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Brooks and Elizabeth didn’t come back inside the hospital. Dirt, Dane, and I visited with Tobias for another half an hour and left. It was easy to see he wanted to spend time alone with Mel, and the two men clearly had something they needed to get to. Dirt kept checking the clock on the wall.
Now, I’m at my hotel, drinking a soda, sitting on the bed with my back against the headboard, channel surfing. My cell phone rings and the screen reads Dean.
“Did my bar burn down?” I tease.
Dean’s laughter rumbles down the line. “Not yet, although we did have a nasty surprise in the toilets last night. I’m going to need danger money from now on.”
Laughing, I ask, “We could look at it. What can I do for you?”
“Not that I don’t mind looking after the place, but I was wondering when you’re coming home?”
“Aww, do you miss me?”
“Always.” He chuckles. “Ahh, shit, I haven’t even asked about your son.”
“He’s awake, doing good.” I smile into the cell phone. “The doctor says he’s going to make a full recovery, minus an eye.”
“I’m glad. So... are you leaving soon?”
“Got a hot date?” Dean goes quiet. “Dean?”
“Lore, I know in the past we have been... friendly, but I’ve met someone.”
“Me too. Well, an old someone. So, who’s the lucky girl?”
“Don’t freak out.”
I groan. “Jesus, tell me it isn’t someone from the bar?”
“What? No!” He laughs. “Cosmo broke into the pantry and munched on a few packet sauce mixes. He’s fine. His mouth got infected, and he looked like a chipmunk, but he’s getting better every day,” he finishes quickly.
“How on earth did he get into the pantry?”
“I may have left the door open,” Dean confesses.
“Dean!”
“Hey, he’s fine. And that’s where I met Alice. She’s the vet who treated him.”
“Did you at least get a discount?”
“Not really. I used some of the money out of your cookie jar.”
The cookie jar is where I keep excess cash the government doesn’t need to know about, and I use it for rainy days. Dean has been in my home more than once, so he knows it’s there.
“Thanks, Dean. So, you’re serious about this one?”
“Yeah. What about you?”
Exhaling, I pick up the remote and turn off the television. “I don’t know. It’s complicated, and we have history.”
“It’s not Brooks, is it?”
Laughing, I say, “God, no! His name is Dirt.”
“Dirt?”
