Page 33 of Renard's Deliverance

“You’re terrible,” she told him without heat.

“I know. Now, get in the truck. Daylight’s wasting.”

“It’s only noon.”

“Yeah, but who knows how long it will take to get this security light secured?”

Opal sighed. “Look, I get you think you’re doing something nice?—”

“Something nice? Me?” He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t think so. Pretty sure I don’t know how to be nice.”

“Pretty sure that you like people to think you don’t know how to be nice, meanwhile, you’re going around behind their backs doing all these nice things.”

He crossed his arms over his chest while giving her a stern look. “Don’t be spreading any rumors about my niceness.”

“No?”

“No. I’m mean. I’m grouchy. I’m sarcastic. And I like it that way.”

Hmm. Seemed she’d touched a nerve.

Part of her wanted to keep prodding at him until he exploded and showed his true colors. That’s what the old Opal would do. But now, with Doctor Susie’s help, she could recognize those bad behaviors and stop herself.

Mostly.

She shouldn’t assume that everyone was bad until they proved they were good.

Apparently, it was meant to be the other way around.

But she still had problems thinking that way. It just seemed like she’d be constantly disappointed.

“You like being mean?” she questioned.

“Yep. Just ask my sous chefs. They’re probably fucking up my food as we speak.”

“Shouldn’t you go check on it, then? Wait. Didn’t you say this was your day off?”

He grunted. “Yeah, it is. The new chef that Saxon hired was running late so I started doing the prep for her.”

She winced, wondering if he’d yelled at the poor woman for being late. “Were you mean to her when she arrived late?”

“Nope. Her car broke down. Not her fault.”

And he just kept showing her glimpses of that marshmallow inside.

“Careful you don’t show me too much of your insides, I have a sweet tooth,” she warned.

“Am I supposed to know what that means?”

She didn’t want to explain it. Because she couldn’t believe she’d just said that.

“It doesn’t matter. Why do you care about replacing my security light? You didn’t break it. Why are you doing this?”

“Somebody has to. And I’ve got nothing better to do with my day. Get in.”

5

What was wrong with him?

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