Page 21 of The Shots You Take

“I heard you went on a beach walk this morning. That sounds nice. I should check that beach out myself. Haven’t been near the ocean for a while.”

“I’ll probably go to Paula’s again tonight for dinner, unless you have a better recommendation. I should try something else, but those scallops are next level.”

“You know what I like about baseball uniforms? The belts. They look so classy, right?”

Lucky listened to him with a definite air of anxiety. He kept glancing toward Riley, as if silently asking him,“Who the hell is this guy?”

No one important, I guess, Adam thought.

He’d just finished shelving the water bottles when Riley said, from behind the counter, “You haven’t eaten your cinnamon bun yet.”

It was an invitation, and Adam took it. “Forgot about it. Not sure how,” he said cheerfully as he approached the counter.

Riley didn’t say anything.

“What kind of dog is Lucky?”

“No idea.”

Lucky was medium sized with short, golden-brown hair, a white belly, a black nose and muzzle, and short, floppy ears. He was, Adam thought, a good-looking dog. A friendly looking dog. “So he’s a mix? You don’t know which breeds?”

“Nope. Probably not the smartest ones, though.” Even as he said it, the fondness was clear in Riley’s expression.

“Must be why I was getting along so well with him.”

Adam swore he saw Riley’s lips curve up, but then Riley turned away.

Adam took a bite of his cinnamon bun. “Holy shit,” he said, his mouth still full, “these are amazing.”

Riley was busy with something on the computer that sat on the counter. He was wearing his glasses again, which hid most of the bags under his eyes. Despite the obvious lack of sleep and the emotional upheaval, Riley was nicely dressed. Adam wouldn’t have thought less of him if he’d been wearing sweats, but his dark green plaid shirt was crisp and clean, and even looked like it had been ironed. He wore it untucked with black jeans and black boots. His beard was neatly trimmed, and his thick hair, which had been shaggy and permanently messy in his twenties, was now stylishly cut short on the sides, but fell in red-gold waves on top. He looked like an L.L.Bean model.

“You’ve got glasses now too, eh?” Adam said.

“Just for reading.”

“Same.” When Riley didn’t react to that, Adam attempted to casually lean on the counter. “Yours look good on you.”

Riley pinned him with a flat stare, then removed his glasses.

Adam sighed. “Seriously? You’d rather not be able to see than take a compliment from me?”

Riley squinted at the computer but didn’t reply. The phone rang then, and Riley answered it. “Tuck’s…no, um, sorry…he’s not. This is his son.”

Adam froze.

“Right,” Riley said. “No. He isn’t. He’s no longer with us…no. I mean he died.” He winced as he said the words, but his voice remained steady. “Thank you. So, yes, I’d be in charge of accounts payable now.”

Adam wanted to grab the phone from his hand and tell this person to please fuck off, but he knew that wasn’t reasonable.Finally, the call ended, and Riley went back to staring at the computer screen like nothing had happened.

“Riley,” Adam said gently.

“I’m fine.” His hand was trembling above the keyboard.

“Maybe I could answer the phone for you.”

Riley slammed a fist down on the counter, causing the mouse to fall to the floor with a clatter. “I can answer the fucking phone.”

Adam took a step back, giving him space. Riley hung his head, the way he’d often done before, when his emotions had exploded out of him.

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