AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Wait, have you been looking for places we can share?” Devon shocks me with her question.
“What do you mean?” I ask, my voice as frantic as I suddenly feel.
Devon rolls her lips together in thought before responding, “I’m not sure how I missed that, Al, I’m sorry. You don’t need to find me an office.” I think through our recent conversations. Many of them have been filled exclusively with my complaining.Ick. But I never actuallysaidI was trying to find her an office. I figured we would still have a place together, since that was the plan for Station 19, and she must have figured the opposite. After giving me a minute to process, she continues, “It would have been incredible if we could have had a building together.” She leans forward, her voice a touch softer than usual. “But you’re not moving until August, and I need an office before then.”
Shit.
A slightly hysterical laugh bubbles out of me. I have been losing sleep over trying to find a perfect building for Devon and metotally unnecessarily.“Guess I should’ve asked you what you wanted, huh?” I ask, between bouts of laughter.
“Might have helped.” She nods, cracking a smile, light dancing in her deep blue eyes.
“It’s almost like I was making a bigger deal out of this than Ineeded to.”
“Maybe just a little,” Devon says, joining in my laughter.
The relief of knowing that Devon wasn’t counting on me to find her an office, so I’m not letting her down, is a minor salve to my stress.
“I can help you look if you like, research places, go with you to check them out,” she offers, meaning every word of it and knowing I’ll turn her down.
“Totally unnecessary.” I take a deep draw of my lime-flavored drink. “I’ve got this.”
I catch the slight shift in her eyes the moment she decides to spare me heryou’re not any less of a person if you accept helpspeech. “Yes, you do,” she says, warmth and confidence in me ringing in her voice.
Chapter 6
Luke
“It’s not fair that you’re the man of the house, but it’s true.”-Grandad Ernie, when nine-year-old Luke complained that none of his friends had to do yard work.
“That’s the last of it.” Cam collapses backward onto the cushions of the shop’s leather couch.
“Move over.” I push his shoulder to make room for me and lean back and relax, the work of setting up the shop finally done.
“This was not a very restful vacation,” he groans. Betty leans up against his leg and rubs his hand with her head until he gives in and pets her.
I fold an arm behind my head, looking over at him. “Was it supposed to be a vacation?”
“Yes! I’m in Palm Springs. I should be lying by a pool, or golfing, or enjoying the company of,” he covers Betty’s ears with his hands and lowers his voice, “a woman with only two legs and no tail.”
“Should’ve thought of that before you came out here in themiddle of my remodel.”
“I’ll make sure you have a lazy week planned before I come next time,” Cam says, and we both laugh because I’ve never had a lazy week.
“It means a lot that you made the time to come here and help. Thank you.”
Cam eyes me warily. “Fine, if we’re being emotional, I’m proud of you for making this happen for yourself. You deserve it after everything you’ve done for your mom and Skye.”
Not wanting to talk about my family, I look through the window for Allie. She’s leaning across the counter between two barstools, with one toe pointed on the ground and the other kicked behind her into the air, giving me a direct view of the soft, rounded ass she’s squeezed into tight jeans that gap at the waist.
“Are you listening to me?” Cam asks.
“No.”
He readjusts his position on the couch, so he’s blocking my view of Allie. “Skye and your mom are both doing great.”
“I wouldn’t say Mom is doing great.” I shake my head. “She keeps asking when I’m moving back to Ventura. I’ve only been gone a month.”
“You know I love your mom, but you don’t have to do everything for her.”
