Page 107 of Sergeant O'
Oh, hell no.Had I just made it worse?
I turned to the man who’d said it and firmly put him in his place. “Don’t be an ass. Jade did me a solid by helping me get out of town and away from those cameras. That’s it.”
I don’t think the guy was expecting to be called out, because he simply swallowed hard and gave an embarrassed nod.
Dad held the coffee mug to his lips with a smirk.
“I guess you cleared that up.”
“Good. I don’t want people talking about her.”
He nodded thoughtfully as he took a sip. Finally, he reached in his pocket for his wallet, then threw a ten-dollar bill on the counter and gestured toward the door.
“Come on. I’m sure your mother would like to see you.”
We walked outside, and Dad looked around at the vehicles on the street. “Where’s your truck?”
“Still in Massachusetts. Alan is bringing it back next week.”
His eyes narrowed. “So, how’d you get to Jade’s yesterday?”
“I walked.”
His eyebrows went to his hairline. “You walked?”
I shrugged like it hadn’t been a big deal. “Yeah.”
“And did you walk here?”
I spun Lainey’s bedazzled keyring on my index finger. “Lainey let me borrow her Civic.”
He clicked his fob to unlock the doors of his truck and said, “Come on. I’ll drive.”
We climbed into the cab, and he started the engine.
“How’s Lainey doing?”
“She seems to be okay. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Adam alone, but they’re definitely in the honeymoon phase.”
“Yeah. I’m trying to keep his schedule the same so he can be home with her and the baby at night. She’s a strong woman, but she needs to feel safe—especially since you and Jade took off.”
“We didn’ttake off,” I grumbled defensively. “We just used some of the mountain of PTO each of us has racked up.”
“Actually, you didn’t. You’re still on paid administrative leave.”
“Well, then she used some of hers.”
“So. A woman who never goes on vacation suddenly decides to go on one. With you. Alone. To a cottage with one bedroom. Because you’re friends.”
“I told you, it was just for show.”
“Bullshit.” His bluntness caught me off guard, and all I could do was stare at him while he continued, “I saw the video and the pictures. You’re not that good of an actor, Son. You’re into that girl. And she’s into you. So, you can sell that story in the diner all you want, but don’t try selling it to me.”
I almost argued but decided not to bother. My dad knew me pretty well. Instead, I leaned back with a sigh. “It doesn’t matter. We decided not to date in Haven Springs.”
“Why not?”
Okay, I was not going to tell Angus that we’d agreed to just have a fling in Cape Cod and leave it there.
