I bit my lip. I had nowhere to go, so moving out was going to be a bit of a problem, but Shadow was on a roll, so I just let him go with it.
“I, ah,” Calloway stuttered again.
Shadow pulled out yet another piece of paper and slid it in front of him. “I have taken the liberty of having a contract drawn up that outlines exactly what I just said.”
“You did?” I whispered.
“Lyric did it,” he said. “So, you’re going to sign it, Posey’s gonna sign it, and I’m gonna witness it. She’ll be moved out by Saturday, and you’ll have her money to her no later than the Monday following her move out.”
“I—”
“You don’t know who I am but let me remind you that I can make your life very uncomfortable if you don’t make this right.”
“Did you really know these ovens were recalled?” I asked Mr. Calloway. “Sharon is elderly. If her range caught fire, she’d have a hard time navigating those stairs to get out quickly. She could be in danger. I thought you were a nice man. A man who took care of people.” I bit back frustrated tears. “This is not okay.”
“I want you out by Friday,” he snapped, signing the paper, and storming out my door.
“Sign it, baby, then you can melt down.”
I signed the paper, Shadow followed suit, then he wrapped his arms around me, and I burst into tears. “I don’t have the money to move, Nolan,” I said on a sob. “I also don’t have anywhere to go. Why did you do that?”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“How? I have only three days to ‘figure it out,’” I snapped, pushing away from him. “What right do you think you had to blow my life up like that?”
He crossed his arms and watched me as I paced my soon to be ex living room.
“Jesus Christ, I fucked you once and you think you have the right to make decisions for me? You just fucked everything up!” I threw my hands in the air. “This is why men are a fucking waste of time. This is why men are a fucking pain in the ass.” I jabbed a finger at him. “I knew you were trouble, waltzing in here with all your ‘muscles’ and ‘manly help,’” I sneered, using air quotes as I put emphasis on different words. “I was doing just fine before you chose me as your ‘project.’ And now you’ve come in and given an ultimatum to the man who’s responsible for my shelter, not to mention, pointed out that Sharon is in imminent danger. Because of you, I have to figure out how to make sure Sharon is safe and then find me a bridge to live under!”
I glared at Shadow who hadn’t even twitched during my rampage.
“You done?” he asked.
“Am I done?” I ground out. “Am I done?” I was yelling now, but I didn’t care. “No, I’m not fucking done! You’re not seeing where I’m coming from,” I accused. “You stand there all stoic and smug, asking me a dumbass question like, ‘Are you done?’ Maybe ask me something like, ‘how can I help?’, or ‘what do you need from me?’, but you don’t. Instead you’re a total snot and ask, ‘Are you done?’ What I am, is done with you, so go ahead and take that great ass out my door.”
Shadow grinned. “No.”
“Why are you smiling? You shouldn’t be smiling. I just gave you a dress down and that means you need to get your ass out of my house.”
“No.”
I let out a frustrated groan. “When a woman asks you to leave her home, you leave her home.”
“Considerin’ you don’t have all the information, I’m gonna pass on that offer.” He grinned wider. “Plus, half your rant was delivered in angry air quotes which is fuckin’ adorable, so I’m gonna just stay right here.”
“What do you mean I don’t have all the information?”
“You have a place to go, Posey.”
“I’m not moving in with you.”
He shook his head. “Not with me. Do you want to take a second and breathe and I’ll fill you in?”
I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t know.”
“You remember meetin’ Otter and Shiloh?”
“No.”
“Otter’s the big guy with the long beard and Shiloh’s the redhead who was attached to him all night.”
“Oh, right. Yes. She was sweet.”
He pulled his phone out and fired off a text, then focused back on me. “Well, they have a guest house. Doom and Otter just finished the reno and it now has a bedroom, bathroom, small living room and kitchenette, so it’s not as big as this place, but it’s a sweet pad and it’s available if you want it.”
“What’s the rent?”
“Less than here.”
“How do you know what I pay?” I challenged.
“Because I looked.”
I narrowed my eyes. “It’s confidential.”
He shrugged. “Do you want the place, baby?”
“I’m mad at you, don’t call me ‘baby.’”
“How about you pack up anything you don’t want seen by my brothers? They’ll take care of the rest and you’ll be out of here on Thursday.”
“What if I don’t like the guest house?” I asked snottily.
He closed the distance between us and handed me his phone. “I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.”
I glanced at the screen. “This is it?”
“Yeah. Otter just sent the pics.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line in an effort not to ooh and aah. Good lord, it was adorable. Shadow leaned down to get eye-to-eye with me and I made a big show of swiping through the pictures to avoid looking at him, and let out a quiet gasp when I landed on a photo of me. I was sitting on the edge of my bed, my face turned toward the window and I was off in some other world, but I looked happy. “When did you take this?” I asked.
“Yesterday.”
“I look…”
“Beautiful.”
“Stop it,” I whispered.
“Stop what, baby?”
“Stop being nice to me when I’ve been a complete hippotwatamus to you.”
He settled his hands on my shoulders, sliding them gently down my arms. “Come here.”
I didn’t go there. “I’m still not happy you tried to run my life.”
“But you like the place.”
“Photos are just photos, Nolan,” I pointed out.
He pulled me against him and kissed my temple. “You workin’ tomorrow?”
“Yes, I have two clients in the morning and a class just after lunch.”
“Plan on going over to look at it in person tomorrow after your class. I’ll set it up and text you the details.”
“You’re still in the doghouse.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be allowed back inside after you see the place,” he retorted.
“No promises.”
He smiled. “I have to get to the station.”
I grabbed his vest. “Be careful.”
He leaned down and pressed his nose gently to mine, then kissed me. “Always.”
Then he was gone, and I felt totally deflated.