Page 35 of Refuge for Flora

“I really do like you too.”

“Good. So I’m probably going to be home every night this week, if you want to come down sometime and use my computer. If you’ll let me know you’re coming, I’ll fix us some dinner or something.”

It might not have been a date so to speak, but that sounded really good to Flora. “Oh! Yeah, okay. I’ll do that. Sounds good.”

“Great. So I guess I should probably… Oh, shit. There’s somebody with a light. Gotta go. Stay safe, babe.”

“You too! Bye!” The phone went dead, and Flora gasped. Jesus, she hoped he wasn’t in any kind of danger! Then it struck her.

He’d called her babe.

Oh, holy hell. Now what? She thought about him for a minute, about those intense, hazel eyes and that close-cropped, milk chocolate-colored hair. She usually liked men with facial hair, but Barrett was clean-shaven and, for him, it absolutely worked. Any kind of beard or scruff would cover up that strong, gorgeous jawline, and that would be a shame.

BarrettQuarles liked her. And he was a fine-looking man. Boy, she wished Darryl could see that!

And at the same time, she was extremely thankful that he couldn’t.

* * *

His mom would bethe wrong choice. She meant well, but she’d have a coronary. No, his dad would be the better choice. But the best? Definitely Rochelle. His little sister had made some very good judgment calls over the years. Just as he started to hit her contact, he thought of someone else entirely, and flipped down to find their contact instead.

The voice on the other end answered with, “Don’t tell me. You just finished arresting some poor guy for shooing pigeons off his back deck. Am I right?”

“Well, I would. If it was illegal. Which it isn’t. I’d just find something else to arrest him for to make it worth my time.” He heard his friend snicker. “What’s going on in your world?”

“Well, ummm, let me see… Annalise has a boyfriend.”

“Nuh-uh! How does Daddy feel aboutthat?”

“Not too good. Not too good at all. Landee thinks it’s just the cutest thing in the world, them walking along and holding hands. I’m like, ‘Yeah, right now they’re holding hands, but in a few years, he’ll be holding a box of condoms.’ And she’s like, ‘You’re being ridiculous. They’re eight.’ I don’t think I’m being ridiculous. Do you think I’m being ridiculous?”

“I think you’re being a little bit ridiculous.”

“Oh, is that right? Way to back a brother up, Barrett.”

Barrett was laughing aloud. “Hey! You asked my opinion, and I gave it!”

“It’s supposed to match mine!”

“Sorry. I didn’t see that in the ZyanMartin friendship rules book.”

“Well, it’s in there. You need to read that thing again. But this isnotwhy you called me. So why did you call me?”

“Because I need to run something past somebody who won’t bust my balls over it.”

Zyan snickered. “Yeah, I don’t do that. That’s my wife. And the balls are mine.”

“Are you talking about me again?” Barrett heard a female voice call from somewhere in the background on the other end of the phone.

“Me? Oh, baby, no. I would never do that.”

“Liar. Who are you talking to?”

“Barrett.”

“Oh, hell. I’m sure you’ve got a lot of things to say about me between the two of you. Just make sure only fifty percent of them are lies and I’ll try to live up to them.”

“Fair enough. So,” Zyan asked with a sigh, “what’s this about?”