Page 68 of Last Chance Love

I was tempted to sign off with something, but that would be too much to figure out this early in the morning. Something too casual, and he might think I was brushing off the possible seriousness, too serious, and he might think I was getting too strong an idea about what we were doing. Or maybe I was just overthinking the possibility of him overthinking things, but it felt safer to leave it like that.

With that out of the way, I left his cabin quietly and set off toward mine. I hadn’t thought about bringing a fresh set of clothes when I’d stopped there the day before. Guys were milling around, heading toward the dining hall for breakfast, though some were standing around talking, giving me a nod as I passed.

Cutting between two buildings, I stopped when I heard something. Glancing over, I smiled when I saw Reno and Elliot walking toward the hall. Well, Reno was the one walking. Elliot was on his back like a toddler, and it was a little amazing to see Reno tolerating it. Then again, they were on one of the more isolated paths without anyone around from what I could see, so maybe Reno was more tolerant when no one else was?—-

I stopped in my tracks as Elliot said something and laughed, only for Reno to turn and…kiss him. It was brief; if I hadn’t seen it exactly when it happened, I would have missed it entirely, but I saw it. Elliot stopped laughing, giving Reno a push on the shoulder that made the man keep walking, a smirk on his face, proud he’d managed to shut Elliot up.

I stood there, realizing it was a miracle neither of them had spotted me since I was standing in the gap between buildings. Then again, they’d been too busy with one another to care what was happening around them. All for me to bear witness to something I was sure neither of them wanted anyone to know about, let alone witness.

Apparently, Leon needed to consider dipping his toes into the waters of matchmaking. There was no doubt in my mind that what I’d just witnessed was genuinely affectionate and earnest. That was not the passionate, heated kiss of two men using each other because they were warm bodies conveniently located. No, that was the quick, furtive kiss of two people who wanted to sneak affection before they had to go on stage in front of the rest of the ranch.

“Huh,” I said, scratching at my neck. “Did not see that one coming.”

I quickly realized there was no way in hell I would tell anyone what I’d just seen. Not even Leon was going to find out from me, if he found out at all. I wasn’t sure how he would handle the news, possibly relievedsomeonehad managed to get through to Reno but worried he might have accidentally forced it to happen. It wouldn’t matter if I pointed out that you can’t force two people to like each other, especially not that much, he was a worrier deep down, and he would worry.

I was taken aback by what I’d witnessed, but it also made me happy. I wondered how long it had been going on and figured it had to be enough for someone like Reno to be the one to give such a quick, sweet gesture of his own accord. It proved that Leon’s instincts were as good as ever, even if they were a little…imprecise. There was a softer person under Reno’s fire and anger, and it looked like there was a way to keep Elliot in control as well.

It also meant I wasn’t the only one enjoying that soft, warm feeling around the edges of my emotions. All I had to do was think of the night I’d shared with Leon, and a smile crossed my face, whether I was brushing my teeth or putting my work clothes on. I even had to smile at the idea that he was probably going to wake up and worry, only calming down when he read my note, bleary-eyed and with a pillow mark on his face.

Alice was behind the desk when I walked in, and immediately, her brow rose. “Well, well, well.”

“What?” I asked, stopping short and looking to see if I’d forgotten my pants or something.

“You look chipper this morning,” she said.

“You’ve always said I keep a positive attitude,” I snorted, relieved to know she was just catching onto my happy glow. She didn’t need to know why the glow was there; that could be Leon’s and my little secret, but I wasn’t going to worry just because she could see it existed.

“Hmm,” she said, looking me over carefully. I met her eyes when they settled on me, raising a brow while I waited for her final assessment. “Get some good news from home?”

The idea was laughable, but I shook my head. “Nothing other than the standard weekly deposit into my commissary account that mostly goes unused.”

I had never figured out the point of sending me money. To say my parents were disappointed and shocked when I was arrested was putting it mildly. Only my father had ever come to one of my court sessions, and even then, he hadn’t spoken to me, and I was pretty sure he hadn’t looked at me once. Their conversations with me since my sentencing had been stilted, to say the least.

In an interesting turn of events, they started reconnecting with me after my admission to the program. I wasn’t sure how they’d even found out about it, considering I’d never told them. I knew there was a small ‘support outreach program’ or something of the sort that tried to help the guys here reconnect with distant family and friends they might have lost contact with over the course of being arrested and thrown behind bars.

It wasn’t what you’d call real contact between us. I might get a phone call once a month from my father, who kept me up to date on their lives and asked me how ‘work’ was going. That was the only real insight into how my parents felt about the ranch, and I wasn’t surprised to see the signs pointing to denial of my reality. In their world, I had simply found a new job, albeit one they disapproved of, but they never had to say that aloud. It was there in their subtext I’d learned to read at a very young age.

The money started coming right around my first month in the program without explanation. I had no illusions that it was their way of making up for cutting ties with me while I was in prison. My parents didn’t do apologies, and they were firmly entrenched in their righteousness. More than likely, someone in their social circle had heard about my situation, and they had to scramble to make themselves look better. Or maybe, in their minds, it was some way of showing their support because I was doing better.

“Well, whatever the case,” she said, pulling her hair behind her shoulders. “I’m happy and should point out that you shouldn’t let it affect your work.”

“Now, when have I ever let my mood affect my work?”

“There have been some…inconsistencies. So I need to ensure you’re on top of things.”

That took me by surprise. “I…what? What inconsistencies?”

“Nothing alarming,” she said, though I could hear the unspoken ‘yet’ in her words. “Just inventory taking mostly, so try to stay on top of that. The last thing we need is an audit. We both know those get messy.”

They did. No matter how strict or orderly, mistakes were still made in the tightest-run ships. Usually, those mistakes were treated indifferently by the bean counters until there was a reason to pay attention. When that happened, they swarmed like ants over a carcass, picking apart every little decision and mistake. Nothing was left alone, and everyone was dragged through the mud and shit, feeling exhausted and like everything was about to come crashing down.

Alice flashed me a smile. “I’m not getting on your ass. I’m just telling you to watch yourself from here on out, alright?”

“I’ll keep an eye on things,” I said, wondering what kind of inventory mistakes I could have made. The actual doctors on staff looked over most of the inventory I did. I would have passed it off as an overabundance of caution on her part, but to bring up an audit made me worry. That said, I needed to be more aware of the counts when handing out medication. The last thing I needed was to risk even the slightest hint of doubt about my medication management reaching the wrong ears.

“We’ve got a handful of flu shot appointments today,” she said, looking at the tablet in her hands. “A couple of stitches that need to come out?—”

“If they haven’t removed them on their own,” I said. “Any luck on getting the dissolving kind?”

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