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Through the open door of his boss’s office, One-Mile heard Cutter’s crooning tone. He risked a glance at Logan Edgington. How quickly could he wrap up this pointless chat with his boss and eavesdrop on the douche who didn’t deserve his girlfriend? Because One-Mile hadn’t stopped thinking about Brea Bell in the last six days. He didn’t care if he had to fight dirty. He wasn’t giving up on her.
“Uh-oh. I don’t like your expression…” Logan grumbled.
One-Mile didn’t give a shit.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” his boss pressed.
“Gotta pee,” he lied.
“Wait—”
One-Mile didn’t. He dashed out the door to plaster himself against the wall, around the corner from where Bryant was having his low-voiced telephone conversation with Brea. Thank fuck that, despite a life spent around firearms, he still had superb hearing.
“You know your dad,” Cutter murmured. “He’s a perfectionist and he cares about the people of his congregation. Since he’s recovering from surgery and can’t handle his responsibilities without help, it makes him cranky. Besides, the doctors told you he might be irritable until they stabilized his meds.”
“I know. I don’t blame Daddy, just saying he’s being difficult,” Brea said on speakerphone. “I’ve been telling him for the past few years that he needs to rely on Tom more. He’s the associate pastor, after all. And I think the stress of trying to do everything himself is one of the reasons Daddy had a heart attack. But when I pointed all that out, along with the fact that Tom wouldn’t appreciate me taking over his duties, Daddy nearly blew a gasket.”
Cutter sighed, sounding slightly impatient. “He’s just not himself right now. It’s not fair of him to put you in such an awkward position or force you to juggle your own job and his, but he’s not being difficult on purpose. If it helps, I’ll make a few phone calls, see if I can get the church van fixed before you need to pick everyone up for Sunday services. Will that free you up to run over to the Rutherfords’ house this evening and pray with them? Shame about their son’s overdose.”
“Just awful. Aidan was only sixteen.” Compassion filled her voice, along with real tears. “If you could find someone to fix the van, that would definitely give me more time to spend with those poor people. But I’m not stepping on Tom’s toes. He’s coming with me.”
“I think he should. Stephanie Rutherford must be devastated.”
Brea sniffled. “She loved Aidan so much. I want to give her and her husband all the comfort and fellowship I can.”
Despite how frazzled and stretched thin Brea was, she was still worried about everyone else. She had such a big, beautiful heart. One-Mile ached for a chunk of it.
“Where’s the van now?” Cutter asked.
“At the church, ’round back. Keys are in the glovebox. If you find a mechanic, can you leave me the bill in Daddy’s office? I’ll pick it up tonight after I drop Tom off.”
“Sure thing. Just take a deep breath, Bre-bee. This will pass.”
“Thanks. I know you’re right. Hey, my three-thirty client just walked in. It’s a cut and color, so I won’t be able to answer for a bit if you have an update.”
“Got it.”
Cutter hung up. The SOB ended the call without a single romantic word. Hell, without even saying goodbye. No wonder Brea wasn’t excited about their sex life. Hard to be thrilled about a cheating, dismissive asshat…
When he heard Cutter sigh and start across the tile floor, One-Mile peeled away from the wall and turned to head down the hall—only to find Logan right behind him.
His eavesdropping boss hustled them into his office and speared him with a vivid blue stare. “So it really is like that, huh? Damn it. Shut the door.”
One-Mile hesitated, then complied. “Like what?”
“Dude, everyone saw how you looked at Brea during the party. You get that she’s Cutter’s, right?”
One-Mile shrugged. “He’s wrong for her. And if he can’t treat her well enough to hold on to her, that’s his problem.”
“You’ve got some giant balls. How serious are you about her?”
His feelings didn’t much matter until he could figure out how invested she was in Cutter.
When Brea had delivered the cookies to his house last week, she hadn’t withheld her consent because she wasn’t feeling him. One-Mile knew that. Hell, her amber eyes had darkened with desire every time he even came close. His guess? She’d hesitated because of the Boy Scout. Did she think she was in love with Cutter?
“Serious enough to fight for her.”
Logan sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say that. Your shit can’t affect the team.”
“I won’t bring it to work if Bryant doesn’t. But there’s already no love lost between us.”
“Yeah, you really pissed him off during that first mission in Mexico.”
“He wasn’t listening, and I didn’t have the patience to stand around while he dithered and flapped his jaws. The fact that I was right and he hasn’t gotten over it isn’t my problem.”
