Chapter Twelve ROWAN
Chapter Twelve
ROWAN
“What's with you and Mae?” Russell asked.
Glancing toward him while I rubbed my damp hair with a towel, I countered with, “What do you mean?”
Russell's eyes took on a glint with his sly grin. “Dude, this town's the size of a thimble. I was at Firehouse this morning when you kissed her before you left. You didn't even notice Paisley and me standing in line.”
I cast a sheepish smile his way. “Fair enough. How are things with you and Paisley?”
Russell and Paisley were pretty fresh as a couple.
Paisley had been on our crew, but she’d switched to another crew after Russell fessed up that he was in love with her.
He’d tried to persuade Graham to switch her back, but she held her ground.
I liked Paisley, and I thought she was good for Russell. I hadn't even known the guy that long.
“We’re good. How do you know Mae?” he countered, not letting me change the subject.
“We knew each other in college.”
“Ah. I've known Mae as long as I can remember,” he added.
“Oh, of course. You both grew up here.”
“Did you date her in college?” he prompted as he tossed a towel in the laundry basket in the corner and tugged on a pair of jeans over his briefs.
“We went on a few dates,” I offered, hoping to keep it vague.
Russell buttoned his jeans and glanced up, his gaze sharpening. “What the hell happened?”
At that moment, Graham, our superintendent, came walking in from the showers. “What did happen?” he interjected.
“Oh, my god,” I muttered under my breath.
Graham clapped me on the shoulder with a chuckle. “I don’t even know what you guys are talking about.”
I snagged a clean T-shirt out of my bag and pulled it over my head just as Russell explained, “Rowan’s got a thing with Mae, and they used to date.”
“I didn’t know you were so nosy.” I shook my head as I glanced over at him.
“I’m only nosy about my friends.”
“We were good friends and went on a few dates. Her roommate hit on me when I was at a party. I still don’t know what else happened, but after that, Mae stopped talking to me.”
“Oh,” Graham said, looking suitably horrified. “Mae’s really nice.”
I sighed. “I know. I didn’t do anything with her roommate. I swear.”
Russell chuckled. “Does she hate you? Because Paisley hated me. You can work through that,” he offered helpfully.
Graham toweled off and started getting dressed. “She must not hate him that much. I already heard that he kissed her at Firehouse this morning.”
I groaned. I couldn't believe I was fucking explaining this shit. “I think she might have sort of hated me, but we're past that now. I never got on her nerves the way you did Paisley's.”
Russell shrugged nonchalantly. “Hey, it's good for some things.”
“And that is all I needed to hear about that,” Graham said dryly. He stood and stuffed his feet into a pair of winter boots.
“You're not her boss anymore,” Russell added.
“Nope. And I think it's best for both of you that you're not on the same crew anymore.”
“Why, though? I like being on the same schedule as her,” Russell pressed.
“Because there's a reason Ward and Susanna aren't on the same crew. You don't need to be worried about how she's doing out in the field,” Graham said flatly.
Russell grumbled before nodding. “I get it, even if I don't like it. I gotta bolt,” he said as he put his jacket on. “You be good to Mae.” He pointed at me before he strode out of the room.
I shrugged into my jacket and checked my locker to make sure I had my keys. When I turned, I collided with Graham's assessing gaze. I liked him as superintendent for the crew. He was solid, had no tolerance for drama, and he treated everyone on the crew as equals.
“How well do you know Mae?” I heard myself asking, immediately cursing myself.
“She was a year or two behind me in school, but we grew up together in Willow Brook,” Graham offered. “Her parents are good people.”
My gaze whipped to his. Because I was that fucking hungry for information about Mae.
“To my knowledge, she's never been serious with anybody.
At least not here. Her mom's friends with my mom, and I hear everything from my mom because she's a gossip. According to my mom and her mom, she’s never had a serious relationship.”
“So, this is like fourth hand?” I asked dryly.
Graham chuckled. “My mom thinks she has baggage.”
“How the hell does your mom know that?”
“Small fucking town, dude. Like I said, her mom and my mom are practically besties.”
I took a breath, letting it out quickly. “I wish I’d been a few years older when I knew her before. Maybe then, I’d have had enough sense to figure out what the hell went wrong.”
“I get it, man. I know all about being too young to know better. I got a daughter from it. Best thing that ever happened to me. No judgment on that score. Just—” He paused, studying me for a beat.
“Mae’s not the kind of girl to play casual with.
I don't know you that well because you’ve only been around for a few months, but you seem solid.
You don't seem like the kind of guy who’d fuck with her feelings. ”
“I'm not,” I said solemnly.
It wasn't like I was planning to marry Mae all of a sudden, but I would never play with her feelings. I didn’t want to hurt her, by accident or otherwise. I suspected something I’d done before had hurt her by accident.
“You want to grab a beer?” Graham asked.
“Sure.”
I could use a beer, and I liked hanging out with Graham. I liked most of the guys on my crew.
Phoebe happened to be walking past our locker room, and Graham called out, “Yo, Phoebe!”
She stopped, leaning around the doorway to peer into the locker room. “What's up, guys?”
“Crew night at Wildlands,” Graham replied.
“Who’s going?”
“Just us three,” he returned.
“And me,” a voice chimed in when Chase appeared beside her.
“All right, let's do it,” Phoebe replied, nudging Chase with her shoulder.