Page 26 of Loaded

“I’m coming,” I say. “Geez.”

It takes me exactly two minutes to figure out that the handle on the toilet is jammed and won’t unstick. “Bad news,” I say. “This needs a new handle, and I brought an extra flapper, but I don’t have that.”

“How do you know so much about toilets?” Elizabeth asks.

“Well, my mom got high a lot,” I say. “And when they thought someone was coming to catch them, they’d always flush their supply. Paranoid people do that a lot when they aren’t even being chased.” I sigh. “We didn’t stay in nice places most of the time, so a lot of their toilets couldn’t handle any extra stress. As a kid, I got pretty good at looking things up on YouTube so I could still go pee.”

Elizabeth’s face is incredulous. She can’t decide whether I’m teasing.

This is just another reason Easton and I would be a total disaster. I wish I could ask about him without looking completely obvious, but I can’t think of any way to do that, so I just say, “I’ll head to the hardware store and be back in a bit.”

“You do think you can fix it though?” Elizabeth asks as she follows me out of the bathroom.

“Pretty sure,” I say.

“I can go with you.” Emerson grabs his keys off the counter. “I can even drive.”

Elizabeth narrows her eyes. “I’m onto you, mister. You just don’t want to have to help me finish the kennels.”

Emerson throws his hands up in the air. “I offered to come, remember? I could have stayed home.”

“You can work on the kennels with me, and Easton can take her,” Elizabeth says, pointing toward the front of the shelter. “I think he just got here, and he’s useless with this kind of stuff, but he could at least drive her there for moral support.”

My heart stops dead.

Easton’s coming?

I want to cry—I’m wearing frayed plaid pajama pants and a ratty shirt. I mean, I don’t want to date him, but so far he’s seen me wearing my work uniform. . .and now this. If any part of himdid actually like me,well, it was nice while it lasted, feeling desirable.

Not that I care.

Actually, this is probably better. I stick my chin up and square my shoulders. “Sure. Easton can take me. Why not?”

“Yes, why not?” Elizabeth asks. “You’re doing us a huge favor, so you shouldn’t have to pay for gas to and from the store.” She raises her voice. “Easton! I heard bells jingling. That’s you, right?”

“Yep.” He pokes his head around the corner of the door, and his eyes widen. “Bea?”

I sigh. “Come on.” I shove past him and toward the front door, the dogs in the front kennel yapping louder again now that we’re walking past them. “You’re driving me to the hardware store.”

Easton’s beaming. “Sure thing, boss.”

When we reach the front door, I stop, turning slightly. I press my index finger toward his face, which is really high up. “You will not flirt. You will not ask me out. You will not even think about doing either of those things.”

“Hmm.” He cocks one eyebrow. “I can refrain from asking you out, but I’m not sure you can dictate my thoughts.”

I ball my hands into fists. “I’m wearing pajama pants and an old shirt, because I’m here to fix a toilet.”

“You’re super cute when you’re all growly.”

“I’m not growly.” I scowl. The gremlin puppies are crying and clawing, trying to get out of their sad little box, and I point at them. “They’re growly. I’m firm.”

He laughs. “I won’t ask you out, I swear, but if you start flirting with me, I can’t be held responsible for flirting back.”

I roll my eyes and walk toward my car.

“I thought I was driving.”

“Oh, right.” I look around for his car.

---