Page 74 of Trusting Skulls

“Thank you. I’ll definitely think about it.”

He places his hand on my bicep. “I’m glad you’re okay. You guys have a good evening.”

“You too,” I say, leaning into JD until Graham removes his hand.

JD doesn’t release me until he’s back in his car.

I don’t watch him drive away, I simply grab the last box, hoping JD doesn’t notice how flustered I really am. JD takes it from me.

“I got it. Why don’t you hop in?”

When he joins me, I apologize. “I’m sorry I made you do all the work. I had to say hi to my dad’s boss. I thought it would be rude if I didn’t.”

“No worries. I came along to help.”

“Really? I thought it was because of my subpar driving skills,” I joke, but JD doesn’t laugh. I clear my throat. “Anyway, it was nice he offered me a job.”

JD stares at the road, making me nervous. Is he mad at me? Does he know what I’ve done with Graham? Is it obvious? It can’t be. My own parents didn’t even notice.

“Maybe I should take him up on it. The office here is nice. I had to drop off some papers there for my dad one time. I mean, it’s small but …” JD remains quiet as he listens to my ramblings.“Like, Mr. Dolan doesn’t work there. His office is in Reno. I think there are just a couple of women that work at the local branch.”

I slide my hands under my legs and turn to look out the window. Maybe I should just shut up.

“You done?” he asks.

I shrug my shoulders. “Um, yeah, I guess.”

“There are plenty of places in this town to work. If you think his offer of employment was made inyourbest interest, then by all means consider it. I want you to use your intuition on this, Lex.”

“Okay, yeah, I will.”

Ash is standing at the grill when we pull in. I breathe a sigh of relief. I’ve missed him. I know it’s only been a few hours, but it’s felt much longer.

I impatiently wait for JD to round the truck to open my door for me. Sometimes this being a gentleman thing is for the birds.

My feet hit the dirt as soon as he has it open, but JD snags my arm before I can run to Ash. “I’m not done.”

I toss my head back and stare at the bright blue sky.

“I’m sorry you weren’t protected as a child, but I want you to understand that you’re no longer that little girl. You’ve grown into a strong woman. One who is capable of making good decisions for herself. She can also ask for help if she needs to, because she’s not alone anymore.”

“I know.”

“Do you?”

“If not, I’m sure you’ll remind me,” I tease.

“You know it. Now go say hi to Ash, but don’t distract him too much. I don’t want burnt steak for supper.”

“Okay,Dad.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ash

“What were you and Lexie talking about when you pulled in? It looked pretty serious,” I ask JD as soon as Lexie heads into the house to help Elizabeth make a salad.

JD lights up a cigarette before dropping his ass into his rickety lawn chair. “We ran into her dad’s boss in town. He offered her a job.”

---