Page 121 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
The last of the admin work had been sitting in my inbox for the past two days, which Jane had pointed out with increasing urgency each time I saw her until I’d run out of reasons to defer it. I worked through it methodically—approvals, sign-offs, the particular tedium of paperwork that I couldn’t escape. My phone rang as I shut my laptop, happy to finally be done.
Delaney.
The name on the screen warmed me all over. It was a little later than I’d planned to leave for the shelter, but after the way things had ended yesterday—and the steady stream of texts between us all day—I was more than ready to see her again.
I answered immediately. “Hey.”
“Hi. Have you left yet?” Her voice was strained. Off.
Every muscle in my body tightened at the thought something was wrong. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. No. My stupid car won’t start.”
Relief and concern hit at the same time. Not hurt, then. Just life being annoying. “I’ll meet you at your place in ten minutes,” I said, already standing. “I’ll call my cousin Adam on the way. Either he or one of his guys can send the tow truck. Are you parked behind the building?”
“Yeah.” She paused, exhaling. “Thank you. I know it’s small, but today was one problem after another, and I really didn’t want to have to deal with one more thing alone.”
Being able to solve something for her—even something small—felt disproportionately satisfying. “I’ll always be there for you, Delaney. ” I grabbed my coat. “Leave the key under the driver’s side mat if you can.”
“I’ll do it right now. I have to run up to my apartment anyway. Meet me there?”
“Okay. See you in a few.”
I hung up, locked the office, and headed out into the cooling evening spring air. On the walk to my SUV, I called my cousin.
He answered on the second ring. “Ruby River Repair.”
“Just the guy I needed to talk to.”
“Hey, Marc. What’s up?”
“Delaney’s car won’t start. It’s parked behind Sacred Serenity. Can you tow it to your shop and take a look?”
Adam didn’t answer right away. Instead, he started singing, “Another one bites the dust …”
“You’re an idiot.”
He laughed. “Do you realize both you and Drew have needed my help with your girls’ cars?”
“The situation isn’t the same.”
“It’s exactly the same. The only difference is you and Delaney have been pretending to hate each other for years.”
I backed out of the parking space and pulled onto Main Street.
“How was the date?” he asked.
I didn’t answer immediately.
“From your silence, I can’t tell if it was that good or that bad.” The shop noises hummed faintly through the speaker—tools clanging and an air compressor kicking on.
“Thatgood,” I finally admitted.
He let out a triumphant laugh.
“She—” I scrubbed a hand over the back of my neck. “Fuck. You all were right.”
“Well, now that you’ve accepted reality,” Adam said, his tone softened, “what’s the next step?”
