tone getting hard. “I would very much like to have my own shit. Actually, what I would really like is for my barn not to have burned down.”
Connor Garrett was six feet four inches of solid muscle. When he crossed his arms over his chest, showing off the strength in his powerful forearms and the full-sleeve tattoo he’d gotten a couple of years ago, he made a very intimidating picture. To other people. But not to her. “Too bad it’s not a perfect world, isn’t it?”
Connor snorted. “Yeah, Liss, I have noticed that the world isn’t perfect.”
“Noticing it isn’t enough. You have to do something about it.”
“I was not aware that my cereal came with a lecture.”
“It wasn’t supposed to. I have to go to work.” She set her bowl down on the counter then turned away from him, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets.
“Wait.” She heard footsteps, and no small amount of rustling behind her.
She turned back toward Connor, who was pouring coffee into a travel mug. “I’m waiting.”
She watched as he put two spoonfuls of sugar and a splash of cream in the cup. Exactly the way she took her coffee. And of course he knew. “Coffee. You’re allowed to leave mad, but you’re not allowed to leave without caffeine.”
She took the cup from his hand, holding her breath as her fingers brushed his, tightening her stomach muscles before they could do so involuntarily. “Thus ensuring that I don’t leave mad.” She lifted the cup. “Evil genius, Garrett.”
“I am that, Foster. As you should well know by now.”
“I’m familiar. Poker tonight?”
“As far as I know. Eli has campaign stuff he’s working on, so I’m not sure if he’ll stop by, but I’m pretty sure Sadie is coming. And unless Jack is getting laid with some random stranger...”
“Oh, Jack. It’s a real concern with that one.” Jack Monaghan was Connor’s other best friend. Between Eli and Connor in age, he’d been terrorizing Copper Ridge with the Garretts since the three of them were adolescent boys. And he had grown up to be a bigger terror than he’d been at twelve.
Unlike Eli, who was staid and responsible, running for sheriff of Logan County and in a serious, committed relationship with onetime bad girl Sadie Miller. And unlike Connor, who had gotten married in his early twenties and settled into ranch work. Jack had never settled into much of anything. Except sleeping his way through the female population, and steadfastly refusing to grow up by opting for a career as a rodeo cowboy.
Jack was hell on cowboy boots, but he was a lot of fun to have around. So long as you weren’t counting on him for much.
“Yeah, well, one of us should go out there and get some.”
Liss resisted the urge to ask for any details regarding Connor and his getting-some status. She was willing to bet he wasn’t, but then, it wasn’t like he told her everything. And Connor’s sex life was absolutely none of her business. In fact, she had spent the better part of the past seventeen years ignoring the fact that he had a sex life. Or at least trying to.
“I’m happy for Jack to be the getting-some ambassador. Down with relationships!”
Connor chuckled. “I don’t think Jack orders his sex with a side of relationship.”
“He’s a better man than I am,” Liss said.
“Yeah, me, too.”
Well, that might answer her question. The one she wasn’t going to ask. The one she certainly wasn’t going to dwell on. Though she was dwelling a little bit.
“Okay, Connor, I really have to go now. Thank you for the coffee.”
“Thank you for the cereal. And the other things.”
“My unending friendship, my support, my willingness to give you the hard truths?”
“I meant the milk and the half-and-half. But sure.”
She shot Connor a mock dirty glare and gave him a good look at her middle finger before turning and walking out the door. The crisp air touched her skin, bathing her in a feeling of freshness. The weather had already cooled quite a bit, and mornings were starting to take on that tinge of salted frost that signaled the fact they were leaving summer further and further behind.
She walked down the stairs and toward her little Toyota. Good thing she had this car free and clear. And hopefully it stayed running. Since, thanks to Marshall, her credit was on life support. That asshole, driving off one day in the brand-new truck that had both their names on it. And then proceeding to not make payments. And then also continuing to use credit cards that were in both their names without her knowledge.
She’d been able to get a certain amount of dings on the report taken care of, but some of it the bureaus had been unwilling to reverse. Right about now she couldn’t get a car loan, or a new rental house, to save her life.
Which, because of the general stability of her lifestyle, wasn’t the biggest problem. Until a couple of days ago when she’d found out that her landlord needed her out of the house in thirty days because she was selling it.
Yes, that had thrown a wrench in the works.
But she would figure it out. She always did.
She could always move in with her mother, though the very idea of it made her shudder. She wouldn’t be living on the streets, anyway, ideal situation or not.
But she would worry about that later. First work, then poker. She could panic tomorrow.
“GET OUT OF my house, Miller.”
His brother’s girlfriend looked up at him, the expression on her face comically innocent. “I came bearing gifts, Connor. Is that any way to greet a guest with presents?”
“You brought Beavers paraphernalia into my house. OSU fans can stay out on the lawn. We worship at the temple of green and gold here.”
Jack, who was already sitting at the table, thumped the side of the green ice bucket, proudly displaying the large University of Oregon O. “This is Duck country, sweetheart.”
Sadie batted her eyes. “I had no idea. I just found this bright orange bowl and thought it would be a great bowl to bring black and orange M&Ms in.”
“She’s a witch! Burn the witch!” Jack chanted from his position at the table.
“Light anything else on my property on fire and I will roast you over the flames, Monaghan,” Connor growled.
“Sorry, Con,” he said. “Bad joke, all things considered.”
Connor supposed it was. But then, if you couldn’t laugh at life’s shit, you might as well lie down in it and die. Which...he was closer to doing some days than he’d like to admit.
