Rita rolls her lips inward and turns her cheek to me. “Fine.” Her arms flap outward, and she slaps her hands to her thighs. A slow second passes before she turns back to me. “Fine. But you have a job to complete here. Once it’s done, we can move you to another location, away from here, to complete the remainder of the months on your parole. I won’t be a supervisor on that site. I’m taking over the directorship role.”
In all the chaos, Rita hadn’t told me.
“Congratulations,” I say, finally looking over at her in her jeans and Building Buddies T-shirt. Seeing her hurts for all she could have meant to me and all she does. As I told her, she’s the best of women and maybe under different circumstances, I could admit I’d fallen in love with her.
Staring at her, I swallow my pride as I do need her help in a certain matter. “I would like to ask a favor.”
Rita straightens.
“I want you to give Nolan a job somehow. He needs this restorative justice program. I demanded he seek therapy, and he needs something constructive to do for redemption.”
Rita’s mouth falls open but then shuts. Her arms cross over her middle, and she looks away from me, then back. It’s comical to watch her arguing with herself in her head. She’s cute, but I fight the urge to laugh. I hate how once she’s in my presence, my attraction to her is just as strong as ever. I’ve stewed for days and had the past twenty-four hours to be really angry with her, but seeing her fight control of herself, I want to wrap her in my arms and kiss her senseless.
But I won’t.
“I’ll see what I can do. I’m not certain how to go about finding him something without explaining his guilt, though.”
“Try. Trying is all I can ask. At this point, we’ve all suffered enough, Rita. It’s time we each move on as best we can.”
Without another word, Rita turns on her heels and leaves me still gripping the edge of my truck. I hadn’t realized how hard I was holding back from reaching for her until my fingers ache as I peel them back from curling against the metal.
Suddenly, she spins back to face me, and I still, afraid I will reach for her after all.
“You asked me to have faith in you, and I did. I only wish you’d had the same faith in me.”
With that, she turns again, giving me her back, and walks away.
26
Rita
It wasn’t easy, but I found something I thought Nolan could do for Building Buddies. It took more than a week to consider my options and make a decision. As Jake suggested, I should have spoken to him first before planning the meeting with Parker Avery. In the same breath, I knew Jake might not show if I simply told him what I thought. I’d lost Jake in my bet that things would work. I’d known it was a risk. Lesson learned. I should never gamble.
Still, I found myself at his house with a proposition for Nolan.
“Is Jake here?” I could have called, but I thought it best we discussed what I’d come up with face-to-face. Nolan stares up at me through the screen door.
“He isn’t.”
It was a Sunday, and I expected Jake to be home, maybe working on a lamp in his garage, but the closed garage door gave no sign of him. In the heat, he’d surely have it open.
“Do you know when he’ll be back?” I ask, finding this kind of conversation tedious.
“Actually, I don’t know where my brother is. He left here a week ago. Said he was moving out. I thought he might have moved in with you.”
“Me?” I ask. “Why would he move in with me?”
Nolan shakes his head without answering. Licking his lips, he looks away from me, and I cross my arms, feeling the tension between us through the screen barrier.
“Could I come in? I’d like to talk to you.”
Debate plays out on Nolan’s face, but eventually, he acquiesces, tipping his head to the side. I help myself to open the door and enter the small home. The place is clean but very much a bachelor’s pad, complete with a slouchy couch and a flat-screen television taking up most of the wall. I help myself to a seat on the cushions while Nolan rolls into the room. He waits on me to begin.