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I untwisted the cap, flicked it on the counter, and checked my phone. Almost six in New York. Wonder if Baker was home yet?
I cursed and drained half my beer. This was for the best. I wasn’t meant to be in a relationship, not with my trust issues. And I wasn’t so sure she was either. Some people were meant to be alone.
The last few months I’d been here, I’d learned that lesson. New York had made me forget. Maybe coming back was a good reminder.
I might not need my brother to drive my truck to the city after all. I could haul all this stuff back and move into the apartment above the garage. It was rudimentary, but I could fix it up. This weekend would be the last I’d have to see of Baker.
Everything in me rebelled at the thought. But it had to be. If we kept at it, one of us was going to get hurt, and I had a feeling it would be me. I was tired of always getting stepped on. I’d miss her, but eventually that would go away.
Three sharp knocks broke the silence.
“Who the hell could that be?” I muttered under my breath. I hadn’t been back in town thirty whole minutes.
I set my beer down and checked the spy hole.
“Son of a bitch. The rumors are true.” Roman, my supervisor at the park, stood on the stoop.
“What rumors?” I moved out of the way, and he stepped inside.
“That you were back in town.” He slapped my shoulder. “Thought I’d have heard from you by now.”
“Want a beer?”
He followed me to the kitchen, where I pulled out two fresh cold ones from the fridge.
“Glad you’re back. I’m trying to get these plants surveyed before the first big snow. Which is predicted for week after next, by the way.” He grinned and tapped his bottle with mine.
“You’re not gonna make it.” I found myself smiling back, easily slipping into the old routine.
“Nope. You can meet me at six in the morning and we’ll knock out what we can.”
“My brother’s getting married this weekend.”
He pointed at me and pretended to pull a trigger. “Monday, then.” Roman yanked out a chair and sat in it backward. “You’ve been gone too long. Things aren’t the same without you.”
“I needed to get away.” I picked at the label of my beer. While that was true, I should’ve added I wasn’t coming back, but couldn’t make myself tell him. Knowing Baker and I were done made New York far less appealing.
“I get it, man. But I was beginning to get worried you weren’t coming back.”
The words of my resignation lodged in my throat. Quitting a job I'd loved wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.
“You up for meeting the boys tonight? If Briggs asks permission now, Suzanna might let him out of the house.”
I laughed. That sounded about right. “I’m going to dinner with my family.”
“After that. They can come too.”
“We’ll see. Pretty tired after the flight.”
“Come on. You’ve been gone forever.”
“Fine. But I can’t miss dinner.”
He held up both of his hands. “Of course not. I’ll let the guys know.”
“You’re a pushy bastard. Anybody ever tell you that?”
He grinned and stood. “How do you think I got to be the boss?”
