Page 72 of Out on a Limb
“I’m going to take her to get a drink.” Andrew pulled me away from where Grant continued to talk to the cops in his smooth, collected sort of way.
The man was unflappable.
Probably from all the arguing he did at work.
Andrew took me inside the gift shop, one hand on my back as he led me straight to the large break room. By the time we got there I’d managed to clear all the saliva obstructing my airway. “I’m okay.”
“I don’t know if you’re okay, but at least you’re better than Julia is.” He pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and opened it before handing it off. “But I figured she was the one most likely to out us.”
I took a drink. “Really?”
Andrew nodded. “She’s easy to read.”
“How did I do?”
He smiled just a little. “It’s probably a good thing you kept your hand over your mouth.”
“It’s hard to lie.” I leaned to peek around him, making sure we were still alone. “Especially to the cops.”
“Hopefully it’s easier to lie to your grandfather.” Andrew rested both hands on the counter behind me and leaned down, coming eye-to-eye with me. “You think you’re ready for that?”
Was I ready to lie to my granddad to save the garden my grandmother loved more than almost anything?
Fuck yes I was.
I nodded. “I’m ready.”
Andrew’s smile widened. “I knew you were.”
I stood a little taller. I wasn’t used to a man thinking I could do more.
Bemore.
I was used to the opposite.
Being told I was trying to be too much.
Attempting to do more than I was capable of.
And for so long I believed it.
Mostly.
“Pickles!” The breathless bellow sent a chill down my spine.
“Breathe.” Andrew’s voice was low and calm as he stepped away, moving to my side as my granddad marched his way into the break room.
“What in the hell is going on?” He looked pastier than I remembered him being.
Shorter.
Chubbier.
Less intimidating.
“Someone broke in.” I repeated the same story I offered the police, recounting how the gate was open when I got here. How Andrew and I went through the property and found the door to the office open and papers everywhere.
“Hell.” My granddad took a hanky from his pocket and swiped it across his sweaty brow. “Why is it so hot in here?”
