“That wasn’t you?” Ty asked.
Another tinkling noise, this one quieter.
“Office,” Ollie barked. Without thinking about it, he grabbed the baseball bat Theo had left leaning against the wall in the living room.
Truly, he wasn’t thinking about it. If he had, he’d have realized that he wasn’t exactly wearing Kevlar. He had a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and a kid-size baseball bat against whatever the fuck was happening in the office.
But when he pushed open the door, it turned out not to matter. A figure dressed all in black was already legging it over the porch and out to the orchard. Shattered glass from the window littered the floor and desk.
Behind Ollie, Ty stepped into the room.
“What the fuck,” Ollie said, bewildered. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” Ty stepped into the room. “You?”
“I was in the kitchen.” Thank God Theo wasn’t home.
“Uh. What do we do? I mean….” He gestured at the window. “We can’t leave it like that, right? Except I guess we have to call the police?”
Ollie managed not to snort out loud. “The police who hate you?”
For a few moments no one spoke. Eventually Ty said, “I probably have to tell them, at least, right? Make a report? I’ll have to let the insurance company know….”
And here Ollie’d thought the day couldn’t get any worse. “Did your dad keep valuables in here or something?”
“How would I know?” Ty rubbed a hand over his face. “I only came in here long enough to grab the TV.”
Because he hated his father, and the feeling was apparently mutual. As the shock wore off, Ollie’s practical nature kicked back in. Whatever had happened earlier—whatever happenedlater—right now they had things to do. “You call the police,” he said. “I’ll heat up dinner.”
Chapter 18
AS OLLIEhad predicted, the police didn’t exactly inspire confidence that they were even going to pretend to investigate.
“Probably just some kids playing a prank,” Jake suggested. And this was the cop who actuallylikedTy. “They ran off when they realized you were home.”
That or they were driving home a point that Ty wasn’t welcome here, and breaking the window was the exclamation mark on the whole thing. “I’m guessing you’re not going to dust for prints.”
“Did they actually take anything?”
Honestly, Ty had no idea. He doubted it. Whoever had broken in wouldn’t have had much time between breaking the window and Ollie opening the door. “I’m not even sure they actually came inside.”
Jake winced. “That makes it vandalism, not breaking and entering. I can’t waste resources on that. Sorry.”
“Not like I expected different.”
Ty knew better by now.
“But look,” Jake went on, “I’m off in an hour. I could come back, help you clean up?”
Ty looked at him. He was earnest. One might even say hopeful.
Yeah, of course, why not. Ty just had a fight with Ollie, so the universe was allowing him one more person in town who didn’t hate his guts and wanted to bang him. Somehow he managed to smile politely. “Uh, thanks, but I think we got it.”
He really should have finished that beer.
Ollie had driven off in Ty’s truck when Jake had arrived. Ty didn’t know what to think of it and didn’t have any spare brain cells to speculate. Now, as Jake left, Ollie returned. He pulled the truck around to the backyard and pulled something out of the bed.
Ty slid on a pair of flip-flops and went out to join him.
