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“Yes.”
“That doesn’t keep her from getting hurt though.”
“No. And honestly, having a protection order doesn’t guarantee that either.”
“What can I do?”
Asha eyes me, his gaze searching. “What do you want to do?”
“Bury the fucker six feet under.”
With a smile, my friend reminds me what he does for a living. “Might be best not to say that to a police officer.”
Smiling in return, I tip my beer bottle in his direction. “Figure of speech, man, figure of speech.”
“I’m sure it is.” He glances down. “And I’m not in uniform so this is just two friends shooting the shit at a bar.”
“Yep. Exactly.” I bring my beer to my mouth and down the last swallow before putting the bottle on the table. “All right. I’m heading out. Got dinner with Felix and Riley. Glad we could find the time to catch up.”
“Me too.” He lifts his own beer. “We need to make this happen more often.”
“We will. After winter. Gonna get harder to come to town sooner than later.”
“You be careful on those roads.”
“Always.”
Leaving Asha in the bar, I head through the Lodge toward the front doors only to stop in my tracks when I spot Brooke near the reception desk talking to Camden Newell, the Lodge’s GM.
Excitement fizzes in my veins. Is she applying for a job here?
I had a word with Della Parker last week, managed to convince her she should talk to Bess about getting Brooke to work closer to home. Especially with winter closing in on us. Della knew something was up but I didn’t reveal anything more about Brooke’s situation than what I witnessed in the hospital parking lot.
Luckily, Bess and Della are tight and she already knew about the ex pestering Brooke. Although I’m pretty sure neither woman has the full story. I’m not sure I have the full story, and I listened to every word she shared with Asha.
Moving over to the side, I watch Brooke and Camden shake hands before she leaves with a smile on her pretty face. Not wanting to look like a stalker, I count to sixty before following her out the front doors.
I don’t even have to pretend I’m not tailing her because she’s conveniently parked her car right next to my truck.
Grinning, I quicken my steps and I’m only a few feet away when I get her attention. “Hey, Brooke.” I wasn’t sure what I expected but it wasn’t the smile on her face or the enthusiastic hello.
“Granger! Hi! How are you?”
Before I can answer, she steps into my space and wraps her arms around me. One thing I’m not is an idiot, and I take full advantage of her embrace to pull her tighter.
“Good. How are you?” I say into her sweet-smelling hair.
“Oh.” She pulls back and even though I don’t want to let go, I know I have to. She bounces on her toes and says with excitement, “I just got offered a job here. No more driving into Curning every day.”
“That’s great.” The relief I feel almost buckles my knees, loosens my ribcage, and it takes everything in me not to pull her back into my arms. “When do you start?”
“I have to give notice at the hospital. So two weeks.”
“Any more trouble?” I know the answer, but I wonder if the incident Asha told me about is the only one, and if she’ll tell me about it or any others.
“Yeah. A little. But I’m fine. And a report was made. Also, I think the head of security got reprimanded or something because he came to see me yesterday to personally tell me he would be moving my ex’s shifts so they don’t overlap with mine.”
“About time.”
