Page 10 of Tides That Bind

“I forgot my password and reset it and it said the new password can’t be the same as the old password.”

By the time I finish talking, Nate is in my office. I hardly fit in here and he’s got four inches and probably fifty pounds of muscle on me, but somehow he manages. “Sit.”

“Fine.” I groan. “You check it. Refresh the browser.”

I don’t really feel the need to be here for this, so I walk back outside. I only catch the tail of Finn’s blond head before he disappears into the barrel of a wave and Tides grows frantic.

“Come, Tides!”

Tides doesn’t give me the time of day. He paces along the beach, only stopping when Finn reappears.

And it’s at that moment Nate comes up beside me.

“Sorry, man.”

If you keep your expectations low, you’re never really disappointed. And everyone else has low expectations of me. So why should I be any different?

Nate clasps my shoulder. “We’re going to spend a lot less time together. Because you passed.”

I turn my head quickly, unsure I heard him right. But that grin on Nate’s face never lies. Just in case, I slide my sunglasses down to the bridge of my nose to double check.

Nate pulls me into a tight hug.

“Would you be careful? You have a gun on your waist,” I mutter as I lose the ability to breathe under his strength. But I manage to hug him back anyway.

“Itoldyou.” He slams his palm against my chest excitedly after releasing me.

I laugh. “Yeah. I guess you did.”

“We’re celebrating tonight. I’m off the next two days.”

I rub my chest where I’d bet good money my sternum might be cracked. “Check with your keeper and let me know.”

Nate shakes his head. “Nothing stopped me fromhelpingyou. And nothing’s going to stop me from celebrating you. Harper would get that, you know, if you let me tell her.” He looks out at the water. “AndFinn.”

I didn’t take the Bar for anyone else but my father, so I see no reason why I need to involve anyone now, especially Harper. I can only imagine the fake smile followed by,so what’s next?

This translates to,so when are you moving out?

There’s some mumbo jumbo coming from the radio clipped to Nate’s waist. “Gotta jet. Ship-Slapped tonight? Let’s go around nine?”

“You’re driving,” I tell him. “I’ll be gettingshit-slapped.”

“Deal.” Nate nods before he whistles. “Let’s roll, Tides.”

It’s rare that Tides doesn’t listen to Nate, so when he has to whistle again to even get the dog to turn around and acknowledge him, I contemplate grabbing another donut because there’s no popcorn to enjoy the show.

“Tides!”

The dog tips his head toward the water, as if he’s beckoning Nate.

Nate hollers, “He’s fine!”

“That mutt isn’t afraid to go after a guy with a gun but cringes from the surf? I don’t think he was made in California. If they told you that, you should ask for your money back.”

Nate calls Tides one more time, and finally, the dog listens. “Would you relax? Finn is fine. God, I don’t know why this dog hates the beach so much. Doesn’t fit your name well, does it?”

Tides whines again beneath Nate’s touch. I click my tongue and toss him the rest of my donut which he catches even though he’s caught off guard.

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