Page 24

“I’m not grumpy,” Sloane growled.

“Yeah, that was convincing.”

Sloane pressed his lips together, refusing to take the bait. Trisha clicked her tongue but said nothing else as she returned her attention to her book. She at least could be trusted to leave him alone when he clearly didn’t want to be bothered. Simmons had nearly driven Sloane to commit murder the day before, and Sloane was glad he was able to get through a shift without the man around.

Annoyed, he snatched up his phone to recheck it despite no buzz or flashing light to signify a notification. Unsurprisingly, the screen was empty of messages, and he let out another low growl. It had been over four days since he and Dean’s blowout and since Dean had fled Sloane’s apartment. Four days of not a single word or appearance on Dean’s part, and Sloane didn’t know what to do. They had never had a huge fight before, and Sloane didn’t know what to do with a Dean who was both hurt and furious with him.

And then there was what Dean had said.

Trisha cleared her throat, jerking him out of his thoughts. His eyes snapped toward her, and the woman nodded toward the clock. It had slipped toward the end of his shift, with some time to spare, and he hadn’t noticed. Trisha wasn’t normally one to push him out the door, and Sloane took that as an indicator of how cranky he had been. It didn’t change his mood in the slightest. If anything, it added more surliness on top.

“See you tomorrow,” she said as he heaved himself out of his chair.

Not before he worked a few hours with Simmons first, a prospect he wasn’t looking forward to. The guy normally irritated him no more than most people, but lately, he’d grown even more aggravating. It had taken all Sloane’s willpower to stay relatively calm, reminding himself it wasn’t Simmons’ fault that he was in such a foul mood.

The mood seemed to emanate from him more than usual if the people he passed on the way back to his apartment were any indication. A few people who were friendly with him raised their hands in greeting, only for their arms to drop to their side as they averted their eyes. Sloane didn’t think he lookedthatgrumpy, but the continued avoidance of other people was both welcome and irritating.

Sloane had just slammed his apartment door closed when his phone started buzzing. Fumbling to pull the device out, he nearly dropped it in his haste. A flash of disappointment, followed by guilt, shot through him as he took in the picture of his mother on the caller ID. Sighing, he flopped onto the edge of a nearby seat, answering the phone and pressing it to his face before bending over to unlace his boots.

“What’s up?” Sloane asked.

His mother’s wry tone answered. “Oh, you sound like you’re in a lovely mood.”

“I always sound in a bad mood, something everyone likes to remind me of.”

“I don’t think you sound like that.”

“Except for right now.”

His mother chuckled. “I’m not the only one. Shawna told me you were ‘meaner than usual’ to her.”

Sloane kicked a boot off with a snort. “I wasn’t mean to her. I told her the truth.”

“With all the grace and tact we expect from you, I’m sure.”

“If she wanted that, she should’ve asked you for advice. I can’t help it if she repeatedly runs into the same problems with these boys. You’re living with her; you should know what she’s up to.”

“I also remember someone having a problem with a handful of girls at that age.”

“I didn’t go crying to everyone else about it.”

There was a pause before his mother spoke again, worry in her voice. “I don’t want to pry too much, Sloane, but this doesn’t sound like you. I know your sister tries your patience, but you’ve never spoken about her like this before.”

Sloane sighed heavily. “I know, I’m sorry. I know she’s not ‘crying’ about anything. I’m just being an ass.”

“Normally, that would have me making a joke, but this doesn’t sound like your normal bluntness.”

Sloane stood up, shifting the phone around as he yanked his top off. “I’m just...grumpy.”

His mother clicked her tongue. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Sloane.”

Hehatedit when she took that tone with him. There were very few people in the world capable of making him feel like he was being a stubborn ass just because he was keeping things to himself. Even fewer people could get away with it, including his mother and Dean.

“Mom,” Sloane warned, grinding his teeth.