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“Yes, I would certainly describe you as a happy guy,” I told him dryly and then regretted it instantly. I was trying to get him to open up, not slam shut like a disturbed clam.
“On that note…” came the grumble through my phone.
He was trying to end the conversation. It was too soon. I scrambled to think of something else to say. “How many red pens have you run dry?”
A small noise came through the phone. “All of them.”
“Oh, look at that. You do have a sense of humor.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
I laughed. A second later, I panicked. “Wait. Really?”
Was he smothering a chuckle? Was that actually possible? No. Couldn’t be. Should I ask, or just keep my mouth shut and hope I heard what I heard?
Mouth shut was always the safest bet. Especially when it came to me.
“I said it was your best work yet. I wasn’t lying.”
“I could kiss you right now!” Damn it. I quickly dialed in my excitement. “Metaphorically speaking. I’m not pushing my luck again. I had a headache for two days from last time I kissed you and it made it difficult to write.”
I waited. For an apology. For sympathy. For something.
All I got in return was quiet.
And more quiet.
Finally he said, “I’ll bring it back to you when I’m finished.”
Would it be rude to ask how soon he’d be finished?
I didn’t want to rush him but I was curious about what he red-penned. “Or just shoot me a text and Timber and I can come pick it up. I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
“I’ll just drop it off next time I’m in town.”
Was it because there would be less temptation that way? The two of us wouldn’t be alone up in the woods in his cabin?
Hmm. “I’ll be here.”
The phone went dead.
“Well, hot damn, Timber. The man not only texted me, he called me. And, even better, he likes my latest book. I think I’m making progress with him.”
Timber raised his head and gave me an exasperated look, then dropped it back to the mattress with a groan.
One thing was for certain, I couldn’t stop grinning. Even through every gory part of the Stephen King movie I was watching.
CHAPTER 13
Chase
I glanced up at the apartment over The Next Page. It was late but I was hoping Rett would still be awake. The light peeking between the blinds indicated he most likely was.
This was a bad idea.
It would be smarter to leave the manuscript tucked under his truck’s windshield wiper.
I glanced to my right and over my shoulder to where I parked my Bronco behind the bookstore. The small paved area was big enough for two parking spots. To the left of the parking area, where I currently stood, was a small grassy yard surround by chain-link fence. Not an area really big enough for Timber to get exercise but most likely good enough for the dog to do his business in bad weather.
I could leave the thick envelope on his Chevy, leave it on the rear stoop to the store or quietly creep up the steps and leave it at the apartment’s door on the second level. Then cross my fingers he would find it before the next rain.
Or I could climb those steps and knock on the damn door.
I hadn’t warned him I was coming.
I hadn’t even told him I finished the beta-read.
But then, I hadn’t planned on getting so restless up in my cabin tonight that I needed to go for a drive.
To the bookstore.
Ultimately, to Rett.
Ever since that damn kiss, he’d been in my thoughts.
My mind flashed back and forth between when our mouths were melded together to the injury on the back of his head I’d given him.
Guilt consumed me.
For letting him kiss me, for enjoying it, then for panicking and shoving him away. Worse, that same guilt soaked into the center of my bones due to the fact I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
I figured if I finished reading through his manuscript and got it back to him and out of my sight, I’d be able to go back to my regularly scheduled programming.
Being alone, miserable and feeling sorry for myself.
And basically not letting anyone get close to me for fear of losing what remained of my heart if I took another major loss.
After Thomas’s death, I was knocked off my axis and my whole world had tilted upside down. To protect myself, I wanted to solely concentrate on my career and my family by keeping in touch with the occasional video chat.
My plan had been to keep life as simple as possible until I was prepared to tackle the more difficult stuff. Rett could easily take my desire for simplicity and turn it into a very complicated matter.
If I let him.
Despite trying to resist, I now found myself standing at the bottom of the steps, staring up at the unlit wood deck off the back of the apartment.
