Fuck.
I slump down onto the floor, elbows on my knees and head in my hands as I scrub my fingers through my hair. “Damn it, Law.”
“You’re coming?”
“Doesn’t seem like I have much choice, does it? Pretty sure there’s no getting you out of this house unless it’s with everything I own and my damn cow. You don’t play fair.”
“Never said I would,” he mutters.
I shake my head. Lawson is one of the most levelheaded people I know. But when he gets set on something, there’s very little that can be done to change his course.
His hand lands on my calf, squeezing once. “I am sorry about Stevie.”
I lift my head. “Are you?”
“I’m sorry they hurt you, Oak. You have to know that.”
“But you’re not sorry they’re gone.”
Lawson has never outright said he doesn’t like Stevie. But there was always an undercurrent between them I couldn’t parse out. Lawson gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, but he was never warm with my partner. And Stevie, well…they certainly didn’t care for Lawson, either.
My friend chews his words for a moment. “They weren’t good for you.”
“That so?” I nearly huff, wondering why he’s only saying so now. “Why don’t you tell me how you really feel, Law?”
Despite my teasing tone, Lawson answers seriously. “They never treated you the way you deserve.”
My heart thumps. “And what do I deserve?”
Warm brown eyes hold mine, and I wait for the blow to my chest I know is coming. It does, a second later, with one concise word.
“Everything.”
Chapter 3
Lawson
Oakley tosses kitchen utensils into a box, looking a thousand miles from here. “You realize I have to leave for work soon, right?”
“You need to go?”
He raises an eyebrow. “I’m not gonna quit over the phone.”
“Fair enough.”
He shakes his head, closing the box that’s now full. “Can’t believe I’m doing this. Actually, I can’t believeyou, Mr. Dependable, are encouraging me to do this.”
“It’s time,” I tell him.
He huffs. “So you say.”
Oakley steps over Bell to set the box near the front door, his cow curled up in a sun spot like a cat. Her eyes are closed, head tipped toward the rays.
“Wendy will be excited to have her back,” I note, stuffing a few throw pillows and blankets into another box Oakley had on hand from his move here. “She’s missed Bell.”
“She can have her then,” he mumbles.
“You don’t hate Bell.”
