Page 166 of Buy Back My Love

He looked older, but not by much. More gray had worked its way into his beard, and his stomach was a little thicker under his coat, but everything else was the same. Same calm face, same slow way he moved, same habit of walking into somebody else’s space like he had already decided he belonged there.

He closed my office door behind him.

“Damn,” he said, looking around. “Look at you.”

I stayed behind my desk. “What you doing here?”

Boone ignored me and looked through the window toward the yard. “You really built something.”

“What you want?”

That finally got his attention.

He smiled and took the chair across from me without being invited. “Can’t come check on you?”

“No.”

Boone chuckled under his breath.

I hadn’t missed that shit about him. He could sit across from you smiling like y’all were old friends while making your whole stomach tighten.

“What you want, Boone?”

He leaned back and crossed one ankle over his knee. “Got something moving next week.”

“No.”

His eyebrows lifted. “You don’t even know what I was finna say.”

“I know enough.”

“Do you?”

“I’m out.”

The smile stayed on his face, but something behind it changed.

“Ain’t no out.”

I leaned forward. “I told you that shit years ago.”

“No. You told me you needed to sit down for a while.”

“I said I was done.”

“And I let you believe that.”

I stared at him, but Boone had already looked back through the window, watching one of my trucks pull through the gate like he was taking inventory.

“How many you got now?”

“Enough.”

“Twelve? Thirteen?”

“Don’t worry about how many trucks I got.”

“I ain’t worried about shit. I’m impressed.” He nodded toward the yard. “You took care of yourself.”