Page 19 of Always Say Yes to a Dragon

“Yeah, but I wanted to try something new.”

Her lips curled down. “What was it like?”

“Normal milk, mostly.” It was a little disappointing. I wished I’d gone for the hazelnut latte. It’s what I usually ordered, but I hadn’t been able to resist trying something new. I hadn’t even thought to grab the hazelnut one on my way out, my brain too full and totally empty at the same time, like static was playing on a constant loop.

Mama sighed. “So. Fancy coffee and extra shifts. Does this mean no more of that driving job?”

“Yeah.” I wouldn’t have time to drive anymore, because I had to visit my sugar daddy every other night, but I bit my lip before the words escaped.

“Good. I didn’t like you doing that. You never know what kind of crazies’re out there.”

“Most folks were nice.” I’d never told her about the clients who hit on me, or, worse, the one who puked in my back seat.

Mama tsked.

“When do you start your shift?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.

Mama worked at a convenience store down the road, which was lucky because she’d had to walk to work for the last month or so. Dwayne hadn’t gotten around to fixing the ominous grinding coming from her brakes, and she couldn’t drive her car when her brakes might fail at any minute.

“I’m off today.” She shifted on the couch.

“You always work Wednesday nights.”

“Riley dropped me down to twenty hours a week.” Riley was her manager.

“Oh, Mama. What happened?”

“Dwayne didn’t like that I was always scheduled for nights. He didn’t think it was safe, so he talked to Riley about moving me to days. Riley must not have liked his tone, because he put me on days alright, but he dropped me down to part-time.”

My eyes went wide. “Dwayne talked to your manager? Behind your back?”

“It wasn’t behind my back. He told me he was going to do it.” Her lips thinned. “He’s very protective.”

“Um. Right.” Protective enough to get Mama almost fired. I recalled Az’zael’s hesitation in talking about his own family and wishedI could snap my fingers and have a supportive companion sitting next to me right now.

“Anyway, it don’t matter. I applied to a couple other places earlier today.”

“Great.” Hopefully Dwayne wouldn’t tank her next job like he had this one. Or her last one, when he’d accused Mama’s manager of hitting on her.

“Where is Dwayne, anyway?” I glanced around. It was ten minutes after five, and he was usually home by now.

“He picked up some overtime.”

“That was quick,” I said.

“He’s got extra hours every night this week.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Every night. Huh.” His auto shop got a lot of work, but I didn’t thinkthatmany cars needed servicing. Plus, he’d been there less than a year. If they were handing out overtime, they wouldn’t give it all to the new guy.

“Honestly, Elle.” Mama’s lips thinned. “I finally found a man who takes his responsibilities seriously, and all you do is judge.”

“Sorry, Mama.” Squeezing my eyes shut, I took a deep breath. I didnotwant to have another fight about Dwayne or the meaning of “responsibility.”

“Look, I made good tips last night. How much do you need for your brakes?” I asked.

“You know Dwayne handles that. He can’t stand having another man rooting around inside one of his cars.”

“It’syourcar.” She’d bought it before she even met Dwayne.

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