“I didn’t think you would. Anyway, it’s your call. You’re welcome. Now, shall we get back to work?”
“Yeah. Uh, thank you. For all of it.”
She nudged my elbow gently with hers.
The contact surprised me.
“Sorry, I didn’t ask if that was okay.” She pulled away.
“It’s fine. I just…it’s fine.” No one had touched me—except for handshakes—since Stephen left.
And Cody last night.
“Still. Usually I clap my guys on the back. You just—”
I cocked my head.
“You don’t feel as rough and tumble as some of the other guys on the crew. Or hell, some of the women. I don’t mean it in a negative way. You’re just—” She examined me. “—soulful. In a good way. I suspect you’re a deep thinker.”
“Well, you’d be wrong about that. But I don’t mind a clap on the back if I’ve done a good job.” With a quick nod, I headed back into the house.
I passed Aimee who was doing the wiring. I liked that almost half of Riley’s crew were women. The gender parity worked,and I didn’t have to deal with rampant sexism or, so far, any homophobia.
No one had said anything about the trial or my troubles either, so that was another win.
By quitting time, I’d finished the upstairs. Still tons to do, but I had a sense of accomplishment.
As I headed for the door, Aimee waved. “Are you coming to the Springs?”
In that moment, I made the decision to try living again. I offered a shy smile. “Riley invited me.”
“It’s a Friday-night thing. Should be pretty busy since it’s the Santa parade tonight.”
“Oh?” I ran through everything in my mind, but that hadn’t stuck. “I live on Second Avenue.”
“You should be okay. You’ve got a parking spot with your apartment, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, Second will be jammed with parked cars, but you’ll be fine. You’ll have to go the long way to go home, though, since Railway and First Avenue are both closed.”
“Right. I’ve never, uh…”
“I’ve got two kids. Teenagers now, thank God. No more bundling up and watching the parade. That said, teenagers are an entire heap of trouble in other ways.”
She didn’t look old enough to have teens at home, but I didn’t comment. “So, Springs?”
“Yep.” She grinned as she headed to her van parked on the road just behind my pickup.
We drove away at the same time, and I followed her back into downtown Mission City.
The brew pub was a little too close to the cop shop for my peace of mind, but I’d been found not guilty. Not exonerated, though. The difference niggled. If they’d convicted Stephen—even if they’d just found the money—then my name would’ve been cleared. With my ex in the wind, though, everyone I used to know still gave me a wide berth. I couldn’t be certain if Riley had given her crew the heads-up. But no one had looked at me sideways or been anything but incredibly welcoming.
We nabbed parking spots at the back of the lot and walked amiably to the pub.
“There’s a table at the back. Stella quits early to grab it for us.”
“That’s nice of her.”
