Page 19 of Sidelining the Safety

Momma and Dad sent Carey on his way with their thanks and dinner boxed up, ready to be reheated. They turned the place over to their night manager and headed home. Once they had Katy tucked into bed, Mac joined his parents in the kitchen.

“You should head to bed, too,” he told them. “Not much else we can do today. I’ll take Katy?—”

“No,” Dad interrupted him. “Your momma and I will go with Katy to the station. You have dinner plans, so if you could work the morning shift, we’ll relieve you after we’re done.”

“Yeah. Okay, that sounds good.” Mac rubbed his eyes. “Been a while since Drew and I have had a night out between me working and his classes and job.”

“And made a new friend?” Dad winked.

“Ugh. Not you, too. It’s… complicated.”

“Always is with you kids today.”

Mac glared, but there wasn’t much heat in it. He was too damn tired, and frankly, that was true. Dating became a complicated mess when one was in love with their best friend. Opening his mouth to respond, a yawn came out instead.

“Go to bed, Mac.” Momma lifted onto her toes and kissed his cheek, squeezing his arm. “Sleep well.”

“Gonna try.”

He dropped his phone on his nightstand and took a fast shower to wash off the smell of grease and fear he felt still clinging to his skin and hair. Tucked into bed, he picked up his phone and toggled to Lee’s message thread.

I’m home.

You around?

Guess you’re busy at work. Hope your night gets easier. Text when you get a sec.

Gotta get to bed. Drew said you’re coming for dinner tomorrow, so I’ll see you then. Night.

Mac sighed. Missing out on having a convo with Lee sucked. Even if it was just messaging, he’d been looking forward to it. He popped open the text box.

It was a crazy night. Sorry I missed you. I’ll tell you both about it over dinner. Hope you have a good practice.

He didn’t bother texting Drew. No reason for them both to have a restless night. Instead, he tapped off his sound, ensured his alarm was set, curled around his pillow, and turned his thoughts to the day when all his dreams came true.

CHAPTER 15

LEE

Lee grabbed his phone as his alarm went off. He rolled to his feet and stretched lightly, toggling to his messages. Reading Mac’s reply had him gritting his teeth. Crazy? What did that mean? Super busy? Jerky customers?

Ugh. He tossed his phone on the bed and got dressed. He pondered the idea of popping over to the diner, thinking Mac might be there if he was taking the evening off to be with him and Drew.

He checked the time, calculated in rush hour traffic, and figured as long as he was in and out in fifteen, he could put eyes on Mac and ensure he was okay. Lee had noticed the diner had an online takeout system. He quickly placed an order, grabbed his bag, and headed for his car.

The pleasant mid-seventies temps were the most tolerable thing about having to be at the training facility in the morning. When he slid behind the wheel, his car hadn’t quite reached scorching interior levels yet. It was a somewhat easy ten minutes to the diner. He’d already received a notification on his phone that his food was ready. And a smiley face text from Mac.

Lee hustled in, thankful that the tight lot only contained a handful of cars that morning. Mac greeted him with a broad smile and a cup of coffee made just the way he liked it.

“Someone’s been paying attention,” Lee said with a grin, his mouth already curling around the lip of the mug.

Mac shrugged, a faint flush of pink touching his cheeks. “Pete’s boxing your food up now.”

“I’ve got a few minutes to spare. I… uh…”

“What?”

It was Lee’s turn to blush. “When I saw your message this morning, I felt like I had to come see you. Had to make sure you were okay.”

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