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“Haha, I was waiting for you to confess,” Thomas says, holding out a hand to Beau. “Pay up, sucker.”
“Wait,” I say, waving my hands in front of me. “What do you mean, confess?”
“Gramps and I went out for lunch yesterday, and he told me all about how he found you two out here that morning, and she was in your clothes,” Thomas explains. “Of course, I had to tell everyone. Beau and I made a bet at how long it would take for you to tell us. I told him I could get it out of you today, but he didn’t think so.”
Beau slaps a twenty dollar bill into Thomas’s waiting palm. “Thank you,” he practically sings. He stands from the couch, coming over to my side to slap me on the shoulder appreciatively. “For what it’s worth, I am being serious when I say I can tell you like this girl. You seem different.”
I nod, not really sure what else I can say to him. “Thanks?”
His radio buzzes on his chest, a voice talking fast through the static. I have no idea how he can understand a word the dispatcher says, it all sounds like a garbled mess to me.
“Shit,” he curses, clicking his tongue to get Arson’s attention. “We’ve been working on this case for weeks now, and we might have the guy cornered. I gotta run. Arson, let’s go,” he says, whistling. Arson darts to his side, running with Thomas out the shop door. His cruiser starts up immediately, and a moment later, sirens blare as he takes off toward the call.
I bite my tongue, withholding the words I want to say. None of us particularly like that Thomas is a police officer, and it’s purely selfish reasons. Thomas has always been the one to dive head first into the action, even as a kid. He’d fight the bullies for the other kids in his class, always protecting the people he cares about.
We spend a lot of time worrying about him, because you never know if one day he might get injured, or worse. While I’m glad he isn’t working in the Twin Cities, there is still crime and dangerous people here in our small town. Thomas has told me some of the shitty things he sees, and none of us want to tell him how much it scares us. He’s doing what he loves, and that is making sure we all live in a safer place.
“I hate when that happens,” Beau says, standing up as well. He strides over, standing next to me, where we both lean up against the countertop.
“You and me both,” I murmur, giving my pounding heart a moment to relax. Thomas is a smart man. He knows how to keep himself safe.
“What are you up to tonight?” Beau asks, thankfully changing the subject. “I think Marley and I are going to Blue Ox, wanna come?”
I shake my head. “Nope. I’m taking Josie out.”
Beau nods. “Ah. Well, the offer is there. I’m sure we’ll be there for a while. Sounds like there’s a band tonight, and you know how much Marley loves the bands. I think Jason wants her to get some pictures for his social media too.”
“Lennie staying at Mom and Dad’s?” I ask.
“Probably.” Beau shrugs. “I think she usually does when there’s a band, or event he needs to be there for.”
“True,” I say. “Maybe next time Josie and I will come say hi.”
“Sounds good.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Talk about what?” Beau asks, doing his best to hide his annoyance with me.
“You’ve been pouting since you walked through the door, and I don’t think it has anything to do with losing the bet with Thomas,” I say pointedly. I shove him in the shoulder.
“I have not been pouting.”
“Sure,” I drawl. “What did Marley do now? Did she get a new tattoo that makes her even hotter?”
Beau growls, turning on me immediately, pressing his hand to my chest. “You don’t get to talk about her like that.”
Time to poke the bear.
“Why not? It’s not like she’s your girlfriend.”
“Andrew, I swear to god,” he murmurs, dropping his hand from my chest to run it through his hair.
He looks like he’s in physical pain, so I lighten up on him a bit. “Seriously, what’s wrong, Beau?”
“Nothing,” he says.
“You can ask her out, you know. What's the worst thing that could happen? I mean, it’s Marley. She’s your person.”
