Page 47 of Work with Me

Tuesday and Thursday.I shot Alicia a triumphant look. She pursed her lips to hide a smile and shook her head.

“That how you got that shiner?” I slid the last forkful of potatoes into my mouth. Absolutely delicious. I hoped there’d be seconds. Maybe thirds.

“No, just the broken arm.” He held up his cast. “I got punched in the eye at school today.”

“What’s the other kid look like?”

“Jackson!” Alicia put down her fork.

“I got him in the mouth. Split his lip, but that’s about it.” He held up his left hand, which had a bandage across one knuckle.

“Punches to the face are hard to execute well. Next time—”

“Jackson!” She got me in the same spot with her knee. “Next time, use your words, was what Jackson was about to say.”

I winced and rubbed my leg. “Exactly. What was the fight about? You steal his girl?”

This time, Alicia rested her hand on my thigh. Not in a sexual way—though my body reacted as if it were—but cautioning me to tread lightly.

Noah pushed a few black-eyed peas under his mashed potatoes. “He saw my paper with a D on it. He called me stupid.”

“Which isn’t very nice,” Alicia said, “but not worth punching someone.”

I leaned back in my chair and laid my fork across my clean plate. “You seem like a smart kid. Why’d you get a D?”

Alicia whipped her head around so fast her hair slapped my shoulder. Her hair. It smelled like oranges, like her tea. But there was nothing warm about the glare she pummeled me with.

Noah shrugged.

What had I asked him? Oh, right. Grades. “I didn’t do so well in school, either, until my doctor figured out I had ADHD. I know what it’s like to struggle. And to be frustrated. And to give up.” I rubbed at a smudge on my watch’s sapphire face. “But after I got the help I needed, I did okay.”

A line creased Alicia’s forehead between her eyebrows. She stared at me like she eyeballed misbehaving code. “You did better than okay. You went to Stanford.”

“My family’s rich. They paid for a lot of tutoring and test prep.”

“Don’t undersell yourself.” Her tone was sharp at the top but soft underneath. “You’re a smart guy. And you had to have worked hard.”

I ducked my head. Not many people said that. When you grew up with every privilege, a lot of people assumed the path to success was easy. Sure, it’d been easier for me than it’d have been for Alicia or anyone whose parents weren’t significant donors to the university, but having someone see my effort, see that not everything had been handed to me, meant something. Coming from Alicia, it meant everything.

“Mind if I finish the potatoes?” I asked, nodding at the last scoop in the bowl.

“Go right ahead.” Esmy handed me the bowl.

When my stomach was taut with dinner plus an extra-large slice of apple pie topped with Blue Bell ice cream, Alicia walked me outside. Her chin was stiff again, probably to remind me not to mention this at work tomorrow.

But when she opened her mouth, she said,“That’syour car?”

At the end of the front walk, the black Ford F-150 waited for me. “It’s a rental. But, yeah, I figured, when in Texas…”

“Rent a truck?” She laughed. “To haul your fence-mending supplies? You leave your cattle trailer parked back at your apartment?”

I shoved my hands in my pockets, grateful for the dim porchlight that hid my blush. “It’s fun to drive, way up above the other traffic. Surprisingly powerful. And if you ever need something hauled, I’m your guy.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Is that why you have the boots?”

I wasn’t about to tell her I only wore them to irritate Cooper. I hoped I’d earned some points with her tonight and didn’t want to be docked for pettiness. “Yeah, I guess. I kinda thought more people would wear them at work. And that they’d be more comfortable.”

She snorted. “They’re comfortable once you break them in. Boots are a commitment, Jackson.” Her smile dissolved as if she’d just heard what she said. She bit her lip.

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