panicked.
“Ms. Lane. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to really upset you. I am off duty. We don’t need to do anything about the tree. We’ll just…fix it.” He looked at Jenna. “Right? We can fix it. Just, for crying out loud, not another freaking Officer Darby thing.”
“I don’t know, Max. Those are my most popular tweets. You have a following. The only thing I can promise is that if you stop being a mean jerk right now, there won’t be any hashtag backlash.”
Max was already nodding. “Fine, but Jenna, you don’t get to use this every time we disagree. She can’t go around breaking laws and get away with things just because she knows you.”
“Fine.” Jenna crossed her arms and glared at him.
He glared back.
I considered a quick escape that didn’t involve trying to use the oversize moving van as a getaway vehicle. These older streets were too narrow. I’d never make the first corner at high speed.
“Max? What the hell?”
Ben stood at the bottom of the stoop’s steps, hands raised to his sides as if to echo the question, glaring at Officer Darby.
“I was joking.”
“You’ve got one panicked and the other one looking like she’s going to murder you and hide the body somewhere only the most devious minds would find. And if you don’t think she could do it, you haven’t read her latest book.”
“I’m sorry.” Officer Darby sounded beyond exasperated, which would have be…Huh, what’s beyond exasperated?
Ben kept that steady look focused on Max and nodded his head in my direction.
Max took a step toward me, waving his hand around as if he didn’t know what to do with it. Then stepped back. “Ms. Lane…Kasey. I’m sorry. Let’s just leave it at that.”
I could tell he didn’t want to, that part of him really was annoyed that I’d done damage and was just going to get away with it. Except for the fact that now that I lived here, I’d probably be outside every morning checking on the tree’s healing process.
He glanced around, desperate to find something. Who knows what mental rope guys look to grab onto in situations like this.
But, as apologies went, it didn’t stink as much as it could have. Even with the fadeout.
“That’s okay.” I said, trying hard to mean it.
“Max, why don’t you go upstairs and carry down whatever box is the heaviest.” Ben glared at his friend until Max headed toward the front door, giving him a hard shove as he headed inside. “Max can be…”
Now that Ben had taken over the reprimand, Jenna was looking her perky self again. “Max is a great guy. Don’t worry. He won’t be a you-know-what again.”
It wasn’t so much the you-know-what’ness of his words. It was that this was just one more thing.
I was supposed to be embracing my newfound freedom, finding the way to build a better life for myself. This was my chance to grow on my own, to spread my wings. I felt like one of those stupid kids who didn’t know how to do her own laundry or make her bed at college because she’d never had to do anything on her own.
I was a decision-making virgin.
I’d let life and Jason pull me along until I felt like all my options were gone.
The idea that Officer Darby was there at every one of my failures for the last forty-eight hours, that he redirected each of my disasters, grated. Like cheap parmesan over an expensive, handmade pasta. And I still had to deal with today’s disaster.
“What about the tree?” Yeah, look at me taking charge.
Ben came around and looked at it, pressing the bark back into place.
“No real damage. You dinged it, but didn’t take off enough bark to hurt the tree in the long run. Why don’t you give me the keys and I’ll park the van while you guys bring the first load up?”
That was an offer I wasn’t going to refuse. Learning to make my own way in the world was one thing. Knowing when to let someone more capable do what I wanted done anyway was completely another.
I was
“Ms. Lane. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to really upset you. I am off duty. We don’t need to do anything about the tree. We’ll just…fix it.” He looked at Jenna. “Right? We can fix it. Just, for crying out loud, not another freaking Officer Darby thing.”
“I don’t know, Max. Those are my most popular tweets. You have a following. The only thing I can promise is that if you stop being a mean jerk right now, there won’t be any hashtag backlash.”
Max was already nodding. “Fine, but Jenna, you don’t get to use this every time we disagree. She can’t go around breaking laws and get away with things just because she knows you.”
“Fine.” Jenna crossed her arms and glared at him.
He glared back.
I considered a quick escape that didn’t involve trying to use the oversize moving van as a getaway vehicle. These older streets were too narrow. I’d never make the first corner at high speed.
“Max? What the hell?”
Ben stood at the bottom of the stoop’s steps, hands raised to his sides as if to echo the question, glaring at Officer Darby.
“I was joking.”
“You’ve got one panicked and the other one looking like she’s going to murder you and hide the body somewhere only the most devious minds would find. And if you don’t think she could do it, you haven’t read her latest book.”
“I’m sorry.” Officer Darby sounded beyond exasperated, which would have be…Huh, what’s beyond exasperated?
Ben kept that steady look focused on Max and nodded his head in my direction.
Max took a step toward me, waving his hand around as if he didn’t know what to do with it. Then stepped back. “Ms. Lane…Kasey. I’m sorry. Let’s just leave it at that.”
I could tell he didn’t want to, that part of him really was annoyed that I’d done damage and was just going to get away with it. Except for the fact that now that I lived here, I’d probably be outside every morning checking on the tree’s healing process.
He glanced around, desperate to find something. Who knows what mental rope guys look to grab onto in situations like this.
But, as apologies went, it didn’t stink as much as it could have. Even with the fadeout.
“That’s okay.” I said, trying hard to mean it.
“Max, why don’t you go upstairs and carry down whatever box is the heaviest.” Ben glared at his friend until Max headed toward the front door, giving him a hard shove as he headed inside. “Max can be…”
Now that Ben had taken over the reprimand, Jenna was looking her perky self again. “Max is a great guy. Don’t worry. He won’t be a you-know-what again.”
It wasn’t so much the you-know-what’ness of his words. It was that this was just one more thing.
I was supposed to be embracing my newfound freedom, finding the way to build a better life for myself. This was my chance to grow on my own, to spread my wings. I felt like one of those stupid kids who didn’t know how to do her own laundry or make her bed at college because she’d never had to do anything on her own.
I was a decision-making virgin.
I’d let life and Jason pull me along until I felt like all my options were gone.
The idea that Officer Darby was there at every one of my failures for the last forty-eight hours, that he redirected each of my disasters, grated. Like cheap parmesan over an expensive, handmade pasta. And I still had to deal with today’s disaster.
“What about the tree?” Yeah, look at me taking charge.
Ben came around and looked at it, pressing the bark back into place.
“No real damage. You dinged it, but didn’t take off enough bark to hurt the tree in the long run. Why don’t you give me the keys and I’ll park the van while you guys bring the first load up?”
That was an offer I wasn’t going to refuse. Learning to make my own way in the world was one thing. Knowing when to let someone more capable do what I wanted done anyway was completely another.
I was
Similar Books
