“Uh.” He steps to an area out of sight, behind the bed, and after a rustle of plastic, he returns, my phone in his hand. “Yep. Here.”
I’m surprised it’s in one piece.
He removes a pair of reading glasses from his coat pocket. “Plus twos, right?” He sets them on the bed with my phone. “Oh, and I brought you these.” He pulls out a dime store bag of butterscotch buttons, a smug grin tugging at his lips.
As much as I’d like to scowl at him, I’m too busy trying to keep my emotions in check. “Thanks, partner.”
“I’ll go check on Linnea.” CJ slips from the room.
With shaking fingers, I slide on the readers and pull up my contacts. I coax in several breaths to soothe my skipping heart before I make the call.
Chapter Forty-Six
I grope for my phone,then squint at the screen with bleary eyes.
“Rowdy?” I roll to my back and wipe sleep from my eyes.
“Hey.” His voice sounds gruff, and thick, though not from sleep.
Fragments of last night’s phone conversation blink into focus, and I pull the covers back and sit up. “Has something happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay, but…” He gives a soft laugh, which only heightens my unease. “I fucked up.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I slip my fuzzy robe from the hook in my closet and tug it on. “You don’t sound okay.”
“Last night, I was caught up in something kind of big when you called…something that required my complete focus.”
He woke me up at five thirty in the morning to explain himself? I’d be annoyed if we weren’t on such rocky ground—ground I put us on. I was looking forward to him coming over last night, so we could redo that conversation about Colton. When he reacted the way he did…it reminded me of all the compromises I’d made to keep my faulty marriage peaceful, and how I’d promised myself to never make those mistakes again. I should have been more open with Rowdy about my reasons, inviting him in instead of drawing a line in the sand. Because maybe, with time, Rowdy and I could share more than just fun?
“That sounds intense.” I keep my tone neutral.
“It was.”
I lower to the edge of my bed. “That’s one of the things I respect about you, Rowdy.”
“Come again?”
“You’re dedicated. Your attention is never fractured. You’re decisive and competent, and…it’s admirable.” Have I ever met a man with such high integrity?
“I shouldn’t have barked at you like that. And I shouldn’t have stood you up.”
I run a hand through my sleep-tangled curls. “Emergencies are going to happen, right? Especially with the work you do. Maybe next time, you’d consider cluing me in a little more?”
“I’m past considering, Keo.”
The sound of my name on his lips in this earnest tone is like my own personal sunrise. “Okay,” I say with a laugh.
“About Colton.” His voice has turned serious again. “I should have been more supportive. But I was too busy thinking it was about me. It felt like I got the short stick, you know? Maybe that doesn’t make sense.”
I smile. “It does.”
“Forgive me. It’s an old wound. Not yours to fix.”
I draw in my first full breath since our phone call last night. “Thank you for trusting me with something so tender.”
He acknowledges this with a soft hum. “Did you know that in Cambodian, Keo means ‘gem’ or ‘precious light,’ signifying good fortune?”
I smile. Why am I not surprised he’s dug this up? “Apparently inHawaiian it means ‘warrior’. But my parents didn’t have any of those in mind. They just liked how it sounded.”