Page 78 of Don't Leave Me Behind
“Do you really think he’d hire me, though?” Pepper looks down at her apparel. It’s true, Pepper isn’t the most grown-up adult I know, but she loves teaching, and she’s great with kids. And selfishly, I want at least one of my best friends nearby. I miss them.
“I mean, would it hurt to try? Worst case, you come spend some time with me here until you findsomething to do. Best case, he gives you a trial for the summer and decides to hire you forever.”
Pepper snorts. “Gosh, hopefully not forever, but at least for the summer would be nice. I still have the tiki bar job, but it’s not going to pay my bills.”
“I hate you both.” Miya squints her eyes at us, then down at her work phone. “Shit, gotta go.”
She disappears from the screen before we even get a chance to say goodbye. “Damn,” Pepper whistles. “I would really hate her job.”
“I know, right?”
Chapter 24
Are Girls into That?
Clay
“I’m not answering that!”Ethan’s snapping at Mercer when I walk into the Sheriff’s office.
“He said to direct any questions to his lawyer. Last I checked,you’rehis lawyer.”
“He also said you can go see him yourself, or you can wait for Sunday and ask him then.”
“But you’re right here with all the juicy details.”
“I don’t have time for this, Merc, go see Brooks.”
Ethan bumps the side of his fist with mine as he walks by, then makes his way out of our office, heading toward his.
“I don’t know how to change a diaper,” Mercer whisper-shouts after his brother.
I chuckle, throwing my fist up to bump into his before settling down in a chair across from his desk. It’s pretty rare that we sit in here. Mercer is almost always on a call or an investigation, or bothering the other deputies in the deputy room instead of sitting in here. Solitary creature, Mercer is not. It’s a wonder he hasn’t found himself someone to settle down with yet.
“You could probably look it up online,” I offer, taking a sip of my coffee, trying not to grimace. Patsy must have made the coffee today. This shit is hearty enough to put some chest hair on a grown man. I don’t know how she drinks the stuff. Mercer gives me a knowing smile before reaching beneath his desk and pulling out coffee creamer. The same kind I picked up for Leni on Friday.
“Just trust me,” he nudges it towards me.
I pour a healthy amount into my mug, watching as the pitch-black coffee turns into something much less manly. I try a sip and give him a nod because damn, that is so much more palatable.
“I swear,” he lowers his voice, like Patsy might be lurking around a corner listening to him. “If she put any more coffee in that filter, we’d be chewing it instead of drinking it.”
That pulls a laugh out of me, one I’m only starting to get used to hearing again.
“I don’t know who you’re sleeping with, but I’m glad you’re happy, Clay. I missed this.”
“Me too.” I try not to cringe. An epic amount of guilt weighs me down as I think about how hurt he’s going to be when he finds out I’m sleeping with Leni behind his back. Don’t get me wrong, he’ll be thrilled we’re finally together, but he will not be happy that we kept it from him. Even if it is fresh, Mercer is the kind of friend who expects an update about a date the moment you finish kissing her goodnight.
“Seriously?” He throws his hands up in frustration. “You’re not going to tell me who it is?”
“It’s still new,” I lie. It was new ten years ago. Now it’s official. Or it should be. Shit, I’m not even sure what to call her. I never even asked her if she wanted to date me. I sort of bit her like an animal and called her mine. Fuck, are girls into that? She seemed into it.
“So?”
“So, we agreed we were going to wait a little bit before we talked to other people about it.”
“Clay, brother, I can count on both hands the number of single women our age in town. Most of them have fucked either me or one of our brothers, so please, for the love of God, tell me who it is.”
“Sorry, man.”
