Page 38 of How to Trust a Hellhound
I didn’t sense any judgement, but Josh turned red.
“No! We all date different Smith men. I mean, I’m dating Wilder. Aiden is a pastry chef, and he’s dating Atlas, and Q works in the same coffee shop, and he’s dating Liam. Dexter is dating Toby—he’s the paranormal writer, so don’t mind some of the crazy stuff he says,” Josh answered. “So, we’re all pretty normal. Well, Q is snarky as hell, and Aiden was actually held captive for a year by a stalker, and Toby gets lost in plotlines… Okay, maybe we’re notnormalnormal, but we’re normally abnormal.”
Thea laughed, and I looked at the phone, surprised. I don’t think I’d ever set her at ease enough to get a laugh out of her.
“Are you coming to visit the Smiths? Wilder said you’re kind of in the same line of work as him, and I’m sure he’d be a great mentor. He’s really kind and understanding,” Josh said, looking at me.
I grunted. I wasn’t sure if I was agreeing or disagreeing, but I felt a bit odd having him praise me to Thea.
“I don’t know, Josh.” She sighed.
“You should. Our town is great, and it’s also totally normal,” Josh said. “A pretty boring town, just the way we like it.”
“I might make my way there, then. It was nice talking to you, Josh.”
She hung up before Josh or I could answer.
“Yeah, she’s got the same manners as the guys,” he laughed. Then he picked up the remote and looked at me. I nodded my head, cuddling him back in as he unpaused the show.
Somehow, Josh seemed to have convinced Thea to come here when I hadn’t been able to. Of course, he’d also said Paradise Falls was boring and normal, and really, it was probably the furthest thing from either of those.
I’d explain all the afterlifers in town later, though. After all, we had a documentary to watch together.
Chapter 15
Josh
“So you know how Toby is always going on about them being hellhounds? Well, apparently that’s what they’re named,” I said into the phone.
Sebbie had called, and he’d barely gotten a hello out before I’d burst out with my news.
“Josh, did you hit your head? You’re the rational one,” Sebbie answered.
I laughed. “Not hellhounds like Toby is always saying. You know how he is—everything gets a little twisted. No, apparently it’s their job. They’re like special forces or something, or hitmen, and they’re called The Hellhounds. But they work for the government or something, and they really do only go after bad people.”
“Huh. Like a motorcycle club? The Hellhounds?” Seb asked.
“Yeah, except without the motorcycles,” I said. “I didn’t ask too many questions, because I don’t know if I really want to know, but Wilder told me last night.”
“Ohhhh. Wilder told you last night?” Sebbie said, drawing it out.
I smiled. “Yeah. He kind of asked me to date him.”
Seb gasped. “Josh! That’s so exciting! I could tell you were totally interested in him, even when you were still with the dickbag.”
I laughed at Sebbie’s name for Rick. “Yeah, I was. I just hope I’m not jumping into something too soon. Seb, he’s really amazing, and I don’t want to ruin this because I have so much baggage from Rick. And itissoon.”
“You and Rick have been done for a while,” Seb stated. “You stayed because he was a manipulative asshole, and now you’ve had some time to process everything that happened. I think you and Wilder are a great idea.”
I was glad to have Seb’s support, but I was still worried. “A week or two after a break up is not a lot of processing time. I’m thinking of maybe going to see Aiden’s therapist.”
“That’s a good idea. It sure can’t hurt.” Seb paused, adding, “Just be careful of your heart, Josh. Wilder seems like a great guy, and I’m sure he wouldn’t hurt you, but once you invest in someone, you give them your all. Sometimes more than your all.”
“Eh,” I answered.
“It’s true! Josh, you are, like, the most supportive guy I know. You havealwaysbeen there for Toby and me, and you give every relationship you’ve ever been in so much attention. You remember that guy in college, don’t you?”
I groaned. Yes, I remembered Mike. He was a sweet guy, and we really didn’t match up well, but we’d ended up dating for almost a year because neither of us wanted to hurt the other one. It was kind of comical when we’d actually had the break-up talk, and we’d stayed friends until he started dating someone new who thought it was weird he still talked to an ex.
