Page 59 of The Harborer
“He seems to be … unraveling. He’s super agitated, and he’s flaking out on his customers.”
The flaky part was news to Shane. “How do you know?”
“Cade told me at the Big Event. I thought Cade had been out partying the night before, and hehad, but it turns out he got a late start at it because he ended up closing Micky’s garage for him.”
Shane blinked. Twice. “Why is Cade closing Micky’s garage?”
“You didn’t know? Cade started working for Micky about a month or so ago. It was supposed to be a few hours a week, but he’s having to pick up a bigger chunk of the workload because Mick’s not around. Cade’s over his head, and I think he’s starting to panic. It’s one of the reasons he hasn’t been around Mountain Coffee as much and why he’s sometimes late for his shifts.”
“So Micky’s not taking care of his business?”
She shook her head. “Plus, …” She bit her bottom lip.
“Plus, what?” he nudged.
“I hate saying this, but I have to tell someone. He’s been stealing money from my till.”
White-hot anger rushed through Shane’s bloodstream.What? That asshole!
She went on, unaware of the rage roiling inside him. “At first I let it go because I figured he needed the money and that he’d eventually put it back.”
“Do youstillthink he’s going to put it back?” Sarcasm laced his question.
She stared at him. “No. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I gave that up a while ago.”
Okay, at least she realizes she put her trust in the wrong person.His jagged edges smoothed out. “When did it start?”
“It’s been going on for at least six months. At first, I couldn’t believe it. I thought I had been miscounting, but it turns out I hadn’t been. I’m not talking a huge amount—hundreds, not thousands, and I still turned a profit—but it hurt nonetheless. When I confronted him, he went ballistic and accused me of setting him up. For what, exactly, I never found out.” Shane’s anger at Micky must have shown in his eyes because she quickly added, “He didn’t hurt me physically. Just yelled a lot and threw things. And that, right there, is out of character.” She dropped her head against the pillow and shut her eyes. “You must think I’m such an idiot.”
He drew tiny circles on her hand with his thumb. “Why would I think that?”
Her eyelids fluttered open, and she turned her head to him. “Do you not see the word ‘gullible’ stamped across my forehead?”
“No.” He touched the tip of his finger to her nose. “What I see is someone who maybe trusts too easily, who wants so badly to believe the best of everyone that she sometimes ignores red flags.”
She lay her head on his shoulder and twined her small fingers with his. “He was really good to me at first, you know.”
He rested his head on hers. “I know,” he said softly. “I think he genuinely cared and was afraid of losing you so he was on his best behavior for a long time.”
“What you’re really saying is leopards don’t change their spots, and Micky couldn’t hide his anymore.”
“Something like that.”
She squeezed his hand. “I see your spots, Shane.”
“Damn! All of them?” he teased.
“Every last one.”
Her eyes drifted to the TV, and he directed his attention that way until she yanked it back with her soft voice. “I appreciate that you used a condom without even asking. Given Micky’s—how do I put this?—attentiontoward other women, I also understand why you would. I just want you to know that from the beginning, when he and I first got together, I insisted he use one. I told him I couldn’t use birth control because it jacked with my body, but that was a lie.”
She suddenly sat forward, searching his face as if waiting for him to pass some kind of judgment on her. He gave her a nod of encouragement instead, and she kept going. “What he didn’t know was I was on birth control the entire time. Still am.Notusing it is what messes me up. I always felt bad about lying to him like that, but looking back on it, deep down, I didn’t trust him.”With good reason, Shane thought. “I also got tested regularly. The last time was right after we stopped sleeping together. I wanted to be doubly sure, you know? I was relieved when the report came back negative. I guess I was always worried there was a chance he’d give me something. What a sad thing to admit about someone you tell yourself you loved.”
“Didyou love him?”
“I thought so, but honestly, I don’t know.”
He unlaced their fingers and smoothed his thumb over the back of her hand, her wrist, thoughts swimming through his head—too many to articulate.
