Page 14 of Cold Foot Croc

“The dollar store. I stock it. Actually, tomorrow is my first day as a cashier. Our main cashier will be out for a doctor’s appointment, so I’m getting thrown into it. I wasn’t supposed to train on the cash registers until I come back after I have the baby, but they needed extra help. And I really need the job.”

“Is it the old Dollar Supply on Forpe Street?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“I can drop it by there after I get out of work if you’re okay with that. If you can’t talk, I can just put it in your truck.”

“Um…” Her cheeks were hot with pleasure. She was going to see him tomorrow. At a specific time. And he’d gotten a present for her baby. She didn’t know why, but something about that made her feel so happy.

She was no charity case, and couldn’t even recall the last time she’d accepted any help gracefully, but she wanted this present, and it wasn’t even for her! She wanted to know what he’d gotten the baby.

“I would offer to meet you later, but I have plans with my brother, and I didn’t want you driving back up to Wreck’s territory too late.”

“Your brother is local?”

“Yeah, he moved to Darby with me.”

“Okay, now I’m fully invested in this story. Do tell. Do we like your brother? Is he a pain in the ass? Is he controlling? Give me the scoop.”

“Yes, we like him. Yes, he is a pain in the ass. No, he isn’t controlling. He just cares. Kind of. In his own way.”

“Where did you live before?” she asked curiously.

“Uuuuh…” He cleared his throat, and across the line she could hear a scratching sound, like he was running his hand down his facial scruff or something.

“You don’t have to answer any questions you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s not that.”

“It’s really okay. I have almost no social skills anymore. I’m probably drilling you. Just so you know though, that’s not my intention. To me it’s just conversation, but to you it’s probably just a barrage of questions. Ha.” Her cheeks were heating up again. “You can ask me any questions you want. Or not. We can get off the phone. Ha.”

“You’re nervous,” he murmured.

“What? Me? I don’t get nervous. It’s getting late—”

“That Farrah chick did a number on me.”

The admission came out of nowhere, and the words got all stuck in her throat. “Farrah? The Komodo dragon?”

“Yeah. It was so damn nice to talk to someone, and she got into my head quick. Sent me pictures. Did the good morning texts. She was pretty in the pictures.”

“What kind of pictures did she send you?”

“All the kinds.” His voice was careful.

Shhhit. She’d definitely sent him nudes. Raynah hated that. She dropped her gaze to the floor and blew out a sigh. “You liked her?”

“I did. I thought I did. I liked the version of her she wanted me to know.”

“She was using you.”

“Oh, I know that now. I have no question about what kind of person she was. I saw her going after you and Sasha. I wasn’t trying to kill her when we fought, but she killed me. She didn’t care. Her venom, or whatever it was she bit me with, it was brutal, and she really didn’t care. I looked her up afterward. She looked drugged-out and bitter. I don’t even know where she got the pictures she sent to me. I don’t even know if they were pictures of her, or ones she stole from someone else. I liked someone who didn’t exist, and now it’s kind of hard to trust myself, you know?”

“Yeah.”

“And here you are, all pretty and this perfect package—”

“Perfect package?” She snorted. “Hold please.” She pulled up the camera function on her phone and took a selfie. She couldn’t muster a smile. Her lips were pursed, her hair was a mess, the curve of her belly looked so large, and she was sitting splay-legged on the only chair she’d ever sat on in this house. She sent it before she could change her mind. “Open up the picture.”

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