Page 64 of Wired Justice

“Ha! Sorry about that.” Jake stood up, bagging the trash so the dogs wouldn’t get at it. “I need a little advice, sis.” He stowed the bag in a plastic can and put it on top of the TV out of the animals’ reach. “I’ve . . . got feels for a co-worker.”

“Geez, Jake, really? Not good. Why do you need me to tell you that’s a bad idea?” Patty laughed.

“The thing is . . . I didn’t want to like her this much.” He blew out a breath, ran a hand through his hair, staring at the closed door between their rooms. “But I’ve been super into her ever since we met, and I thought it was just the usual . . . I mean she’s hot, and we’d bang, and I’d get over the attraction like I usually do, and move on.”

“Ew, Jake. Why are you telling me this? I really don’t want to know you’re one of ‘those’ guys. I like to think you play that part but aren’t really . . . you know. A user.” Patty sounded sad.

“Crap!” Jake paced. Tank whined in worry watching him, and Jake ran a hand over the dog’s sleek head. “I am not a user. I always make sure the lady gets hers, you know what I mean? I haven’t had complaints except that I just can’t get serious about anybody. But you know why I can’t, right, sis?”

“Because of freakin’ Dad. But you’re not him, Jake. You’ll never be him.”

“But I look like him. I act like him. Hell, in some ways I’m a lot like him! And I don’t want to be that guy. So I’m up front with the women I sleep with, and it’s good times and then goodbye. My last relationship went on a little longer than usual, but we parted ways on good terms, just how I like it. But Sophie . . . Sophie’s different. Complicated. We never even kissed until this week but she keeps leaving me and it . . . gets to me.”

“You finally really like someone and she keeps abandoning you. Like Dad did.”

“You a psychologist or something?” Jake forced a laugh.

“Yeah, kinda. If you kept up with my life a little bit too, Jake, you’d know I’m back in school for nursing. We’ve got plenty of psych classes.”

“I’m sorry, Patty. I’m a jerk.” The towel was slipping. He needed his clothes! Screw Sophie using his room; he’d just go in and change. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen it all before. He turned the knob of the connecting door and pushed it open. “I really do care about you, hon.”

Sophie was sitting on the bed, her back to him, curled around the phone pressed to her ear. She was speaking some other language. She looked around and glared at him. He dropped the towel defiantly and flipped her off, stomping over to his duffel and pulling out his clothes. “Tell me more, Patty.”

“Well, we all have wounds from our past, and you’ve got a chip on your shoulder about Dad. Why do you think you went into the Army when he was an officer, too? And then, you had to do Special Forces, and outdo him even though he retired a Colonel.”

“Not a bad analysis, Patty. Tell me more from a woman’s perspective.” Hyper-aware of Sophie, Jake dressed, dragging on briefs and a pair of sweatpants.

Patty continued. “I’m guessing, since women pretty much fall all over you, that you picked someone to fixate on that won’t do that. Someone with baggage, or another relationship. Someone screwed up.”

“You’re a little spooky, girl. That’s a pretty accurate description.” Jake could feel Sophie’s gaze on his torso as he pulled a shirt down over his head one-handed. Good, maybe she’d regret what she was missing. “So, what do I do?”

“Well, a woman like that is not going to like your heavy-handed approach. I know you, Jake, and you’re relentless when you want something—but maybe you don’t really want this one. Whoever she is, she’s going to break your heart . . . and that’s why you chose her. Because Dad broke your heart, and you’re trying to heal yourself. That’s why we choose who we do—but at least half the time, we just hurt ourselves all over again. So my first advice to you is, give her up. Walk away. Break it off before she breaks you.”

“Hey, don’t hold back. Give it to me straight,” Jake picked up his running shoes and socks. He walked through the connecting door and slammed it with a satisfying thump so Sophie couldn’t miss that he was pissed. “Geez, you’re brutal.”

“You didn’t call me to massage your ego, did you?”

“Nope. But what if I can’t walk away?”

“Then play it cool. Make her come to you. Be so good she can’t forget you, but don’t wait around and beg; don’t be needy and clingy. Get a life, and live it. Live it so well she wants to join you in it.”

Jake felt his eyes prickle as he thrust his feet into his shoes. “Shit, Patty. You should have been a therapist.”

“I love you, bro. Don’t ever forget it. You’re a good guy and you’ll be an awesome partner to someone, someday. Don’t settle, Jake. You don’t haveto.”

Jake rubbed his stinging eyes with a thumb and forefinger after he said goodbye. Tank thrust his big square head under Jake’s arm and took a deep sniff of his armpit, the stump of his cropped tail wagging.

“You guys want a little after-dinner run? Because I sure do.” Jake leashed the dogs and left the little motel room, already knowing what he needed to do.

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