Page 6 of The Map Home
Rebuttoning his coat and ignoring his growling stomach, Dakota slipped his gloves back on before answering Curtis.
“It’s good,” he said honestly. “A learning curve for sure, but good. Sorry, I should get going. Stay safe out there.” He tapped one gloved finger against the countertop, gave the visibly annoyed Tad a wave, and departed.
He may have left the pub without saying he’d show up at the ranch on Friday, but he knew Tad wouldn’t leave it at that.
Puppy-Dog Eyes would come out full-force.
THREE
Tad
“He’s a complicated person,” Curtis Lewis commented when Tad returned to his station behind the bar, irritated that Dakota had taken off without agreeing to come out to the bonfire or waiting for fries.
“You have no idea.” Tad stared glumly at the door his friend had departed through.
“I’ve been around the block once or twice, so I think I have a pretty good idea.”
Tad eyed the older man. He liked Curtis and had enjoyed his short time working at The Chron as a college intern.
“After all these years circling the sun, I’m still no expert on humans, but”—Curtis stroked his mustache—“Dakota is not going to be an easy one to crack. I think maybe he doesn’t trust himself around affairs of the heart.”
Somehow, Curtis had figured out that Tad was stupidly head over heels in love with Dakota Green during the time they’d worked together. Probably because Tad talked about Dakota all the time. Since then, Curtis and had assigned himself the position of love advisor to Tad—for the past three years, he’dbeen a sounding board for all things Dakota. Tad’s mom probably knew too, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. Besides, Tad wasn’t sure just how much she approved of Dakota as a life partner for him.
Because that’s how Tad felt, and he suspected that Dakota felt similarly, but, as Curtis had noted, his friend and partner in crime was a complicated person. Frankly, that was getting old though, and nobody in Collier’s Creek knew Dakota as well as Tad. Nobody.
“Dakota is…” Tad searched for the right words. “He’s the most trustworthy person I know. Solid as a rock. Why wouldn’t he trust himself? Ugh, he’s so frustrating.”
“Being worthy of trust and trusting yourself are miles apart. Don’t give up though.”
“Triple ugh!”
“What’s up?” Jacob had returned from bussing the rest of the empty tables.
“Nothing.” Tad waved a hand. “Life, the universe, all that.”
The pub was starting to clear out. There could be one more small rush of customers before they closed for the night, but Tad hoped not. Snow was still falling, and everyone who worked at Jake’s preferred their customers to be safe inside their homes.
“Did you drive tonight?” he asked Curtis. Curtis lived close by, in an older apartment building not far from Tad’s. It usually wasn’t worth the effort for him to drive to Jake’s—unless the weather was crap like it was tonight.
“Nah, walked here. And now I’m going to walk home.”
“Alright. Be careful out there.”
Tad watched as the older man rose from his seat, shrugged into his heavy coat, and made his way to the exit. Turning, Curtis waved and winked before heading out into the darkness.
“How about you head home too?” Tad said to Jacob. “It’s gonna be slow until closing.”
“You sure?” Jacob asked, but he was also already untying his apron.
“I’m sure.”
“Thanks a bunch! I can get an early start on my five-alarm chili for the fire station.”
Jacob took off and Tad busied himself doing side work. The owners were nice and Tad liked working for them, but like any business owners, they preferred not having employees standing around for hours getting paid for doing nothing.
Slowly, the pub emptied out until it was just Tad and the dishwasher.
He was in the midst of wiping down the large mirror behind the taps and liquor bottles, when red and white lights flashed past on the street outside. They were going fast, too fast for the icy road conditions. The first thing that crossed his mind—because he was a love-struck idiot—was that something had happened to Dakota.
