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My workday ended a half hour ago. I stayed later so Summer could visit the litter.
“Let’s go,” I mumble, no longer meeting her eyes. How long is she going to want to stay with me once I’m unemployed?
Three thousand eight hundred twenty-five.
How did the same number get smaller in a matter of minutes?
Summer took the bus to get here, so we both climb into my truck. The second I start the engine, her questions come.
“Did you know the shelter was struggling financially?”
“Cheryl mentioned it.” I shrug, like I’m not concerned. Meanwhile, my meager sense of stability crumbles.
“Why haven’t you said anything?”
“It’s my problem. You shouldn’t have to worry about it.”
“Damn it, Cole!” Summer slaps her hands to her jean-clad thighs. “Did you ever think that maybe I could help?”
“Summer,” I growl, gripping the steering wheel tight. “I don’t want your money.” I bet she’d be annoyed by my stance if she knew the shitty ways I used to earn cash. But I don’t do that anymore. Not even if I’m desperate.
“Well good. Because I don’t have anything extra to give you. But that’s not what I mean.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t know yet. Give me a second.” Summer pulls the lever on the side of her seat, reclining it back all the way.
At a stoplight, I glance over to see she has her eyes closed.
“Napping?”
“Hush. I’m thinking. Let my brain work.”
Despite my annoyance at the situation—I never wanted Summer to know how close I am to being jobless and broke—I can’t help the corner of my mouth tugging up into a half-smile. She’s fascinating to watch, even when half the time I can’t keep up.
A horn honks behind me, and I realize the light turned green while I was busy staring at my passenger.
Summer stays in her prone position the entire drive back to my place, not even sitting up when I pull onto the gravel of my drive. Instead of prodding her, I shut off the engine and settle in to wait. At least now I can watch her without some impatient asshole laying on his horn.
She looks sexy with her messy ponytail and tight T-shirt. The cat hair covering the material isn’t a deterrent, seeing as how that’s how I spend most of my days.
I might think she was asleep if it weren’t for the occasional word her lips form, as if she’s talking to herself. Maybe five minutes pass before her eyes fly open, and a grin blooms huge across her face.
“I think I’ve got it.”
“Got what?”
“A solution. Actually, two solutions. I need to do some research, and you’ll have to be up for some more writing if you think you can handle that?”
“What are the solutions?”
Summer rockets her seat into an upright position and unbuckles her seatbelt. “Inside! We need a computer!” She’s out the door before I can point out the flaw in her plan. My girlfriend hovers by the front door, bouncing on the balls of her feet, desperate for entry.
“Summer.” I hesitate with my key even as she waves me to unlock my door.
“Come on, Cole!”
“I don’t have a computer.”
