Page 98 of Work with Me

End?I gulped. But of course no one thought I’d come back. “No, and that’s my fault. I’m here to apologize. Mind if I come in?”

“I don’t think so, Mr. Jones. I think you’ve hurt my daughter enough. You can wait in your car. Or, even better, I’ll tell her you stopped by, and she can call you if she wants to speak to you.”

She closed the door, leaving me staring at purple paint. Shit, I should’ve brought wine or chocolates to ease my way into the Weber household.

“I guess I’ll wait,” I muttered. I plunked myself down on the top porch step and stared out into the street like she’d be arriving at any moment. I laid the flowers next to me and shoved my hands in my pockets. A raindrop splatted on the toe of my boot.

The trees were bare now, their twisted limbs curling up into the darkening sky. Coolness seeped through my jeans from the wood floorboards of the porch, making me shiver. A few more raindrops pattered down, and I tucked my boots closer under the porch. Suffering had to be part of groveling, right? It had been my frenemy since I’d left Austin over a month ago.

The front door groaned open again, and this time the screen door swung out. Slow footsteps approached.

“Want some coffee?”

I smelled it at the same time he said it, and the scent of the brew made my spine straighten. “Yes, please.”

Noah handed me a mug. He held another mug in his other hand, hot chocolate from the smell of it. He sat beside me.

I smiled. One member of the Weber household didn’t hate me. “It’s pretty cold out here, buddy. And wet. You going to be okay?”

He snorted. “You going to be okay? Seems like I can go back in the house whenever I want while you’re stuck out here in the rain like a loser, waiting for Alicia to come kick your ass.”

Oh. So it was going to be like that.

I looked down into my mug of coffee and sniffed it. Could you smell rat poison? I set it aside. “How’s school going?”

He shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m in Ms. Fraser’s class now. And I’m taking some medicine to help me pay attention in class.”

“Is it working?”

“Maybe. I got an A on my math test last week.”

“That’s great. And the other kids are leaving you alone? No more shiners?”

“Nah. The school counselor did a lesson on treating others with respect. And Alicia made me practice using my words.” He sipped his cocoa. “Seems like you should’ve used some words, too.”

“I guess she told you what I did.”

“She didn’t have to. First you came around here, saying you’d take me to the racetrack. Help me with homework. Teach me how to throw a punch. Then you were gone. Alicia said you went back to California. And she got this look on her face when I asked about you.” He wrinkled his nose and pursed his lips like he’d sucked on a lemon. “Like that.”

“I guess when you look at it like that… No. Any way you look at it, I’m an asshole.”

“Yep. So. What are you doing here?”

“I came to grovel.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m going to apologize for what I did. Tell her I love her. And ask her to take me back. Think it’ll work?”

He ran his gaze over me. The collared shirt. The flowers. The flashy but worn-in boots. “I don’t know. You don’t seem like the other guys she’s dated.”

I ducked my head. “She’s dated a lot of guys, huh?” A fantastic woman like Alicia had to have a line of guys waiting to date her.

“Not a lot. Some. My friend Palmer’s dad, Rick. He wears a tie to work. Took her out to dinner and stuff. Took all four of us out for hamburgers and ice cream once. You ever take her out?”

“Not—not exactly.” She’d taken me to see the bats that night. Then I’d blown the opportunity to take her out and show her I cared.

He squinted one eye at me. “I don’t think your chances are too good, then.”

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