“So, you’ve said.” She sighs, adding, “You could take a little break.”
“What? Break up?” I guess we’d have to be in a real relationship to break up.
“No. Take a short break—a week or so. But you need to talk to him about it. He’s a man. He won’t understand if you simply stop communicating with him. If you explain, I’m sure he’ll understand.” She looks off into space, then back at me. “Okay, on second thought, I’m not sure he’ll understand, but he’ll probably accept it.”
I nod and pick up my coffee cup. I went for the simple coffee with cream. Boring. “I could use a break just to get some work done. I need to make another necklace and the matching pieces in white gold.”
“So, use that reason. Tell him you need to concentrate on your work.”
“Yeah. That’s good. He’ll certainly relate to that, right?”
“Right.” Lauren nods.
“Okay, now tell me what the heck was going on with you and Gill yesterday.”
“What?” she squeaks. “Nothing. We, huh, I was just helping him while you were running away from your man.”
“Don’t try to change the subject. The guy was obviously smitten with you.”
“Smitten?” she snickers. “Nah, he’s just a nice guy. Ahotnice guy,” she adds under her breath.
“Yeah, he’s hot. Almost as hot as Sam.” I smirk.
“Just as hot, I’d say. It’s too bad I’m married,” she says sadly.
“Seriously?” What did that mean, “too bad” she’s married?
She shakes her head. “I’m teasing.”
But it didn’t sound like teasing. “Is there something going on with you and Blake?”
Lauren shrugs as she sips her coffee. “He’s just gone a lot. Work’s busy, I guess.”
I smile and nod. “I’m sure that’s it. The man relies on you for everything. I can’t imagine he’d be away from you on purpose.”
“I know. He can’t seem to function without me. He can’t cook or do his own laundry. He can’t clean a bathroom sink or mirror, and he expects me to pick up after him all the time.” She sighs. “It gets old. I wish he’d worry about me or do something for me for a change.”
“I had no idea it was that bad.”
She shrugs again and silently sips her coffee.
I can tell she wants to change the subject. No more talk of Blake. “Well, I’d better get home. Duty calls.”
We hug at the door of our favorite little coffee shop. I turn right, and she turns left, but I look back to watch her for a minute. Something’s definitely going on with her and Blake. I hope he starts pulling his weight. Lauren deserves better than that.Muchbetter.
I spendthe rest of the day working on a new bracelet. I decide to add some tiny gemstones to these designs rather than the small discs. I love how they look. By ten in the evening, I realize I haven’t eaten in hours and I’m starving. I check the fridge for Mama Mabel’s leftovers, but there are none. No surprise. That stuff is delicious. “Damn,” I mutter. Rummaging through my cupboards, I find a package of ramen. “Good enough.”
As the water boils, I look at my wall clock. It belonged to Grandma and Pops. It’s an old clock in the shape of a sunburst from the 1960s, but it still keeps perfect time. Most of my things belonged to Grandma and Pops. I close my eyes, remembering the missing medals. I hope and pray that Officer Sawyer finds them. I have a lot of Pops’s things around, but those are special. He nearly died for our country, and I want to keep that memory alive for my own family someday. I suppose I don’t technicallyneedthe medals to talk about him, but I want them. I want to keep as many of his things around me as I can.
A single tear runs down my cheek. I’ve held it together for two days, but now it all hits me—hard. Someone was in my place. Someone stole from me. Someone was watching me. The curious thing is it all started at the same time I began seeing Sam. Maybe it’s not me who this person is after; maybe it’s someone who has a thing for Sam. Interesting thought, but probably wrong. People don’t call men sluts. That’s usually reserved just for the ladies. Jerks.
I’d love to ask Sam about the case, about the medals, but he hasn’t called or texted all day and I’m not ready to initiate contact. He was obviously irritated about something this morning. I hope it wasn’t the fact that I drank all the coffee.Well, almost all the coffee. There was a little left. I’m just not used to sharing.
He might have been irritated about the coffee, but he acted like something spooked him. He dressed so fast, and he practically ran out the door. Hell, he left without one of his socks. I found it under the bed when I was looking for one of my slippers. When I found the sock, I called Lauren. I needed her insight. Meeting her for coffee helped calm my nerves and gave me the insight to see that things are moving too fast. When Sam calls, I’ll talk to him about a short break. I hope I have the courage to do it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
DOING THE RIGHT THING
