Page 87

“What the hell?” Ruby walks over and closes the door. “I was talking about Hunter. What the heck are you talking about?”

“Oh!” I step back, trying to recover. “I… um… I think Hunter might be on the road to a breakthrough. He seems to be circling the reason he can’t trust people. He feels like an outsider. Like Richard Nixon.”

“That’s great. I’ll add it to my files. Now let’s get back to the strange night and possibly dreaming.”

My arms are crossed, and I rub my palms up and down to ward off the sudden chill. “Gray spent the night with me last night.”

Her eyes go wide. “At your house? Was your dad there?”

“We were in the pool house.”

She nods, grinning. “Yeah, you were. It’s about time you

got some action.” Her demeanor changes when I don’t smile. “Why are you upset?”

“He left in the night without a word.”

“So? I mean, he probably had to get to work or something. And you know how your neighbors are. It’s probably all over town by now.”

“Maybe…” Shaking my head, I try to push away my fears. “I’m probably just getting used to him being back is all. Every time he goes away, I feel like I might not see him again.”

She walks over and puts her arms around me, and for a moment, we stand in the center of the room sharing a hug. “Totally understandable, my friend. But he’s your white stallion. You’re his little Pekingese.”

My eyes narrow, and I push out of her arms. “Thanks.”

“What? Those are the cutest little dogs ever!”

“They look like walking mops.” I go to the door. “I’ve got to take the Jag in now.”

“See? He’s being so dependable, working toward a goal.”

“That makes two of us.” I’m out the door to her cat calling behind me.

Chapter 24

Gray

The rusted spark plug won’t move. I rock it back and forth gently, letting the penetrating oil Billy poured yesterday seep into the grooves. I’m focused, doing my best not to break them, doing my best not to let my thoughts go in a loop.

My dream from last night keeps resurfacing in my mind. I keep seeing the eyes of that guy, the hate sparkling in them. I see that gun pointing right in my face, and I feel the terror of knowing Drew is asleep behind me, vulnerable, next.

Jesus. I focus on my task.

The dream wasn’t real.

“Yeah, I couldn’t get it off last night either.”

“Shit!” I toss the wrench at the sound of Billy’s voice. My heart is racing, and a bead of sweat rolls down my cheek. It’s not even hot in here.

“Hey, sorry!” He holds both hands up like I pulled a gun. “I thought you heard me come in.”

“Don’t sneak up on me like that.” I step back, using the shop towel to dry the sweat off my neck. Then I walk over to pick up the socket wrench.

Billy slides his current whittling project in the pocket of his blue jeans and pulls the heavy work shirt over his shoulders. It still has my name on the pocket.

“I should update that for you.” I point to the patch. “If you’re planning to stick around a while.”

“No way, man. It’s my good luck charm.” He reaches up and twisting the spark plug I’d been working on. “It’s like I’m here at the bottom now, but one day I could own the place.”