Page 144 of You Found Me
Ward — Need a favor. Might be dangerous. You in?
Three dots appeared immediately.
Brick — Always. What’s up?
Ward — Can you take the day off?
Brick — Duh. I’m the boss.
Ward — My place. ASAP
Brick — cya 15.
That would be just long enough to squeeze in a call to Dad to explain why Sevens needed to close down and why his family needed to take a sudden vacation.
Brick arrived with two cups of coffee and a curious look on his face. “Where’s the body? I brought shovels.”
Ward eyed the truck in the driveway. He saw several shovels next to rakes, a leaf blower, and an industrial-sized lawn mower. “You’re serious.”
Brick handed a cup to Ward as he stepped inside. “I got your back, unless you want to go zip-lining. You’re on your own with that shit.”
“You’re still not over that heights thing?” Ward led the way to the office. “You realize how ironic that is, right?”
“I don’t have a heights thing.” Brick flopped into the visitor’s chair and stretched his legs out. His six-foot-six frame dominated the room the same way he’d dominated the football field. “I have a strong, perfectly rational desire to keep my feet on the ground. Height has nothing to do with it.”
“Sure it doesn’t.” Ward leaned against the desk. “Thanks for coming. I appreciate the assist.”
“So what the hell is going on?” Brick’s wary gaze fixated on Ward’s utility belt and holster. “You know I don’t do guns.”
“No need,” Ward said. “You’re here for intimidation.”
Some of the tension went out of Brick’s face. “That I can do.”
Ward took a sip of coffee and wished his problems could be so easily solved. He brought his friend up to speed in short, clipped sentences. When he was finished, Brick stared at him while silence yawned and settled in.
“You get all that?” Ward prompted. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but the background isn’t relevant for what I need from you. You watch my six, I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Wait a minute.” Brick held up a hand to stop him. “You really think you can dump info on me like that and I’ll just breeze past it like a billboard on the highway?”
“Yes.” Ward put a firm finality to the word.
“Oh hell no, captain.” Brick leaned back and crossed his arms. “If you want me to cover your blind side, you can take a damn minute to explain how you started dating Della freaking Bellamy.”
Ward dragged a hand down his face. His father’s reaction had echoed Brick’s. Dad had gone so far as to call him delusional before flatly refusing to close down Sevens or leave town during the last day of the festival.
“I’m not dating her,” Ward said.
“Yeah you are.” Brick’s tone mirrored Dad’s, right down to the you’re-not-that-blind sarcasm. “That’s exactly what you’re doing.”
Ward’s jaw hurt from clenching. Not only had he spent fifteen minutes arguing with his dad about this, he’d had the same damn conversation with himself more than once over the past few days. “That’s just our cover story.”
“Bullshit, man.” Brick waved a hand to swat that idea away. “You brought her home to meet your family and friends. You took her to the festival. You were staring into each other’s eyes so hard up there on that balcony that I saw sparks, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed.”
Ward flashed him a warning look. “We arenotdating.”
Brick raised an eyebrow. “So you’re telling me you haven’t kissed her?”
Heat crept into Ward’s cheeks.