Hosed (Happy Cat #1)(53)
If I’m going to get to the factory in ten minutes, I’ll have to hurry. There isn’t time to run home and change.
Shit. I picked up a nail in my car tire yesterday and haven’t fixed the flat yet. I’ll have to ride my bike. Even pedaling at top speed and taking the shortcut, I’ll be cutting it close.
But it’s fine. I’ll just ride in quietly in my black clothes, figure out who this asshole is, and get home as fast as possible.
If I’m lucky, I’ll be back in bed before Ryan, with the Sunshine Toys disaster handled and the future looking nothing but bright.
But as I pump hard through the eerie quiet of early morning, the sun still so low the sky is the color of an ugly bruise, every cell in my body screams that I’m making a mistake.
A scary, potentially profound mistake.
Twenty-Six
Ryan
* * *
Jessie’s waiting for me in front of the donut shop, her hands tucked into the pockets of her HCFD windbreaker, a nod to the breezy morning. It’s cool now, but in another hour or two, once the summer sun peeks over the horizon, it’s going to warm up fast. I make a mental note to turn the air conditioning on before I crawl back in bed with Cassie.
Because I will be getting back in bed with Cassie.
Whatever Jessie has to share with me, it’s not going to change my mind about a future with the woman I love.
“Step around back for a second?” Jessie nods toward the alley between Dough on the Square Donuts and the mortuary next door.
I smile. “Going full cloak and dagger?”
Jessie doesn’t smile back. “Just don’t want to risk anyone else getting an earful of this. I probably shouldn’t be sharing it with you, but…” She shrugs, but I have no trouble filling in the mental blanks.
I’m like a kid brother to her. Jessie was on the team that pulled me out of the fire that almost claimed my life via a massive case of smoke inhalation and has had a soft spot for me ever since. She’s my boss, yes, but she’s also my mentor and friend. She’s also a rule-follower, and the fact that she’s willing to bend the rules for this makes my stomach clench as I nod and follow her around to the side of the building.
“Sometimes this feels like a warning I’m choosing to ignore.” She motions to the ramp leading up to the mortuary’s side entrance mere feet from the bakery. “The consequences of donuts and all.”
I grunt in agreement. “Yeah, I think I’ll skip the cruller today.”
“You’re a better man than I am. Life’s too short to skip the jelly donut. Especially if it’s raspberry jelly.”
I cross my arms, studying Jessie’s face in the glow of the streetlight spilling into the alley. “Life’s too short not to be loyal to the people you care about too. I feel like a traitor being here.”
“I know. I’m sorry about that. But…” She pulls her phone from her pocket and swipes, punching in the code to unlock the screen. “Have a listen for yourself.”
She taps a voice memo and a familiar voice crackles through the air. It’s not a great connection on the recording, but I know it’s Cassie the second she says, “You’re going to be okay. Better than okay. You’re going to come out the other side of this stronger than ever. No doubt in my mind.”
The person on the other end of the line sobs and Cassie makes a soft, clucking sound of sympathy. When she speaks again, her words are thick with emotion. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I hate that he hurt you. I want to fly down there right now, wrap my hands around his lying, cheating, sheep-abusing neck and strangle him.”
“It is sheep abuse,” Savannah wails. “He said they were in love, but a sheep doesn’t have feelings. Not like that. A sheep can’t choose, Cassie. A sheep is just a sheep!”
“I know, I know.” Cassie growls. “Argh. That creep should be in jail.”
Savannah’s next sob ends in a bitter laugh. “Yeah, right. Steve’s still a pillar of the community. No one wants to believe it. I’m the deviant who owns a sex toy factory. A sucky sex toy factory that’s probably going to be out of business by the end of the year.”
“That’s not true,” Cassie says. “Things are going well, you said so yourself just last week.”
“Not well enough and I’m too tired to fix it now. I’ve lost my will to care about orgasms. I hate orgasms. I hate sex. And I hate sheep. And I hate half the people in this town for loving Steve so much. They don’t even believe me. I hate everything.”
Cassie makes hushing noises for a long beat and Jessie and I exchange uncomfortable looks. It feels wrong to be eavesdropping on a private conversation, but I’m assuming we’re getting close to the allegedly incriminating part, a hunch confirmed with Savannah sobs, “I just want to run away, Cass. Torch my life, run away, and let it burn.”
I frown. If this is the evidence, they’re reaching hard for it. Savannah’s clearly talking figuratively, not literally. I’m about to say as much when Cassie’s voice pipes up again.
“And if it comes to that, I’ll help you, okay? But let me come down there and fill in for you first. You can take a trip, and I’ll mind the factory while you’re gone. That way you can take time to heal before you decide what you really want to do.”