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Josie whipped around, taking in the firm set to Sam's jaw and the way his hands curled into fists at his sides “Stay out of this, Sam”
The giant's smirk practically shouted out his hope that Sa “Don't fuck this up, Josie, or it won't just be you and Cyril facing the consequences”
He walked away, a crowd of students parting automatically to st theet as far away as possible
It took thirty seconds before Josie could feel the tips of her ears and another fifteen before her earlobes began to throb as the blood vessels opened up in reaction to the warmth of Sam's office Linc had to have already been in Dry Creek when that bastard Snips called in the wee hours thisto chance Neither could she
“Sam—”
He silenced her by holding up his hand “First things first”
Ignoring her, he busied hile-cup coffee maker on a sideboard that wouldn't dare hold a speck of dust, if the rest of Saeheld books alphabetized by author The pen cup on his desk held only black pens A white, unlined notepad sat near the phone The rest of his desk was as barren as Nebraska looked from 20,000 feet above
The only bit of color came in the form of the lone framed photo on the bookshelf In it, Saer redheaded woman with curly hair and a devil-may-care smirk Josie picked it up for a closer look One of the as Must be a brother The other h lines and bald head of the tallest identified him as Dad The tall woman, his mother that they'd passed on the sidewalk, had Sam's serious face Her fierceness was undilance she leveled at the father
“The Laytons” He stood behind her, casting a shadow over the family photo
She tried to ignore it, but a frisson of soainst her skin and overheating her flesh until her thin sweater felt as if it was hing inside as his gaze dipped lower and then snapped back up to her eyes a millisecond later
“Your mom looks like a handful”
“You have no idea” He handed her a plain whitefilled with coffee
“Thank you”
“Have a seat” He nodded toward an empty wooden chair across from his perfectly clean desk
She sat down and Saainst one corner of the desk