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“I’m going to pass tonight. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do—”
“Don’t insult me by making up some excuse. If you have plans with your girlfriend, just say so,” Best said.
“She’s not my girlfriend, so I can’t say that.” Yet.
“But you want her to be.” Best pretended like he was holding something in his hand and made kissy faces at it. “Oh, Violet, how I want you.”
Quick as the Flash, Dean grabbed Best’s arms and twisted them behind his back, pressing him down over the four-foot fence.
“Ow, shit, man, I was just kidding.”
“She’s not a punch line, she’s someone’s sister. Show some fucking respect.” Dean released him and noticed that all of his guys were staring at them.
“Have you mastered it yet?” he yelled.
“No, sir,” they answered in chorus.
“Then get back to it.”
They did. Dean concentrated on what they were doing, ignoring Best, who was grumbling next to him.
“That hurt, man.”
“Stop being a douche bag, and I won’t hurt you anymore.”
Dean caught Best’s grin from out of his peripheral vision. “You’ve changed.”
“How so?”
“You’re not as dark and gloomy, but you’re more intense. Focused.”
“Maybe I’m finally accepting that this is my life.”
“And yet, you don’t sound bitter about it. A month ago, you would have been all caustic and surly.”
That was before Violet. And Casey. And Daisy.
It was before he’d really started to appreciate where he was in his life and accept that this might be right where he was needed.
“I seem to recall you saying I was a ‘bucket of dicks.’ ”
“Yeah, well, you were. Now you’re just an asshole.”
“Thanks, buddy.”
Dean pulled out his phone and started to dial Violet, raising his eyebrow as Best continued to stand there. “You want to watch them for a minute while I step away to make a phone call?”
“Why not? I don’t have to leave for a while.”
?
??Where are you off to?”
“Gotta look at some new dogs at one of the shelters. They’ve got five for me to temperament test, or they’ll be euthanized.”
“I don’t know how you do it. How you choose which ones live and die.”
“The test chooses, not me. And if I didn’t test them, then they’d all die. We can only do what is within our power.” Still, Best sounded pissed off.
