Page 14 of Devon

Ryan frowned.“How would I know?I haven’t seen him since the day we bumped into each other.”

“I thought you’d have gone out there and found him by now.”

“I guess I could, but is that the best thing to do?”

“What are you talking about?He’s your mate.Don’t you want to talk to him?”

Ryan glared at his brother.“Of course I do.I just don’t know where to start.If he’s still in love with you, he’s not going to want to listen to me.”

“I don’t think he was ever in love with me,” Kendrick said softly.“He made himself believe he was, but it wasn’t love.It was gratefulness.I was one of the hunters who helped him get off the streets and saved him and his family from Cornelius.”

“Even if that’s the case, he made it clear that he doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“I think he was freaking out.He hasn’t been around a lot after what happened.I talked to Melissa to check in on him, and she said he was isolating himself and mostly stayed in his room.I was happy to see him when he bumped into you because I thought it meant he was finally getting over what happened.”

Ryan couldn’t imagine it would be easy to get over that kind of humiliation.“Why do you think he was out?”

“I don’t know.Melissa said he’s been leaving the house every day recently.She doesn’t know where he’s going, though.”

Devon was an adult, which meant he didn’t have to tell anyone what he was up to, even if he left the house every day.It was clear that both Kendrick and Melissa were worried about him, which made Ryan wonder if they were right to feel that way.They knew Devon.Something that might look like normal behavior to Ryan might not be to them.

“It sounds like he has a job,” Ryan offered.

Kendrick blinked.“You think so?”

“I don’t know, but he’s eighteen.I doubt he wants to go to his mother figure for every little thing he needs.I’m planning to get a job.I’m sure that’s what he did, too.”

“I hadn’t thought of that, but maybe you’re right.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”Or at least, Ryan hoped there wasn’t anything to worry about.He didn’t know what he’d do if there was.He’d only talked to Devon once, and it hadn’t gone great.He doubted that Devon would want to talk to him a second time, at least not so soon after the mess with Kendrick.

“You should try talking to him,” Kendrick said.“You’re going to have to eventually, right?He’s your mate.”

He was, but he hadn’t seemed particularly happy about that when he’d found out, and Ryan wasn’t sure where that left them.

* * * *

DEVON KEPT TELLINGhimself that he could do this.Nic had shown him the ropes.Devon had even served a few people already.He was actually doing this, no matter how scared he was.

He kept expecting to mess up at any moment.He knew he would eventually.Everyone messed up, especially him.Nic was there, though, checking in on him every so often and smiling when Devon did something right.It helped Devon feel better about the work he was doing.It wasn’t perfect, but he’d only been doing it for a few days.He’d get better, and Nic would stop hovering.

Not that Devon minded it.He was pretty sure that Nic kept flirting with him, but he dismissed it every time.He wasn’t looking for a boyfriend.He wasn’t even looking for a friend.He’d been looking for a job, and now that he had it, that was what he’d focus on.

A lady stepped up to Devon, and he welcomed her with a smile.“Hi, how can I help you?”

“I’ll take a caramel latte with skimmed milk, three pumps of caramel, two pumps of vanilla, cinnamon, no, actually, make that three pumps of vanilla, and maybe a little chocolate shavings on top.”

Devon blinked at the order.He supposed that so far, he’d been lucky.All the orders he’d had to take had been fairly easy with almost no modifications.He knew what went into a caramel latte, and while it was the same ingredients the lady had asked for, she’d changed all the proportions.

Nic suddenly appeared by Devon’s side.“Hey, Kelly,” he said with an easy smile.“Your usual?”

The lady smiled back, seemingly charmed by Nic.“You know it.You’re not at the till this morning.”

Nic squeezed Devon’s shoulder.“Devon’s new, but he’s great.”

Kelly didn’t appear to believe that, but Devon was relieved because Nic took over.He got her to pay for her order, and then he moved on to prepare it.He and Kelly continued talking, and since there were no other customers, Devon took a few seconds to lean against the counter.He remembered how Nic had calculated Kelly’s order, and he’d be able to do it by himself next time.

Or at least, it hoped he would be.

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