Page 45 of Midnight Creed

“You have Jason’s phone number?”

“Yah, but I don’t bother him. Sometimes I just text and say, ‘Hey.’”

She didn’t remember the two of them exchanging phone numbers. What else had she missed? She noticed Will’s cell phone now on the counter alongside his sketch pad. Only recently and without consulting Taylor, Dora had bought him the latest, most expensive model.

“It’s Saturday, Will. He probably already has plans.”

“You think he’s at the ball?”

“The ball?”

“Yeah, the big shindigger.”

Shindig. She tried not to laugh. He must have heard his grandmother use the word.

“Nanna said everybody whose anybody will be there.”

Taylor almost told him, “no,” that of course Jason wouldn’t go to a fundraising ball without her. But suddenly she wondered. Would he? They never agreed they were dating each other exclusively. Though not doing so was more her guardrails than Jason’s. She knew when a man was crazy about her. Deep down, she knew that even her jealousy of Brodie was misguided. Or was it? Now she wanted to know as much as Will did.

“You can text him and ask,” she said, “but tell him you know it’s late and tell him you understand...”

But his small fingers were already flying over the phone’s keypad, not waiting for the rest of her instructions.

“Don’t be disappointed, okay?” she warned.

She went back to her dinner preparations, but kept sneaking a glance. Will stared at the phone’s screen. Waiting.

The last conversation—a text message conversation—that Taylor had with Jason did not end well. Actually, last night she hadn’t been very nice about him choosing poker with his buddies—and Brodie—instead of joining her and Will at Walter’s Canteen. Would he think she was using her son to guilt him into coming over for dessert tonight?

The phone pinged, and she watched Will’s excited expression slide from his face.

“Sorry buddy,” Will read the message. “Have to do chores and watch the kennel. Everybody’s gone tonight.”

Will looked up at her. “Probably at the ball.” And he shrugged again, but this time it wasn’t one of his “no big deal” shrugs.

There was another ping.

Will read the message, “How about lunch tomorrow? At Walter’s?”

He was grinning when he asked her, “Can we?”

Like it or not, her son was getting attached to a man she most likely considered a nice distraction. And his grandmother considered a problem. Maybe a big enough problem to be a deal-breaker.

But Will was excited and smiling and waiting.

She hoped she wouldn’t be sorry, but she told him, “Sure.”

31

Florida Panhandle

Brodie filled the last of the dog bowls. The dogs were scattered around the kennel’s feeding area. They were in their places, some needing a gentle reminder of where exactly that was. A few others were cordoned off separately. All were waiting and watching and drooling.

“Sorry,” Jason said, finally coming around the counter to help. He slipped his cell phone into his back pocket and started gathering bowls to distribute.

“Everything okay?” she asked, wondering if Hannah or Creed had forgotten some instructions. Both of them had been so preoccupied with getting to the big event on time.

Ryder knew she didn’t carry her own cell phone around. It was a sore spot between them. He’d say things like, “I just want you to be safe,” but Brodie had yet to see an instance where a cell phone saved anyone. It certainly hadn’t helped Ryder while he was stranded in that Nebraska blizzard.