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He soaped himself up, doing his best to ignore the jagged scar on his thigh. It was both sensitive and numb. The last doctor he’d seen had told him he might never get all the feeling back, that there was just no way to know.
He’d barely gotten dry again when he heard someone pounding on the front door.
“I fucking hear you,” he yelled, quickly pulling on a fresh pair of briefs. “Just a fucking second.”
Without bothering to put on more clothes—whoever it was could just deal, and it was probably Liam anyway and he’d seen all it before—Nick crossed to the door and jerked it open. Kitten was nowhere in sight. Probably hiding under the futon; Nick kind of wished he could join her.
Martin Purdy blinked and stared at him for a second. “I’m supposed to bring you to the dinner thing at the pub,” he finally said. “Magnus sent me.”
Nick stared back, enjoying the prof’s discomfort.
“I’ll be there in a second.”
Martin shook his head. “Nope. Not acceptable. I’m under strict instructions to escort you. And if I don’t bring you with me, he’s sending his dad.”
A gust of wind blew in the door. Nick shivered. Martin’s eyes narrowed.
“Quit being a stubborn ass and get dressed. The sooner we get over there, the sooner you can ignore me.”
“Fine,” Nick growled and slammed the door shut.
He’d hoped Martin would take a hint and leave for the pub by the time he was dressed. No such luck. When Nick opened the door again, Martin was still there, leaning against the siding with his hands tucked into his parka’s pockets. Looking fucking sexy. Which was all sorts of wrong.
Pulling the door closed behind him and jiggling the handle to make sure it was locked, Nick started toward the path down the hill to The Strip. Magnus could send Martin to get Nick, but it didn’t mean he had to talk to him.
Another memo that Purdy didn’t pay any attention to.
“What have you got against me, anyway?” Martin asked. “We don’t know each other. I just moved from Seattle, and from what I’ve heard, you were traveling the world while I tried to teach uninterested students about rocks.”
Nick clenched his jaw. He was not going to confess to Martin Purdy that he’d failed his class and thus failed out of college, that he’d been living with the consequences of all of it for over a decade. He sucked in a breath to dampen the anger, mostly shame, that he still felt at the memory.
“Not going to tell me, huh? It shouldn’t bother me that you have this grudge, but it does. I’m not used to people just… hating me.” Martin sounded confused, like maybe no one had ever hated him before.
They’d reached the two-lane road that cut through Cooper Springs, and Nick waited for a truck to pass before he crossed and started walking faster.
“You do know we’re going to the same place, right?” Martin asked, not sounding a bit out of breath.
Nick didn’t reply. Martin didn’t let him draw ahead, he just stayed even with Nick and even pushed ahead at the very end and pulled the door open before Nick could do it himself.
The Donkey was comfortably crowded. Nick could name everyone inside, which was a plus, and most of them left him alone, which was even better. Magnus and his staff had moved all the free-standing tables to the middle of the room, making one long row. Then they’d covered them with white tablecloths to create a long banquet. People could sit at the tables or break off and sit in the booths.
The booths and the tables lined up in the center all had vases filled with dried flower arrangements on them, and overhead played Magnus’s favorite instrumental Celtic soundtrack. All in all, it was a nice setup. If Nick hadn’t been so irritated, he might have appreciated it more.
Ditching Martin, Nick headed to the corner booth where Liam was sitting across from Silas Murphy, owner-operator of the auto shop. Nick didn’t know Silas well, only that he was quiet to a fault. Hardly ever spoke unless he was spoken to first. Liam claimed it was because he spent entire days with his head under the hoods of all the cars and trucks in the area. Frankly, Nick appreciated someone who didn’t run their mouth constantly.
“Liam, Silas.” Peeling off his coat, Nick moved to sit next to Liam. “Scoot over, asshole.”
Liam’s dimple popped as he repressed a grin. But he moved over and Nick shoved in next to him.
“That was good of you to walk over with Purdy,” Liam commented.
For about half a second, Nick felt guilty about Purdy, but he pushed it aside. He didn’t owe him anything, especially not his friendship. Liam, ever the mind reader, must have seen something in his expression.
“Youdidn’twalk over with him, did you? Jeez, Nick, lighten up already. What did the guy ever do to you? Are you still mad about the penis thing?”
Nick’s gaze flicked across the table to Silas, who looked amused and curious. He dipped his head as if to say, “Go ahead.”
“No. I mean, yes, I am pissed about the mushrooms. But he’sthe one,” Nick growled. He hadn’t told anyone the name of the professor who’d sent him the email all those years ago about failing his class. He’d felt so incredibly stupid. After being told he was stupid and a failure all his life, he had actuallyfailed.
