Chapter 15

“Good evening,” she said, walking straight back toward the office.

“Hey there, Lou,” one of the customers called. The other one grunted.

She shrugged out of her coat, nodded at Dave, and disappeared into the office where he’d left Kyle.

“Hi, I’m Louise,” Dave heard her say.

“I’m Kyle. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, Kyle.”

Louise returned to the bar wearing her apron. She raised an eyebrow at Dave. “Who and what is that?”

Dave smiled. “Kyle’s my houseguest.”

Louise, a large-bosomed, brunette in her thirties raising four kids on her own, shrugged. “Houseguest, huh? Pretty. Is he even legal?”

“No.”

Her eyes bugged out. “Dave, you can’t have a minor—”

“No, he’s not a minor. I meant he’s not twenty-one. That’s why I have him back there. I’d never get mixed up with a minor.”

She nodded. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Me too.”

Louise patted his arm. “Like I said, he is pretty. Haven’t seen too many Goths around lately. The eyeliner’s nice.”