Free HARDER by Olivia Hawthorne, Olivia Long Page A

time but Lucy was busy in the center of a small group of girls in the living room. They were taking turns dancing to the music of some new boy band that I’d never heard of. It struck me how quickly her tastes in music were outpacing my own and soon she’d leave me in the dust.
    “If you don’t stop pouting I’m going to hook you up on some online dating site,” Addy told me and tugged at my arm.
    “Fine,” I said, “it’s all new to me is all. I’m not used to having much freedom, you know?”
    “I had a lifetime of freedom before I had the kids,” Addy laughed, “I hate to say it, but I don’t know.”
    “Aren’t you supposed to go out with Gary tonight?” I asked as we approached our cars, mine not looking so shabby anymore. Well, Caleb’s.
    “Later. Until then let’s have some girl time.”
    “Where are we going?”
    “How about we hit Murphy’s?” she asked. “I’m meeting Gary there later, and it’s half price appetizer night.”
    “Perfect,” I agreed and walked towards the van.
    “Is he letting you keep it?” she called as I clicked the automatic start button and the van came to life.
    “I think I’m taking the US Army approach to this right now,” I smiled.
    “How do you mean?” she replied with her brows up in question.
    “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” I grinned and got in. I heard her laughter even after I closed the door.
    Murphy’s was packed for a small town, but it was Saturday night and the options were limited.
    We found a booth near the back where we could gossip and gorge on fatty pub food and not have snoopy regulars watching and listening to our every move.
    “You’ve got to try the deep fried jalapenos,” Addy told me as I poured over the menu searching for something that wasn’t too greasy.
    We ended up ordering a pitcher of beer and an appy platter to share. Since Addy was paying, I decided to go along with whatever she wanted. It seemed fairer that way.
    “Have you seen much of Caleb this week?” Addy asked as I poured us each a glass of beer.
    “No, he didn’t order lunch the last part of the week. Somebody said he was out of town, but somebody else said he was taking care of his dad so who really knows?”
    “I don’t mean to sound rude, but are you sure you’re not spending too much time with him?”
    “How do you mean? We’re just friends.”
    “You’d have to be blind and stupid to believe that, Brooke,” she said with a frustrated look on her face. “You two obviously care for each other but I worry about you. I know I’ve never asked you where you’re from or about Lucy’s dad, but I think you’re very vulnerable right now.”
    “I don’t know what to tell you. I like him as a friend and the rest of it is none of your business really,” I said as nonchalantly as I could manage given the fact that she was upsetting the hell out of me. I hated it when people poked around my past looking for answers.
    “I know which is why I never bring it up. And if you really are just friends with Caleb then I’ll back off. He’s a complicated man and might hurt you without even meaning to.”
    “You went on one date with him,” I said quickly, “I don’t think that qualifies you as being an expert on Caleb Harder.”
    “I might not be, but I’ve been in town longer than you and I know his history. He’s a complicated guy with a lot going on.”
    “As long as he’s kind to me and Lucy, I don’t care what he’s done in his past,” I snapped.
    I took a long draw on my beer and glared at Addy over the edge of the glass.
    “Fine, you know what? You’re right. What the hell do I know? I’ll drop it.”
    “Thank you,” I said quietly.
    Conversation was stilted for a few minutes after that but soon enough we began to flow as easily as usual. When Addy and I were out there were always lots of giggles and inappropriate jokes made about pretty much anything and everything.
    Gary showed up a little after nine and I stuck around for an hour or