Page 21 of Hide and Sneak
He doesn’t hesitate to pick up. “Hey Mom.” A grin grows on his face as he looks at me. “You tried Lila first, huh?”
He better not.
“No, she’s not here. I think she’s out with a friend. How are you doing?” He walks down the hall to his room to finish the call.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with my day today, but I’m in no hurry to get started.
Sutton gets up and goes to the kitchen, announcing, “I need muffins.” He washes his hands and starts pulling out ingredients.
“You’re going to bake muffins?”
“I like to bake. Plus Mom sent a bunch of blackberries home with me.”
Sutton does not seem like a guy who would enjoy any kind of domestic hobby. It doesn’t fit with his tough, road worker image. The expression on my face must show some doubt.
“Are you judging me, Delilah?”
Why am I watching him anyway? “For so many things, but not baking.”
He leans against the cabinet with a grin, crossing his arms. “Well, Ms. Critical, I’ve never been suspended from a job. What did you do?”
And now I want to shove his head in that preheated oven. It’s electric so he wouldn’t die but I bet it’d still be satisfying. “None of your business.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m impressed. I didn’t think you knew how to misbehave.”
“You’re impressed? That’s such a relief. You have no idea how much time I spend sitting around hoping to impress you. It’s exhausting.”
“I’ll just make up my own explanation then.” He turns back to stir the ingredients in the mixing bowl. “You kept hitting on a hot dad when he dropped off his kids and he didn’t like it.” Before I can say anything, he continues. “No, there’s no man who wouldn’t like that. Maybe you got into an argument with one of the parents and shredded them with that smart mouth.”
“Why do you assume it has something to do with a parent?” I ask, stealing a blackberry from the bowl before he dumps them into the batter.
“That’s true. It could’ve been one of the kids.” He turns to me with his mouth open and drops his voice to a hush. “Oh my god, did you drop kick a toddler?”
“No, but I’m about to.” Amos returns in time to hear me explain. “Remember the night I had to drive a kid to the hospital to meet his mom because she couldn’t pick him up? That was against policy. So I get some time off.” My shrug tries to disguise how angry I still feel about the injustice of that.
He turns to stare at me. “That’s bullshit. What were you supposed to do?”
“Call and report his mother for abandonment, apparently. It doesn’t matter. The manager is a nightmare.”
“Suspended for doing something kind. That sucks. I’m sorry.” He sounds sincere for a moment before he adds, “I’m also disappointed. I thought maybe you hit someone.”
“Stick around, the day is young.”
CHAPTER 8
LILA
I’msurprised to see Sutton getting ready to leave when I wake on Monday morning. He’s hours late. “Did you oversleep?”
“No, I’m off work today. Doctor’s appointment.” He glances at the clock. “That I’m running late for.”
Once he’s out the door, I get ready for the day. My plan is to drop off the packages then come back and get some more videos made.
I’m leaving the post office when Maren texts me.
Maren
Are you busy? Can you meet me for a few minutes?
