Page 14 of Refuge for Flora

“Mowed Mrs.Murphy’s grass.”

“That’show you spent your Saturday morning?”

Barrett glared at him. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, I guess, if you’ve got nothing better to do.”

I used to have better to do. You made sure that ended.“I’m being helpful to an older person in my neighborhood. I actually can’t think of a better way to spend my time.”

“You think about everybody but yourself,” Jesse pointed out.

Well, that’s a pretty fucking ironic thing to say, coming from you, Barrett wanted to bellow, but he didn’t. He just clenched his teeth to keep from saying a word, but god, there were so many words he wanted to say, hateful words, spiteful words, words he’d regret later but that would certainly feel good coming out of his mouth for the few seconds it took to utter them. And yet he restrained himself. Why, he wasn’t sure, but he did.

Jesse interrupted his thoughts. “What are we eating?”

Barrett just rolled his eyes. “I don’t care. Order a pizza if you want. That’ll be fine with me.”

“Okay.” In two minutes, Jesse had ordered their favorite pizzas and then settled down to watch some movie he’d found on a streaming channel.

He hung out there in Barrett’s living room, on Barrett’s sofa, until almost midnight. “Look, I’ve got a horrible day coming tomorrow and I’m exhausted. I need to go to bed.”

“What’s tomorrow?” Jesse quizzed.

“Can’t talk about it. Ongoing investigation. But I really do need to hit the sack.”

Jesse shot him a lopsided grin. “Could I scoot into that big bed and?”

“No. Are you kidding? Absolutely not. Go home.”

“But Barrett, just because?”

“No. Go. I’m not kidding. Go home and let me get some sleep.”

“Wow. Spoil sport.” Jesse stood, pushed down the legs of his jeans, and tossed the beer can into the trash. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

“I won’t be here. I’ve got?”

“Yeah, yeah. Ongoing investigation.” When he reached the door, he turned and smiled at Barrett. “You’re still the one person I’d rather spend time with than anybody else in the whole world.”

What the hell was he supposed to say to that? “Thanks.” That was all he came up with.

“You’re welcome. See ya in a few days, I guess.” The door closed and the sound of Jesse’s truck leaving the driveway told him his visitor was gone.

Barrett turned off all the lights in the front of the house, then brushed his teeth, and climbed into bed. It was hard to keep being kind to Jesse after everything that had happened. Yeah, Barrett felt sorry for him in a way, but sometimes it was hard to find pity while still grieving the loss. Even so, wanting to be best buddies just wasn’t going to work.

But until Barrett could force himself to put a stop to it, he knew it would just go on and on.

* * *

He hopedit wasn’t too early, but he was going to have a long day, and he just wanted to get on with it. He knocked and the door popped open. “Hi!”

“Hey. I need the keys.” Her brow wrinkled downward, and he thought it was kinda cute. “For the car? So I can check it?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I have no idea where they are. Hang on.” She disappeared and was back in a few seconds. “They were on the key rack back here,” she said as she handed them to him.

“Thanks.”

“No. Thank you. I appreciate it.”

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