“You know what?”
“What?” he said through a sigh, bringing the bottle back to his lips.
I felt my smile grow as my eyes found a crow, and I watched it flying through the sky without a care in the world.
“I fucking love you, Slater Portman.”
“Kiss my ass, Drew Tucker.”
The moment I heard his barely-there huff of laughter, I knew he’d thawed.
I was grateful, too. I was nothing without my fellow Hounds.
Chapter Twenty-Two
AYDA
You’d think that after a situation like the one Sloane found herself in, life would turn into utter chaos but that wasn’t the case. With her attacker unidentified and Sloane acting as though nothing had happened, taking action became impossible. Tate hadn’t taken the news about Sloane well when he’d come home with Libby, and so he, Libby, and Rubin—his best friend for as long as I could remember—drove to the cheer meet in Abilene with Sloane and Ana, the cheerleading captain. Ana seemed bemused when they pulled up outside The Hut that Sunday morning in her mom’s mini van. Considering Howard Sutton hadn’t been completely on board with Sloane even going to the meet after the attack, the other three going seemed like a compromise that satisfied everyone.
Everyone but Kenny.
I’d made my escape from The Hut almost the same time they’d pulled out the gates, choosing to spend another morning with Drew in the gym, training. After that, I went to Harry in the pawnshop before finally taking a ride out with Deeks to visit Autumn and thank her for her help with Sloane. Spending time at their home always made me happy, and the horses were an added treat that I mostly kept to myself. Ridingalways helped me clear my head, much in the same way riding his bike cleared Drew’s.
Autumn wasn’t convinced that the situation with Sloane was over any more than I was, but she promised she would come back to The Hut whenever we needed her. Much to Deeks’ pleasure, she even agreed to share his room with him for a couple of weeks so she was available more permanently. Before I’d left their home, I’d told her I would call her if I thought her presence—and discomfort in staying with Deeks at The Hut—was warranted, but with Sloane going on about her business as usual, I didn’t want to play that card before it was absolutely necessary.
There was a collective sigh of relief when the small group returned from the cheer competition, all of them in high spirits as the Babylon Bulldog’s cheerleading squad had walked away with the regional championship. Sloane was riding a high that felt slightly maniacal, but one look at Drew and then Tate, and I knew I had to let my concern go and hope that if something did snap, she would come to us for help. Trying to keep a grip on everything was like juggling. You had to keep all of these balls in the air to convince her that she was not just in control, but we were allowing her to call the shots. She didn’t need to know Moose was tailing her from a distance, because from the discussions between Tate and Rubin, they had her covered within the school grounds.
I was almost grateful for my shift at Rusty’s on Monday afternoon. There was no weird feeling of being watched, the regulars were in their normal booths and tables, and Rusty was in his normal pissy mood as he slung the grease around his griddle. This was something Sam and I had agreed on as he threw toast at the wall when it was brought back with thecomplaint of being under toasted. The new offering went back to the table resembling charcoal while Rusty stared out of the window glaring at the woman and daring her to send the toast back again. Poor Sam found it impossible to keep a straight face as she spoke quietly with the woman who had squared her shoulders indignantly. She met me at the counter, filling another order for her other table, her lips curled in humor.
“Five bucks says she will cry,” Sam whispered as we both worked to make desserts for our tables.
“Toast lady?” I asked, squeezing caramel sauce over the sundae I was making.
“Yep. She asked to speak to the manager.”
I winced, my glance flicking over my shoulder and back to Sam. Normally Janette handled the complaints from customers. She and Rusty owned the place, but he was not a people person. Janette not being at work was rare, but this was her monthly hair/gossip appointment, which meant that all complaints went to Rusty himself—something that never ended well in my experience.
“I can’t take that bet. I may as well give you the five now.”
The slap of the swinging kitchen door dragged our eyes to the sight of Rusty wiping his hands on a dish towel as he strolled through the tables to where the haughty little woman sat, dabbing the corners of her mouth with the paper napkin she’d just picked up from her lap
“What seems to be the problem,ma’am,” he said in his usual gruff tone that left no room for argument.
“You’re the manager?” Her response dripped with incredulity.
Sam and I moved away from the stations we’d beenworking at to deliver the desserts to the customers whose eyes had now strayed to the altercation. Thankfully, most of them were regulars and just seemed amused at the exchange. Once my service was complete, I moved toward the counter, my attention fully on Rusty and the older, wealthy woman who seemed completely out of place in the diner.
“I own the damn place, lady.”
“I see. That explains everything, doesn’t it?”
“Does it?” Rusty raised his eyebrows in challenge and caught my eye with a look that said,check this broad out.
I tried to hide my laugh as I turned to grab the coffee pot to do refills, but lost my train of thought as I almost tripped over Sloane who was standing still, her normally honey-toned skin washed out and pale, and one arm reached out to me in a bid to get my attention.
I slapped my hand against my chest in surprise, a half laugh and gasp falling from my lips with the acknowledgment.
“Sloane?”
