Page 44 of Run to Ground
The silence felt thick as they stared at each other. It was too much. Jules had to do something, and since kissing was out, she went with babbling. “Did you have a good nap? It’s been a few hours, so you must’ve been tired. I mean, I know you were up for a long time to make sure your friend was going to be okay, but…” In the middle of the sentence, Jules realized she had no way to finish it, so she let her words trail off and waited for his reaction. She fully expected him to run away, since she was acting like a freak.
To her surprise, Theo gave her a tiny grin, more of a twitch of his lips than a smile, but it still warmed her from the inside out. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome?” Her voice rose in surprise at the end. “I mean, you’re welcome to sleep here anytime.” Her blush, which had been fading, flooded back with a vengeance. Although she was tempted to run off at the mouth again, to try to verbally take back the unintended innuendo, Jules knew it would just make it a million times more embarrassing. Instead, she changed the subject. “So…Dee is out front playing with Viggy.”
“I see that.” He tipped his head toward the window, which framed the little girl and the dog. Theo stretched, and as his muscles popped and shifted, Jules’s throat went suddenly very, very dry. “I should go.”
She so wanted to protest, but he didn’t need some criminal perving on him, especially when she knew she should stay far away. Instead of chaining him to the couch like she wanted to do, Jules trailed Theo to the front door.
He opened it and then paused, turning to look at her. Jules waited, her muscles tight in anticipation of what he was going to say.
“Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome again. And thankyouagain for saving our lives.”
That tiny smile came again, and then he was walking away. Jules had to bite down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep from calling him back.
Chapter 13
“What are you doing here?”
Theo scowled at Hugh, who was trying to maneuver into the bench seat across the booth from him. He was making a mess of it, knocking his crutches against the table and finally falling onto the seat in an awkward motion that made him wince. “Me? I’m not the one with a hole in my leg. Are you supposed to be driving?”
“I walked.” Hugh settled into place, and the pain lines on his face eased slightly.
“Hobbled.”
Hugh flipped him off and Theo raised his eyebrows. Normally, Hugh would’ve laughed at that. “Didn’t they give you pain meds?”
“Yeah.” Hugh grimaced. “They did.”
“Why aren’t you taking them?”
It was Hugh’s turn to look surprised. “Because they make me puke. How’d you know?”
“It’s obvious from your pissy mood. Can’t they give you something else that doesn’t make you sick?”
Hugh scowled. It wasn’t a look Theo was used to seeing. On his own face in the mirror, sure, but not on cheery Hugh. “Quit nagging. You sound like my grandma.”
“Fuck you.” Theo couldn’t put much heat behind it. Even though a week had passed since the shooting, he was still in a constant state of relief and gratitude that Hugh hadn’t died. After that first rush of rage at the hospital, it was hard to get truly angry with him.
“You wish.” It was Hugh’s standard answer, but it lacked the cheeky warmth that usually imbued the comeback. “Where’s the new waitress?”
“Jules.” The correction was out of Theo’s mouth before he could stop it.
“Right.” A hint of familiar humor lit Hugh’s gaze. “Jules. So have you seenJulesaround, or is she in the kitchen, reading your stealthily passed note and checking off whether she likes you or not?”
To his horror, Theo realized his cheeks were getting hot.
“Are youblushing?” Hugh hooted in delight.
To Theo’s relief and embarrassment, Jules chose that moment to hurry up to the table. His stomach dove and leapt in a disconcerting way, as if Jules was his own personal amusement-park ride. That thought heated his face even more.
“I’m so sorry!” Jules sounded breathless, which made Theo’s brain continue down the path it had already stepped on to. “This has been the craziest morning. The kids go back to school today, and Megan called me earlier to tell me that Laura, the waitress who was supposed to work this morning, was sick, so I couldn’t drop them off, so my brain is half here and half riding the bus to school with them, and I’ve already dropped Mrs. McCurdy’s eggs and rye toast with just a little butter on the floor, and—”
Reaching out, Theo grabbed her hand—the one that had been waving in emphasis, fluttering around like an anxious bird. He gave it a squeeze and received a grateful smile in return.
“Hey,Jules?” Hugh’s voice had an underlying note of amusement. Although Theo tried to feel irritated about that, he was just happy Hugh wasn’t looking bitter and pained anymore. “I’m really, really hungry. In fact, I believe my belly button might actually be touching my backbone.”
