“Oh my gosh, were you listening to us? What good is Lora?” I asked, playfully punching him.
“What?” Cane smirked, hooking an arm round my waist. “Had to make sure he wasn’t making any moves on my wife.”
“Not at all, sir,” Brody assured him. “I appreciate you trusting me with your address. I know it was the last thing you wanted to do.”
“Damn right. Not only because I don’t like you, but because Kandy’s father is here, and he’s a mean motherfucker. If he found out that you, the kid who had her expelled from a college she worked her ass off to get into, was here, he would kick your ass twice. Not even kidding. I’ve been the recipient of a D. Jennings ass-kicking myself.”
Brody looked nervous then.
“But, he doesn’t know. And I prefer it stays that way,” Cane assured him.
Brody relaxed, lowering his gaze.
“What are you doing with your life now?” Cane asked.
“Oh, uh, I work retail as an assistant manager, and I’m an assistant coach for a football team for 8-year-olds.”
“Hmm. Retail, huh?”
“You should give him a job,” I whispered. “I mean, he came all this way and hounded you. He’s clearly dedicated.”
Cane didn’t bother to lower his voice. “I don’t know about that, babe. He might stab me in the back down the road.”
I looked over at Brody. “No, he won’t. Because if he does that, I’ll have to tell my dad all about him. My dad, who happens to be a police sergeant. We wouldn’t want that, would we, Brody?”
Brody shook his head. “Nah, we wouldn’t.”
“All right then,” Cane said. “I’ll give you a chance. There’s a position open at my office in the mailroom. It sounds bad, but it pays much more than retail does, trust me. If you’re willing to relocate for a chance to do something better for yourself, email my assistant, let her know.”
A smile swept over Brody’s face. “Wow, sir. I appreciate the offer, but you don’t have to do that. My life isn’t bad—I mean, it’s not as fancy as yours, but it isn’t bad.”
“Seventeen dollars an hour,” Cane said, and Brody’s eyes bulged out of his head. “Plus benefits. Our mailrooms get pretty busy.”
“Uh…damn. I’ll definitely consider it, then.” He laughed and took a step back. “I’ll email soon, give you a solid answer.”
“Sounds fine.”
“Bye, Brody,” I called, watching him walk off.
“Thanks for your time.” Brody waved goodbye, and when he was out of earshot, Cane said, “I should make him go through the whole process and have them deny his application.”
“Oh my gosh, Cane!” I busted out laughing. “No. You’re just being an asshole. You meant well, I could tell.” I grabbed his arm. “Thank you for doing that—being the bigger person.”
“Only for you. I knew you would have wanted that closure. Stuff like that always haunts you one way or another. Besides…I think he’s a good kid deep down. Was probably going through some tough shit back then. College is hard. Lots of life changes. Not only that, but he reminds me of myself…minus the drugs. But I was big on drinking in college, and as you can tell from our little experience with Eden St. Claire several months ago, I was not very good to the ladies.”
“Yeah, you have a point.”
He smiled down at me. “Come on, let’s get back to the party.”
Cane walked with me into the house, and along the way, we spotted Lora rushing into the kitchen. Cane looked down at me, a dip in his forehead as confusion swept over him, then tugged me to the kitchen, a finger to his lips. Lora was pacing in front of the fridge. When she saw us out of the corner of her eye, she gasped, and her eyes got wide.
“Holy shit, you guys! You can’t sneak up on me like that!” she yelled.
“Creep up on you? We’re at a party full of people, Lora. What’s going on with you?” Cane released my hand, meeting up with his sister.
“Nothing—it’s nothing.” She shoved her fingers through her hair that was now crinkled from her braids and hanging down past her shoulders.
“You look one edge, Lo,” he stated. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just—okay, come with me.” She grabbed Cane’s hand and dragged him to the window that revealed our entire backyard. I met up with them, and Lora pointed out the window. “Do you see that guy over there with the shoulder-length hair? In the black suit and black tie? Do you know him?”
Cane narrowed his eyes a bit. I looked with him and saw a guy standing by the bushes. His hair was brown and wavy, his jaw cut and defined. He was barefaced, his eye swimming over the crowd like he was looking for someone.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Cane said, still staring at the man. “Why? Do you know him?”