Page 25 of Throttle Therapy

Her sigh echoed across the line.

“No.But it’s all I can do.”

“What about breakfast tomorrow?”

She sighed.“I wish we could but we better not.I have too much to do tomorrow.It’s my last day at the bar and I have a lot of things to get done here before I go in.”

She sounded frazzled and he wished he could take care of this for her, but somehow, he knew she wouldn’t want that.He’d have to hold back and wait, at least for now.He just hoped the fucker didn’t escalate when she reported him.

“Enough about my worries,” Jenna said.“What are you up to tonight?I didn’t interrupt a good party, did I?”

“Does it sound like I’m at a party?”

“The music is a little loud, but I’m not hearing a lot of people, so I don’t know.If it were country instead of rock, I’d say you could be at the Driftwood.”

“I’m not at any party, or in a bar.I’m just hanging out in the clubhouse.I’m watching Phantom whoop Bobby Lee at pool.What are you doing?I thought you’d be asleep by now.”

“I’m in bed.But I couldn’t sleep.”

“Too much on your mind,” he said, knowing how that was.Roadkill had spent a lot of nights unable to sleep for one thing or another that wouldn’t shut off in his brain.“I like that you thought to text me when you just needed someone to listen.Give me a sec.I’m going to head up to my room.It will be quiet up there and we can talk about whatever you like.”

Normally he hated talking on the phone, but he did prefer talking to texting especially when it was detailed or complicated.And, apparently, when it was Jenna.

He stood, picked up his glass, and took it with him as he headed to the stairs then up to his room.

“All right,” he said, closing his bedroom door and turning the lock.“It’s just the two of us now.What else is on your mind?”

“Nothing.”There was a slight pause.“Everything.I don’t even know where to start.”

“Start with whatever’s the heaviest.What’s weighing on you the most?”

He found bottle of Knob Hill he kept up here for the occasional drink and poured a couple of fingers into his glass, then sat in his recliner and hit the button that elevated his feet.

“I already told you that.”

“Then what’s the next one?”

“How to tell Mason I quit.Obviously, I can’t put in two weeks’ notice if I’m starting at the shop on Monday.But I also don’t want to miss out on my wages for tomorrow’s shift.They’ll help get us through until Papa Smurf pays me.”

He made a mental note to ask Papa Smurf how often they paid and if possibly they could get her an advance on at least part of her first check.

Roadkill started to give her a solution but as soon as he opened his mouth, he remembered something his mama had said when he was a boy, before his dad had passed away, then her only a few years ago now.

“Do you want solutions or just someone to listen?”

“Huh?”

“I know you wanted to talk.And if you just want someone to listen to you, I can do that.But if you want me to toss out possible solutions, I can do that too.Tell me what you’re looking for tonight, darlin’.”

The silence on the other end of the line was loud.He fought the desire to ask if she was still there, but he wanted to give her time to work it out.Something told him she’d never been asked that, at least not in quite that way, before.

“That’s a good way to think about it.I’ve never heard it put quite that way before.I had to think for a second,” Jenna said when she spoke again.She sighed again.“I guess I’m just looking to unload.Someone to listen while I vent.Is that okay?”

“That’s fine.I understand the need for both, but I also know it can be frustrating if you’re looking for solutions and all you get is someone who listens and tells you you’ll figure it out.”

She let out a dry laugh.

“I’ve had a lot of that.”