“I heard you,” I said and glanced back over my shoulder and grinned. “Aren’t you going to wish me luck on my game? Tell me to drive safe?”
She had her lips pressed together like she was fighting throwing a tantrum. Slowly, her shoulders fell, and she sighed. “Drive safe and good luck this weekend.”
“Sunshine.” I winked playfully. “I’m the best. I don’t need luck.”
“You’re impossible,” she muttered, but she was smiling, and there was a pleased little twinkle in her eyes.
Which was exactly how I left her—standing in her living room, watching me leave. I hurried out to my truck before I changed my mind, skipped the practice, and spent the rest of the day breaking my deal with her and taking her to her bed before she could stop me.
“Why in the hell do you have to keep waking me up so damn early?” Isaiah groaned as his voice came through the cab of my truck.
“I’m heading back to Denver and need to get there early, but I’ve got to talk to you about a couple things.”
“Can’t it wait until a more decent hour?”
Jesus. It wasn’t like it was five in the morning. Isaiah had always been a night owl, though. Part of why being a cop was so good for him.
“It’s important, Zaiah.”
“Shit. Hold on. Give me a minute, then.”
He must have put me on mute because the call went silent. Probably for the best. Last thing I needed to hear was him taking a piss.
“All right,” Isaiah said. “Do I need coffee for this conversation or whiskey?”
“It’s seven thirty.”
“You said it was important. I don’t do important. Not this early, and especially not when I’m not working.”
“Fine.” I sighed. “Grab some coffee, let me know when you’re sitting.”
“I’m going to hate this.”
I waited a beat, and once he’d taken his first sip of coffee, something he moaned like an idiot while doing, I started with the most important.
“Two things you need to know, and the first is I’m dating your sister.”
“Okay…”
Not the uncaring reaction I was expecting. “It’s new. She’s scared, and I don’t want her to get any shit from you about it. And I didn’t want to start this behind your back, even if you’d find out soon enough.”
“Huh,” he said, and that gave me nothing else.
“You all right with this?” Not that I gave a shit, but outside my blood family, Isaiah was my brother.
“I’m thinking it explains why you got fucking slaughtered the night I told you Ava and Kip moved in together. I’m also not a complete idiot. I heard your truck was parked outside her new house last night. So I did a quick drive-by on my way home and figured you wouldn’t be there if something wasn’t happening.”
“God. Forgot how fast shit traveled.”
In a town like ours, the phrase everyone knows everyone, wasn’t an exaggeration.
“So you’re not pissed,” I surmised. Maybe he was still tired and would be ready to kick my ass come three o’clock when he was fully awake.
He had the gall to snort into the phone like I was being stupid. “Yeah, in high school I might have been. But that’s because you were as big of a dawg as I was. And you were leaving, and everyone knew Ava wanted to be right here. But we’re not kids, and you wouldn’t start something with her if you weren’t serious. I don’t want to hear how serious you are, because she’s my sister. But I wouldn’t be friends with you if I thought you’d dick her over, either.”
Good. That was good. Besides, I’d dicked her over already. Now I was busting my ass to make amends and move us forward.
“Besides,” he continued, “just so you know how I found out. Faye and Max Parker got divorced a year ago, and he lives down the street from Ava. Faye had to run something over there last night for the kids since it’s his week with them. She saw your truck, asked Max whose house it was, and then she called Dolly, and both of them were up at Tom’s, trying to figure out if it was because you two were together or something else. I got an earful when I was called in for a drunk and disorderly.”