch.”

“Are you this concerned about everyone’s eating habits?”

“Most of the people I know don’t eat candy and chips for dinner. Well, most people I know over ten years old.”

“I eat salads.” He raised his brows at me. “I do. Once or twice. A year.”

That got a little chuckle out of him, and I was a little too aware of the way it made his eyes dance.

“You always ate like shit?”

“Well, trucking lifestyles aren’t exactly healthy. We ate a lot of fast food. I went a whole year where I basically only ate chicken nuggets.”

“Your dad still eat like that?”

“He’s actually on a health journey. Has been for the past few years. He lost like sixty pounds by switching from the junk to the veggies and healthy wraps.”

“Why’d he switch? Was he sick? Heart? Cholesterol?”

I had a feeling he wasn’t asking out of genuine interest or concern for my father, but because he was wondering if maybe my father’s health contributed to his disappearance. Walked out of the tractor, maybe had a heart attack, and that was that.

The problem was, wouldn’t the cops have found him if that were the case?

“Not that he shared with me. And he shared just about everything with me.”

“Did he?” Gav asked, brows lifted.

Right.

I guess he did have at least one secret, didn’t he?

“No. No, I didn’t know about you. Or your deal with him. I don’t even understand it. He didn’t need the money.”

“Everyone needs money.”

“He makes a decent living.”

“Yeah, but he’s getting older. Can’t imagine he’s got a lot in retirement. He had to be thinking about taking care of himself in his old age.”

“I would have taken care of him.”