“Oh, I’ll give you a little man,” Smith growled and took a step in his direction.
Erin stopped him by putting a hand to his chest. She stared between them. “Wow. You guys really do look alike. I’m so glad you came,” she said to Cash. “Tilly means a lot to me and Smith.”
“We were on the job when he got the call. But the asshole left too quick for me to catch up. We both got stuck in traffic, but I picked him up from the accident and—”
“Accident?” Erin turned and looked Smith over, running her hands over him. “Are you okay? What happened?”
He felt both embarrassed and thrilled that she fussed. “I’m fine.” He ignored Cash’s amusement. “Some drunk hit my car, or I’d have been here sooner. Sorry for that.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay.” She drew him down for a kiss he was happy to give her. “Let’s go get something to eat, and I’ll tell you what happened.”
In the cafeteria, the three of them sat and ate a late lunch.
“I was bringing Tilly her supper for later, but she wasn’t home. And I remembered I had laundry to do. But after I threw my load in, I saw her cane by the bathroom door. She’d fallen and hurt herself in the bathroom but couldn’t move on her own to get help. That’s when I texted you for the keys.”
“Damn. Good thing you were there,” Cash said.
“Yes.” She shivered, and Smith put his arm around her, not liking how sad and tired she looked.
“So, what’s Tilly’s deal?” Smith asked.
“The doctor took her for X-Rays, but I haven’t heard back if her hip’s broken or just bruised. Her pain isn’t so bad, according to Tilly. Then again, she didn’t want to be here, so she could be covering up how much it hurts. The good news is she seems in good health except for the hip.”
“I want to talk to her.”
“You should. She’ll listen to you.” Erin gripped his hand on the table.
He finished off his burger but refused to let her go. And he knew Cash saw it, though the guy made no mention of it.
They made small talk about work when Erin asked them about it. And they even got her to laugh a little. When she excused herself to use the restroom, Smith waited for the comments.
Cash just looked at him.
“What?”
Cash shrugged. “Erin seems nice.”
“She is.”
“And this Tilly. She’s your landlady, but you seem to be friends with her too.”
“So what?” Smith felt as if Cash were trying to corner him into admitting something.
“So, when you got that call, your face turned white, and you ran like a motherfucker for your truck. I knew something bad had happened. I didn’t know what.”
“Your point?”
Cash gave an awkward shrug. “I don’t know. I’m just curious about the old lady, I guess. How long have you known her?”
It felt weird to talk about Tilly with Cash, though Smith didn’t know why. “Look, she gives me a heck of a deal on my rent, and I do repairs around the building. It’s no big deal.”
“She means something to you.”
“So?”
“Nothing. I just… that’s cool. I’m sorry she got hurt is all.”
“Okay.” They watched each other warily.
