Sawyer stepped up. “Sheriff, we’ll do whatever it takes. If it were up to me, I’d have already dragged him off the road.”
“You and me both. But today is about Walker and Leo, and the fact that they are going to do their level best to avoid getting arrested again.”
Leo shrugged. “I make no promises.”
The Lost Boys shared a laugh, and I turned to Joel. “And we’re one hundred percent certain that the school district will reinstate Walker?” I asked, because if that wasn’t the case, none of this would matter.
Joel nodded. “Our lawyer talked to the union rep and the school district’s legal counsel, and they agreed. Dr. Gardner said she would love for Walker to return and that it would solve a lot of problems for her as well, because they hadn’t updated the class offerings, and dozens of kids had signed up for the shop class in protest.”
I didn’t know how Leo had managed to arrange that from a jail cell, but I was sure it was all his doing.
“All right, then, let’s make a deal.” Looking around, I still felt like I had a hole right in the middle of my guts. “Has anyone talked to Walker?”
Joel gripped my shoulder. “He’s not answering his phone.”
“That boy.” I shook my head. “I love him, but he is stubborn as hell.”
Something shifted in Joel’s face.
“What?”
“You love him?”
“Probably for the last year,” I said, shaking my head. “And he’s so bound and determined to blame himself for his parents’ actions. He feels like he’s the reason why this has all gone to shit, and of course he’s not. He makes everything better.”
Joel’s grin could be seen from three counties away. “Then go get your man. Tell him he’s got his job back.”
CHAPTER29
walker
“Walker! Open the damn door.”
“No,” I yelled back from my blanket burrito on the couch. “Leave me alone.”
“I will not! Augustus Walker Junior, you will open this door right now, or I will open it for you!”
“I’m a mess!”
That was true. I hadn’t bathed in a few days, and my apartment was not fit for public consumption.
“I don’t care!” Ozzie yelled back, jiggling the handle.
“I just replaced that whole assembly. Don’t break it.”
“Then open the door.”
Disgruntled, I wrapped my blanket around me and stood, swaying from hours of being in one place. Fuck, my knee hated me.
I limped over to the door and yanked it open. “What?” I practically shouted.
God, how did Ozzie get sexier every time I saw him? His eyes were dark with anger as he pushed past me into my living room.
Shaking his head, he gestured at the empty pizza boxes and dirty paper plates. “What is this mess in here? This is not you. Have you even taken a shower in the last three days?”
“No, but I’ve washed my pits, if that’s your concern.”
“No, my concern is that you’re gonna turn into a mummy if you stay wrapped up in that goddamn blanket. And weren’t you watching this series the last time I came by?”
