Page 11 of Griffin
"Hey, we all have mornings like that. I've left some lists on your desks for purchase orders, and there are a few phone calls to make."
I nodded. "I'll get on it right away and really, I'm so sorry about this morning."
He walked over. "Please don't stress about it, Shay. You work hard, and you're doing a great job."
I had to hold back tears. I was so used to only being criticized and told what a failure I was, it was overwhelming to be treated kindly and with respect. There was no way I was leaving this job. Tate could go straight to hell over it. In fact, he could go straight to hell anyway. It was where he belonged.
SEVEN
GRIFFIN
I hadn't seen much of Shay all week, but I happened to look up from my work to see her on foot hurrying up the gravel drive to the site this morning. She'd looked upset. I'd purposely kept myself from visiting her in the trailer. I was having a hard fucking time getting her out of my head, which told me I needed to keep clear. She was married, and Dad was pleased with his new hire, so he'd have my head if I messed it up.
The whistle blew for morning break. Lately, a Mexican food truck had been showing up for break time. There was a literal stampede through the worksite for their breakfast burritos. Shay stepped out into the sun as the dust from the stampede settled. She sat at one of the picnic tables to sip her coffee. I'd been a fucking saint for almost three days, but I couldn't stop my feet from walking that direction. She was wearing a white sweater and jeans, and her short hair ruffled in the breeze. A smile as white as her sweater appeared when she spotted me walking toward her.
"You're not in line at the truck? I really took you as a breakfast burrito kind of guy," she said. Her smile stayed, and it was incredible.
I threw my leg over and sat down on the bench across from her. "I love a good, spicy breakfast burrito as much as the next guy, but the only thing I crave after downing one of those monsters is a nap."
Colt walked past us. "No breakfast burrito, Fin?"
"Don't see you carrying one either."
"No way." Colt shook his head as he headed to the trailer.
"Better take some of those old man tummy pills," Griffin called to him.
Colt gave him the finger and disappeared inside.
"Did your car break down?" I asked. "Noticed you walked onto the site this morning."
"Oh that. Yes, it was a hectic morning. My husband got home, and he needed the car. I took the bus."
"Well, if you need a ride home—" The offer came out before I could give it a good once over. I was silently trying to convince myself the offer was just out of politeness and not an opportunity for me to spend more time with her.
"No, thanks," she said quickly. The offer flustered her, and I wanted to kick myself. "I'm fine. I enjoy riding the bus. I meet interesting people on buses."
"Sorry, I wasn't trying to—well, just if you needed it, that's all." Shit, the last time I felt nervous talking to a girl was back when I'd worked up the courage to ask Rebecca Johnson to the sixth-grade dance. She'd accepted, but her dad put an end to the whole plan. "You're not going out with a Stone" were the words Rebecca wrote in the letter she stuck in my backpack.
"Thanks again, but I'll be fine. This morning I met the most wonderful woman named Annie. She was on her way to visit her daughter, and she told me so many fun stories about her childhood." Shay tilted her head at me. "I'll bet you've got a few good ones yourself."
"Like the time when he got caught behind the high school gym making out with the school librarian." Theo's voice rolled over my shoulder. He plopped down hard next to me and added to his annoyance with a hearty slap on my back. I gave him a look that assured him he'd be paying for the slap later, and he forced a smile and dropped his hand. Theo reached across the table. "I'm Theo. I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Fin's cousin."
"Oh right. I've seen you out here on site. I'm Shay."
Theo nudged me with an elbow. "She noticed me."
Shay laughed. "Well, like your cousin here, you are quite noticeable."
"Glad to hear it." Theo bowed his head. He was always a fucking idiot when it came to beautiful women. And they never seemed to mind. In fact, they drank up the idiot-ness with thirsty adoration.
Shay rested her forearms on the table and held her coffee cup between her long fingers. "Now that the intros are done, I absolutely have to hear about the make out session with the librarian, but let me preface it by saying our school library was run by a lady named Henrietta, and she'd been a marine, and well, let's just say we all trembled in our bedazzled sneakers whenever she looked our way in the library."
"I knew you were the bedazzled sneaker type," I said.
Theo laughed. "Nice try on the topic switch, Fin. Jolie, that was the librarian's name, was no marine, and I admit, she was hot and very young and our boy, Fin, here, really poured on the charm. He also spent more time in the library that year than he'd spent in one his whole damn life. Pretended to be reading but he was really just watching Jolie."
I looked over at Theo and gave him another look that matched the one after the slap on my back. "You done with your nonsense?"
