Page 48 of Coach
CHAPTER TWELVE
Este
“Yes, Irina?” I asked when I heard her heels click-clack all the way down the hall until they stopped right behind me.
“Konstantin and Mikhail are having a private meeting. We are closing early. You can stay until you are finished, then you can leave.”
“Understood.”
It had been dead all night anyway. There was a lot of tension in town, the cops and corrections officers all strangely missing when they were almost always hanging out.
It was probably time to pick up my phone and see if there was something going on in the world. I didn’t have any cable or internet at home. I didn’t have anything that didn’t come included in my rent, actually. I didn’t want my name on more documents than absolutely necessary. And my phone was a burner where I had to be careful about burning through my data. Especially since I spent so much time building my design boards.
It meant I was somewhat cut off from anything that wasn’t directly in front of me.
It was honestly kind of nice.
But it seemed like I was the only person in town not weirdly tense.
Well, that wasn’t fair. Saul seemed pretty calm too. That said, Saul was laid-back about everything. And he seemed the kind not to be chronically online. Maybe he was as out of the loop as I was.
Not that I really had a lot to judge that on.
I’d only seen him on the trip to pick up Steve. And, sure, the ride up to the shelter had involved some fun. But the actual shelter itself had been heavy and sad. The ride back had been hilariously awkward, with Steve trying to keep wedging himself between us, taking turns panting and doing an adorable dog smile. It was such a change from the withdrawn, depressed dog in the cage at the shelter that it was all we could talk about on the way back to town.
Once we finally got to Shady Valley, I’d asked Saul to drop me off because I was worried about Trix (who did not like that I smelled like another dog). After that, I hadn’t seen him.
Fine.
It had only been three days.
And this time, we’d both been, you know, mutually satisfied. But still, I’d been kind of hoping to see him walking down the street or stepping into the pool hall. Hell, even showing up uninvited at my door.
He’d have been a really welcome distraction. Trix and I were miserable with the new neighbor. Who hadn’t come to the door to take the homemade brownies but returned the empty plate the next day. That wasn’t the problem, though. I was actually fine with not having to engage in endless small talk with the person who lived next door.
But whoever it was, they were loud day and night.
I mean, sure, I’d been doing a ton of renovations too, but I made sure to only do quiet stuff—painting, decorating, sealing the tile floors—at night.
Not the new neighbor.
Oh, no.
They were hammering, nailing, sanding, and sawing at all hours of the day and night.
Which, in turn, made me turn my music on louder so Trix and I could try to get some sleep. And that mademefeel like an asshole.
It was a whole thing.
I was trying to give them a little grace because I knew what it was like to try to balance work and home improvement.
Still, it was kind of rude.
On the plus side, with all the hours they were putting in, it seemed like they would be done in no time.
“The floors, I want them shining,” Irina said.
“Do you want me to polish them?”
