Love Him Desperate (On the Market #5) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,21
knew wouldn’t keep the little beasts out.
“We should bury the birds,” Dmitri said when James turned back to him.
“Uh. What?”
“It seems mean to just leave them there.” He flushed a little, but he didn’t take back his statement even in the face of James’ disbelieving glare. “You don’t have to do it with me, I know it’s weird.” Dmitri rubbed the back of his neck, then shrugged and walked over to scoop them up. Before he could make contact though, James snagged his shirt again and hauled him back.
“Yeah, don’t touch that. That’s seriously disgusting and probably diseased. Let me get a bag first.” He didn’t let go until he seemed sure Dmitri wasn’t going to use his bare hands, then he popped into the side door, letting its slam echo across the parking lot.
Dmitri fought back his blush. He was fairly sure whatever germs the birds had on them wasn’t going to kill him, but he also wasn’t going to fight a man who looked like he would take a punch for fun, either.
James and his brothers were newcomers to Cherry Creek, but far more welcome than he’d ever been. The Motels were well-liked. And more than that, they’d become a Cherry Creek institution. The last thing he needed was to make an enemy of anyone in that family.
He startled when the door opened back up, but he caught the set of plastic gloves James threw at him, and he was a little surprised to find him holding a small, empty butter box. Dmitri slid the gloves on, then crouched down and carefully lifted the remains, sliding them into the makeshift coffin. It felt absurd and half embarrassed that James was indulging him in this, but he didn’t try to defend himself, and James didn’t ask. He just followed Dmitri across the parking lot, stepping over the curb and onto the soft, mossy ground that led toward the thicker woods.
Dmitri picked a spot near a cluster of boulders, green with lichen across the top. He sank to his knees and used his fingers to dig down and under the rocks until he’d hollowed out a little cavern. James passed over the box, and Dmitri nestled it into the ground, then he packed the dirt in and hoped that it was enough to keep the animals from dragging it out.
“Do you want to uh…say something?” James asked.
Dmitri allowed himself to laugh quietly. “I’m not five.”
“You just buried two half birds,” James argued.
Shrugging, Dmitri rose and peeled off the gloves, which were barely intact from all the digging, and he squeezed them in his fist. “I know it’s stupid. It just…” He struggled to find the words, because what he’d done really didn’t make sense from a man of nineteen, but the idea of leaving them to rot on the street or just throwing them into the trash felt awful.
James let out a sigh, then beckoned Dmitri along, surprising him when he led him to the door of Shalom and opened it. “Um,” he said, hesitating at the step.
James rolled his eyes. “You just buried two dead birds. You’re going to wash your hands, then we’re going next door to the bookshop for some coffee.”
“You don’t need to,” Dmitri started, but James apparently had had enough of his stalling, because he gave Dmitri’s arm a tug and let the door shut behind them. The kitchen smelled just like the Tavern—a mix of old food, cleanser, and raw flour. It was dark, and there were no sounds of prep yet, which allowed Dmitri to relax as James steered him to the employee bathroom.
It smelled a bit too much like piss, but there was a little bottle of Febreze, and it looked like Levi used the good soap. Dmitri scrubbed up to the elbows, then wiped his hands on a paper towel before venturing out, and he found James waiting for him with his back propped against the wall.
“You really don’t need to get me coffee,” Dmitri said, then he froze because James hadn’t actually said he was buying.
The Motel brother didn’t seem to notice though. He just silently led the way back outside, across the parking lot, then around the front to the public doors. The new buildings still had that fresh stucco and paint scent, and the wood beneath them was too new. Dmitri hated and loved it, the way the doors creaked, the way the bookshop was nothing like the one he’d loved as a kid.