The Birthday List(58)

So we just visited about nothing as the rest of the students shuffled out of the dojo. With the last of them gone, Dad and I followed Robert outside.

“Where do you guys want to go?” I dumped my bag into the back of my truck just as I caught a flash of red out of the corner of my eye.

I know that red.

I did a double take just as Poppy disappeared into the apartment building across the street. “What the hell?”

What was she doing in a low-income apartment complex? I’d made two busts with the drug task force in that complex and it was on Bozeman PD’s regular watch list. My Poppy had no business being in that building. It was unsafe and the last place I wanted her wandering around on a Monday night.

“Cole. Earth to Cole.” Dad smacked my arm.

“Sorry. I’ll, uh . . .” I waved him off and started jogging across the parking lot. “I’ll catch up to you later!”

I heard them yell something back but I didn’t turn. I just picked up the pace, hoping I’d catch Poppy before she vanished into an apartment.

I ran across the street and straight to the glass door she’d used, ripping it open, then listening for her voice.

“This is it.” A man’s voice came from the second floor. “Like I told you on the phone. Six hundred a month plus utilities.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Can I look around?”

Was she looking to live here? Oh, fuck no. I took the stairs two at a time, hitting the second-floor landing just in time to see her walk through the doorway of an apartment.

“Poppy.”

She spun around at my voice. “Cole? What are you doing here?”

I crossed the landing, taking her elbow and pulling her toward the stairs and away from the door. “Let’s go.”

“But—”

“Hey, don’t you want to see the apartment?” the guy called from inside the unit.

“No,” I answered for her, still pulling her to the stairs. When we reached the top step, I let go of her elbow and slid my hand down her arm to take her hand.

“Cole,” she hissed, tugging her hand free. “What are you doing? I wanted to look at that place and tonight’s the only night I have off this week.”

I frowned and grabbed her hand again, this time with a firmer grip. “I’ll save you the time. You’re not looking at that apartment.”

She grumbled something but followed me down the stairs, stomping a bit until we were outside. Then she yanked her hand free again and fisted it on a hip. “What was that about? And what are you doing here?”

I pointed to the karate school across the street, where my truck was alone in the parking lot. “I was just leaving the dojo and saw you come in here. Since this building is definitely not safe, I came over to check on you.”

“Oh,” she muttered. “Why is this building not safe?” She looked around the three-building complex. “It looks nice.”

“Trust the cop on this one, okay? It might seem nice on the outside, but this is not a place you need to be hanging around.”

She stared at me for a long moment, debating whether or not to keep arguing, until she tossed her hands in the air. “Fine.”

“Why’re you looking for apartments?” I fell in step at her side as she started toward her car, parked a few paces down the street.

“I decided it’s time to move.”

“Oh-kay,” I drawled. I’d seen her twice for dinners this week and she hadn’t said a word about moving. “Why?”

She shrugged. “I just think it’s time.”

There was more behind her motives but I wasn’t going to push. Maybe it was too hard to live in that house, the one she’d shared with Jamie. Maybe all this work on his list really was helping her to let go. And if moving was what she needed to do, then I’d support her a hundred percent.

As long as it wasn’t into a criminal cesspool.

Or a shit hole.

Or something full of college students.

In fact, there weren’t many places I wanted her living. The only acceptable place that came to mind was my own house. There, she could use my kitchen to experiment with new recipes. She could stack her girly wheat beer next to my Bud Light in the fridge. She could share my bed.

But . . . slow. She needed slow.

So instead of moving her completely into my life like I wanted, I’d help her find a decent rental she could live in—for now.

“Is this the first place you’ve looked at?”

“You mean tried to look at?” She jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow.

I chuckled, fighting the urge to pull her in for a hug.

“No,” she sighed. “I’ve looked at two other places this week. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a decent rental in Bozeman? All of the good ones are already taken by college students and people moving to town. And since you just vetoed my best option, I’m back to square one.”

“Sorry.”

She smirked. “Liar.”

“You’re right. I’m not sorry. How about I make it up to you and help you scour the rental ads?”

“Riiight.” She narrowed her eyes as we stopped by her car. “You just want to go through my list and filter it down to those you deem acceptable.”