Rocked (The Everyday Heroes World) - Julia Wolf Page 0,10
get it out now.”
“You’re probably right.”
It took some effort and elbow grease, but I got the old post out of the ground and disposed of it in the garbage can on the side of the house. By the time I came back, Kat had already gotten to work on setting up her table saw in her driveway. I should’ve left her alone to finish up, but I felt the need to set the record straight.
Clearing my throat, I started. “Hey, I gotta say I’m sorry again.”
Her head jerked up, and for the first time, I got a good look at her whole face, since she’d tucked her sunglasses in the front of her shirt. I was startled by the thick, flesh-colored scar that ran from beneath her full bottom lip, along her jaw, to the corner beside her ear.
She saw me looking again and tapped the scar with her index finger. “Car accident. Drunk driver.”
“Fuck, that had to have hurt.”
Her nostrils twitched. “Like a bitch.”
I huffed a humorless laugh. “Looks like it happened a long time ago.”
She lowered her chin. “It did. But I’ll never forget the feeling.”
Needing to defend myself and preparing for a fight, I sucked in as much oxygen as my chest would hold. “I wasn’t drunk.”
“I believe you.”
My brow pinched. “Why?”
She laughed, wiping her hands on the back of her jeans. “Veego checked you out when he showed you the cottage. He said you were walking straight and fully coherent. Turns out, you’re not a dick who drives drunk.”
I bowed my head. “Only a dick who drives tired.”
Amusement lit her eyes, and her lips, which were shaped like an upturned bow, quirked at the corners. “You said it.”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I glanced around the yard. I’d only been here for two days, but it seemed wrong that Leroy wasn’t rolling around on his back, soaking up some rays.
“We never officially met,” I said.
“That’s true.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I’m Kathleen Murphy, but everyone calls me Kat. Veego occasionally calls me Kitty Kat, but don’t take that as a cue to do the same. I hate when he does it, but I loathe when anyone else tries.”
My mouth tipped into a grin. “Damn, that was quite an intro.”
She lifted a shoulder. “You crashed into my mailbox, I told you my name. As far as intros go, yours is tougher to live down.”
“Maybe.” I crossed my arms over my chest, entertained as hell by this interaction. Too often, people kissed my ass. So much so, I’d gotten used to it. Expected it. It was refreshing to meet a woman who didn’t particularly like me and wasn’t afraid to show it. “I’m Devon Chambers, by the way.”
“I know.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “I do like your music. Well, the older stuff.”
Ah, she knew who I was and still didn’t have any trouble giving me a hard time. I liked this woman.
“I like my older music too,” I said.
At once, her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh wow, I’m sorry. If you came to my work and criticized the job I was doing, I’d knock your teeth out. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Rocking back on my heels, I was both amused and incredulous. “You’re apologizing to me now?”
She dropped her hands, tucking them in her pockets. “Only this once.”
Grinning, I nodded. “Got it.”
Her eyes did that flitting thing again, this time covering my face. After a full thirty or forty seconds, she stopped. “I should get to work on cutting the new post.”
“All right. I’ll leave you to it.” Jerking my thumb over my shoulder, I said, “I’ll be right next door. Yell if you need my help.”
As I turned to leave, she stopped me by calling my name.
“I know Ellie can be a lot, but try not to hurt her feelings when you send her away, okay? And I’ll try to keep her from bugging you. Leroy...well, no one controls Leroy.”
I hooked my thumbs in my jeans, grinning. “Nah, she’s okay. Don’t know if I have much to talk to a twelve-year-old about, but it’s no biggie. And Leroy…well, I feel him. We might be related.” With a wink, I sauntered back to my yard. On my porch, I picked up my notepad and wrote down a couple lines—the first I’d written in months.