well that wasn’t how these things worked, but he wanted to. “Do me a favor?” he asked, opening the door of a waiting taxi.
He helped Ken into the backseat and Ken smiled up at him. “Anything you want.”
“Two favors, actually. Promise we can do this again sometime, and don’t be pissed at me tomorrow.”
Ken dropped his head back against the seat of the taxi and chuckled. “Not something I can ever see myself getting angry about.”
He was asking for a promise Ken couldn’t keep, and they both knew it. “You are so cute when you’re drunk. You’re full of shit, but you’re cute.”
Chapter 5
T HE KIDS on Ken’s caseload helped make the Seattle animal shelters a little cleaner and a little brighter for four hours on Saturdays. It wasn’t the cleanest, easiest, or most sanitary way for the kids to spend a Saturday afternoon, but they all usually enjoyed it. Forcing kids to work with animals had the added benefit of easing the resentment most of them showed up with. By the end of the afternoon, all of them were usually laughing and having fun, despite the hard work. Normally, Ken enjoyed it too. But this morning, when he’d been too hungover to get out of bed, he’d called and begged Mary Anne to get the kids started for him.
He wasn’t sure how much of the night before had been real and how much had been his alcohol-induced fantasy. When he’d woken up alone in his own bed, he’d desperately tried to convince himself he hadn’t gone out, that he hadn’t seen the object of his frustrations on the dance floor, that he hadn’t let the man suck him off and fuck him in the backroom of Corbin’s Attic. But when he’d gone out to his driveway and seen his car really wasn’t there, the reality of the night had come crashing back.
Despite the mild panic attack that had kept trying to creep up on him, he’d had a lucky morning. He’d made it down to Capitol Hill, discovered he’d somehow escaped a parking ticket, and managed to get to the animal shelter by ten o’clock. He’d done it all without throwing up his breakfast of aspirin and coffee too, so his hangover was starting to fade.
He found his boss in the animal shelter parking lot, watching a dozen teenagers like a mother hen.
“Will you take over Jay Connelly’s case?” he asked, not even wasting time with a greeting.
“It wasn’t enough that I filled in for you this morning?”
“I’m so sorry about that. I’ll take one of your on-call nights to make up for it, if you’d like.”
Mary Anne was only on call on Thursday nights. She chose Thursdays because they were usually quiet, so she almost always got a full night’s sleep. But assigning herself Thursday nights had one big disadvantage she had always complained about.
“I’ll take the Thanksgiving and Christmas shifts off your hands,” Ken promised. “The worst that’ll happen is the pager will rescue me from having to spend the night listening to my brothers coach me on the police entrance exam and interviews.”
Mary Anne made a sour face. “I do wish they would stop doing that. I know it’s what you always wanted, but if they could see how good you are with these kids, they’d stop bothering.”
“I like my job. They mean well,” Ken countered, “they just can’t see how I can find this rewarding.”
Mary Anne watched several girls in orange vests walk past on the one-block circuit around the park they’d assigned for the kids walking dogs. Ken tried to spot the other kids in the park across the street. He had to shield his eyes, even with his sunglasses on.
“So why are you giving up on Jay Connelly?”
“It’s personal,” Ken muttered.
“Personal? That’s surprising. Do you know why that’s surprising?”
“Because I haven’t done more than set up the terms of his supervision yet?”
“Because Jay likes you,” she said simply. “He was in a good mood when he got here. And the parent asked after you too. I didn’t get the
He helped Ken into the backseat and Ken smiled up at him. “Anything you want.”
“Two favors, actually. Promise we can do this again sometime, and don’t be pissed at me tomorrow.”
Ken dropped his head back against the seat of the taxi and chuckled. “Not something I can ever see myself getting angry about.”
He was asking for a promise Ken couldn’t keep, and they both knew it. “You are so cute when you’re drunk. You’re full of shit, but you’re cute.”
Chapter 5
T HE KIDS on Ken’s caseload helped make the Seattle animal shelters a little cleaner and a little brighter for four hours on Saturdays. It wasn’t the cleanest, easiest, or most sanitary way for the kids to spend a Saturday afternoon, but they all usually enjoyed it. Forcing kids to work with animals had the added benefit of easing the resentment most of them showed up with. By the end of the afternoon, all of them were usually laughing and having fun, despite the hard work. Normally, Ken enjoyed it too. But this morning, when he’d been too hungover to get out of bed, he’d called and begged Mary Anne to get the kids started for him.
He wasn’t sure how much of the night before had been real and how much had been his alcohol-induced fantasy. When he’d woken up alone in his own bed, he’d desperately tried to convince himself he hadn’t gone out, that he hadn’t seen the object of his frustrations on the dance floor, that he hadn’t let the man suck him off and fuck him in the backroom of Corbin’s Attic. But when he’d gone out to his driveway and seen his car really wasn’t there, the reality of the night had come crashing back.
Despite the mild panic attack that had kept trying to creep up on him, he’d had a lucky morning. He’d made it down to Capitol Hill, discovered he’d somehow escaped a parking ticket, and managed to get to the animal shelter by ten o’clock. He’d done it all without throwing up his breakfast of aspirin and coffee too, so his hangover was starting to fade.
He found his boss in the animal shelter parking lot, watching a dozen teenagers like a mother hen.
“Will you take over Jay Connelly’s case?” he asked, not even wasting time with a greeting.
“It wasn’t enough that I filled in for you this morning?”
“I’m so sorry about that. I’ll take one of your on-call nights to make up for it, if you’d like.”
Mary Anne was only on call on Thursday nights. She chose Thursdays because they were usually quiet, so she almost always got a full night’s sleep. But assigning herself Thursday nights had one big disadvantage she had always complained about.
“I’ll take the Thanksgiving and Christmas shifts off your hands,” Ken promised. “The worst that’ll happen is the pager will rescue me from having to spend the night listening to my brothers coach me on the police entrance exam and interviews.”
Mary Anne made a sour face. “I do wish they would stop doing that. I know it’s what you always wanted, but if they could see how good you are with these kids, they’d stop bothering.”
“I like my job. They mean well,” Ken countered, “they just can’t see how I can find this rewarding.”
Mary Anne watched several girls in orange vests walk past on the one-block circuit around the park they’d assigned for the kids walking dogs. Ken tried to spot the other kids in the park across the street. He had to shield his eyes, even with his sunglasses on.
“So why are you giving up on Jay Connelly?”
“It’s personal,” Ken muttered.
“Personal? That’s surprising. Do you know why that’s surprising?”
“Because I haven’t done more than set up the terms of his supervision yet?”
“Because Jay likes you,” she said simply. “He was in a good mood when he got here. And the parent asked after you too. I didn’t get the
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