Page 10 of Winter Ends

Font Size:

I slid and skidded to a halt as someone grabbed my arm. My body slammed into a warm, hard one and when I looked up, I shoved Shawn off. “Let me fucking go.”

“Not a chance. I get it. You don’t like me, but don’t take it out on your friend.”

All I could do was stand there and blink at him. Small puffs of steam escaped his lips with each rapid breath he took from chasing me down the sidewalk. Unlike me, he hadn’t had the time to stop for a jacket.

“You don’t get it.”

“Then help me understand it.”

My hands yanked at my hair, sifting through the longer strands on top as I looked up and down the road. All I wanted to do was run, get the hell away from this asshole, but he wasn’t going to let me.

“I can’t even go anywhere unless I can walk or ride a bus.”

Shawn crossed his arms over his chest, accepting the challenge in my voice. “So you ride up with me.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “That’s a smart idea. I can read the headlines now ‘Two Bartenders On Way To Mountain Cabin Kill Each Other After Car Argument.’ Yes Shawn, let’s go together.”

The way he laughed caused shivers to race up and down my spine. “You seem so intent that I couldn’t handle myself alone with you for a couple of hours.”

I glared. “You might be able to, but I can’t make any promises on my front.”

When I turned to leave, I braced for him to stop me. When it didn’t come, I kept walking. My body vibrated with the adrenaline from the argument. What was it about the guy that brought out the worst in me? I wasn’t the type of person who fought and argued with people. Most people found me pretty easy to get along with.

Chapter 6

Shawn

Watching him go was weird.

I’d never seen someone so pigheaded and stubborn in my life. He didn’t even let me get to the point where Dad was giving us all a holiday bonus anyway, so if he was worried about missing pay from work, he shouldn’t stress about it too much. Unless he was counting on that money for other things.

Was it insensitive of me not to think about that? Probably.

He had two friends that were still sitting in jail after all. And who was to say he didn’t plan on visiting his family? Though, he hadn’t brought up his family once in the months that he’d been here in Seattle.

I itched to get home and dig up more on him. Who the hell was Daniel Morgan, and why did he have so many secrets?

“Get your ass back in here before you freeze.”

I turned just as Chase opened the door and held out my jacket. A shiver raced through me at the mention of the cold and I hadn’t realized just how frigid it was until that moment. I’d been too consumed by Daniel.

When I approached the door, I grabbed my coat and shoved my arms inside, instantly grateful as the blood flow returned to my limbs. Chase stood there for a moment, staring at me like he was waiting for me to tell him what had just happened.

“I’m going to convince him to come.”

Chase laughed, running a hand through his blond hair and locking the door behind him. He tossed the keys at me and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Please be gentle with him. He’s been through some shit. I don’t have a lot from home. He and Oreo are basically it.”

My brows scrunched together. That was multiple times now that I’d been told that he’d been through something, but no one was telling me what. “Is this about the arrest?”

Chase froze as he walked down the sidewalk. “You know about that?”

I licked my lips, shifting from side to side. My heart slammed against my ribs because, no, I wasn’t supposed to know about that. “It’s not that hard to look someone up on the internet.”

Chase sagged for a moment. “He—he didn’t do anything. He was lied to. That’s all I can tell you.”

I nodded, knowing that Chase was only telling me what he could. Maybe he didn’t know much more himself. Just because the two of them were friends, didn’t mean they disclosed all the dirty details.

That was when I noticed it. Chase was walking in the same direction that Daniel had gone, and Daniel hadn’t gone his usual way home. What the hell was happening?