“Are you gonna keep her?”he asks.
“You know I can’t.”With the hours I work, she’d be alone all day.
“Well, if you take her to a shelter, just make sure they have a ‘no euthanasia’ policy.”
“I know, Gray told me.”This talk of leaving town is making my gut feel hollow, so I change the subject.“Hey, any word on that dispatch job?”
“Didn’t get it.”
“Shit, really?”My brow tightens.
“Yeah.I heard the owner’s friend’s niece got it.I don’t even know why they bother advertising these positions.It’s all who you know these days.”
“That’s too bad,” I mumble.
“Yep.”
If it weren’t for me, Leo wouldn’t even be trying for a role he’s never done.
It’s all a bunch of shit, which is infuriating.My job is literally to fix shit and when I can’t… I just don’t know what else to do with myself. “I should go.I’ve gotta get to the coffee shop.”
“Oh.Okay.”Leo pauses.“You wanna give me a buzz when you’re not busy having coffee?”
It’s a dig—one I deserve—but I just can’t seem to figure out how to be my old self around Leo.He pretends as if nothing’s changed, but it has, and the regret I feel over that is suffocating.
We hang up, and my chest burns all the way to Mugs.
Expecting to find a parking spot, I balk at the sight of every car ever manufactured taking up all the spaces.
What fresh hell is this?
Main Street is buzzing—sandy teenagers dart across the road, parents chase after kids clutching dripping ice creams, and couples stroll towards the boardwalk, funnel cakes in hand.Yesterday, Inner Shores was a sleepy little seaside town.Today, it’s a summer beach movie.
By the time I park Chloe’s car a few blocks away and get inside Mugs, I’m sweaty and huffing.
She eyes me from the counter, her warm smile taking some of the edge off.She says something to her friend Willow, then heads over to me.
“Looks like someone’s cranky,” she says playfully.“Should I get you a bowl of sunshine?”
She can keep her sunshine.What I need is my own damn parking spot.“When the heck did this town get so busy?”
“It’s Memorial Day weekend.What did you expect?This is the hottest spot around.”
“It is today.”I brush the back of my hand across my sweaty forehead, and she catches my cheeks between her palms, pulling my face down to kiss me there.
“Come on,” she says, linking an arm through mine.“I’ll get you a coffee, but first, I’ve gotta bring Harry this.”She holds up a steaming mug covered in green shamrocks.“His feud with Mrs.Fitzgerald has finally come to an end.”
I have no clue what that’s supposed to mean, but I guess I’m coming along on this mission.When we reach the outdoor patio, she hands the mug to one of the old guys who’s always hanging around Mugs—the one with the cane.I spot her dad, too, who’s halfway through building the pergola.
Chloe asks me if I want my usual coffee, and I tell her I’ll grab it inside in a bit.She gives me a soft smile that makes my stomach fizz, and then hurries back into Mugs.I linger just long enough to make sure her dad’s doing everything right, so fucking glad he’s actually doing something.
That is until I see him set the new post in a metal spike anchor.
Can’t he tell how crooked it is?Where’s his level?
Rick stands back and inspects his work, arms folded, like the post might straighten itself out if he stares at it hard enough.
Harry shuffles closer to me.“That thing’s leaning,” he says.
