Page 132 of The Last Second Chance
“You’re a funny guy, Cardona.”
“Thanks, but looks aren’t everything. My mama always told me I’d grow into my nose.”
“A real riot. How is it the B.C. hasn’t lined you up with some cute candle-making hippie by now?”
“I’ve threatened to arrest every single one of them on disturbing the peace charges if they try it.”
“Nice try. This is Blue Moon. Disturbing the peace arrest records go on resumes here.”
“Every time I get trapped in a conversation with one of the B.C. members, I fake an emergency and run away like an Olympic sprinter.” He glanced down at his phone.
Joey looked around her. Every one in the studio with the exception of her was staring intently at their phones, typing away with their thumbs.
“This is what’s wrong with society,” Joey grumbled.
“What’s that?” Donovan asked, shoving his phone in his gym bag.
“Look at everyone texting and Facebooking and whatever else they do on a phone.”
Donovan looked guilty. “They’re probably just turning their phones off for class. So, are you going this weekend?”
“What’s this weekend?” Joey asked, still distracted by the thoughts of phones taking over the world.
“The Sit-In. It’s Saturday.”
“God, no. I have too much work to do.” And zero desire to surround herself by an entire town who probably now knew her shame. Besides, Jax would be there. You didn’t live in Blue Moon and miss this event.
Nope. She’d stay at home with Waffles and work. With Apollo’s stud fee finally decided on, she could start reaching out to potential clients for spring.
“That’s a shame,” Donovan said. “I hear it’s going to be even better than last year.”
“Last year the popcorn stand caught fire in the gym. The school smelled like burnt popcorn until summer.”
“Nowhere to go, but up!” Donovan shrugged.
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Joey, feeling marginally less murderous after yoga, headed home. The heater in her pick-up pumped out warm air in an endless battle against the upstate New York winter. She’d avoided Gia’s well-meaning invitation to go get a drink and talk about the surprise baby shower they were planning for Summer, which was code for “drag information out of you in the name of friendship and then offer completely useless platitudes like ‘forgive and forget.’”
Nope. Joey was going to go home, curl up with her dog and stare at the TV until it was time for bed, at which point she would go upstairs and stare at her bedroom ceiling and try not to think of all the amazing orgasms she’d recently enjoyed in said bed. Yeah, life was just really freaking grand right now.
When she got home the first thing that tipped her off to a break in was the fact that Waffles was enjoying a massive chew bone the size of a cattle leg. The second thing that tipped her off was the note on the microwave that said “Open Me.”
Inside was a Shorty’s to-go box with a burger and onion rings. This was clearly the work of Jax.
She really needed to start locking her doors.
The next note was on the counter and directed her to look at her coffee table. She was tempted to ignore it and just go upstairs and wash away her troubles in the shower. She could just throw the burger in the garbage and warm up whatever the hell leftovers she had in her fridge.
Or she could just eat the burger. No one would have to know. It would be a shame to waste a perfectly good, still warm Shorty’s burger.
She took the takeout box over to her couch, furtively glancing out front and back windows to make sure no one was witnessing her dinner surrender. Satisfied that it was just her and Waffles, Joey flopped down on the couch.
On the coffee table in front of her was a fat envelope topped with a bottle of bourbon and a ridiculous coffee mug plastered with horses and hearts.
There was another note rolled up in the mug.
Joey,
