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I haven’t cleaned up from breakfast and I tore the rest of the house apart looking for my phone - it had fallen between the couch cushions while I slept.
Honey’s already seen the mess, so there’s no point in trying to hide it, but cleaning gives me something to do to take my mind off Barley.
I’m putting dirty plates into the dishwasher when it hits me that Jared knows who I am and might decide to tell Honey, no matter what he promised Clover. I freeze, bent over the dishwasher, halfway to putting a dish in.
“You okay?” Honey asks. “Barley’s going to be fine, you know. Jared’s excellent at what he does.”
I drop the plate in the dishwasher and straighten.
Honey’s seated at my kitchen table, watching me intently.
“Do you want something to drink? A snack? Have you had breakfast?”
“I’m fine. You just focus on what you need to do to keep your mind off Barley.”
I nod. “Cleaning is helping. I don’t mean to be rude, but—”
“And I don’t mean to be rude by not offering to help, but cleaning is a stress relief for a lot of people and that seems to be how you’re using it right now.”
My shoulders drop a centimeter and tension whooshes out of me. Honey’s here for me. She doesn’t need me to do anything for her. “Thank you.”
The knock on my door comes before I’ve finished washing the pots and pans. “That was quick. Do you think it’s too quick? Did something happen?”
Honey gives me a sweet, gentle smile. “I’ll answer the door for you. I’m sure it’s fine, but if it’s bad news, Jared can tell me first.”
“Yeah, okay. I…” Except Jared might tell her who I am. “No. I got it.”
I sprint past her, ignoring her outraged, “Hey!”
Jared is on the front stoop, calm as can be. “It’s all done, man. No complications. He’s sleeping now and should be out for another hour or so. Monitor him starting in about an hour if you’re around.”
“I’ll be here.” I pass him five hundred-dollar bills. It’s five times what Clover said it would cost, but it can’t hurt to tip this guy well and stay on his good side. I should have him sign an NDA, but I can’t do that with Honey here.
“Just check on him a couple times a day for the next week, to make sure there’s no injury to the area and no swelling or anything. I… Oh, hey, Honey. I didn’t realize you were here.” He narrows his eyes at me.
“I got here while you were with Barley.” Honey smiles brightly at her cousin-in-law. Clearly, she likes the guy. “Glad he got through it okay.”
“He’s going to be just fine. I’ll be back to check on him early next week, but call if he’s acting strange or you see anything that doesn’t look right.”
“I will,” I say. “Thank you.”
Jared turns to step off the stoop, but stops and turns back to me, his expression pure trouble. “I forgot to ask. When are you going on tour again? I’ve got—”
“Tour?” Shit. I wasn’t expecting this. “Do you mean when I teach at other universities? We call that…” I look at the sky, but there’s no help there. “We don’t call it a tour.”
Jared smirks. “You’re a teacher, too? I’m talking about—”
I step out of the house and practically clothesline him as I throw an arm around his neck and pull him off the porch with me. “Let me walk you to your truck. I have a few questions about Barley’s recovery.”
“Right.” Jared chuckles. Somehow, he still sounds calm. Does nothing get to this guy?
He’s bigger than me, but he doesn’t fight me as I hurry us both to his truck. “I know you don’t agree with what I’m doing, but I need to be the one to tell Honey the truth.”
He shakes off my arm and stops next to the truck, glancing back at Honey, who’s standing on the stoop and watching us in complete confusion. “And why should I believe you have any intention of ever telling her the truth?”
I run a hand through my hair. “Nothing that’s in the press about me right now is true or good. I want her to get to know me as a person before she reads that crap.”
He clenches his jaw and narrows his eyes, and I’m sure I’m about to get punched. “I read about that shit. You saying you aren’t a cheater as well as a liar?”
