It had only gotten worse from there, as he’d dealt with an accident on Highway 44, with injuries that could have been prevented if people bothered to use their seat belts. What did folks think those things were for? Decoration?
By the end of his shift, he was in a foul mood and he needed some stress relief. He decided to head straight for the gym. He ran off some of his agitation on the treadmill, already logging several miles in thirty minutes.
Admittedly, as he looked through the glass into the hallway, he half expected Jane to walk by. But after she’d brushed him off for the third time in the past week when he called, he stopped calling.
He should stop looking for her, too. He’d been so distracted, his head filled with the events from today, that he hadn’t looked for her car in the gym parking lot. He had no idea if she was here or not.
She’d made it clear by her lack of return phone calls that she didn’t want to be bothered. He’d grabbed a clue and stopped calling, another thing to add to his irritation load today. He increased his speed and started running until sweat poured from him.
“Training for a sprint or a marathon?” Luke asked as he climbed on the treadmill next to him.
Will didn’t answer, not until he’d drained out enough frustration that he slowed his pace to a walk, took several long swallows of his water and could breathe again. “Neither.”
“Oh. Shitty day, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“I heard about the turnpike closure this morning. That had to blow.”
He did his cooldown, walking enough now that he could talk. “It did.”
“So it’s work that has you in a bad mood?”
“Mostly.”
“Mostly, huh?” Luke pinned him with a look. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Nope.”
“Okay.”
One thing he liked about Luke was that he wouldn’t press him until Will was ready to talk about whatever it was that bothered him. The truth was, other than his colossally awful day, there was a lot more that bothered him—namely Jane. A bad day you could throw off by working out the stress. Tomorrow would just as likely be a routine, boring day.
His issues with Jane wouldn’t go away as easily.
He went to the bench press after he finished up on the treadmill. Luke joined him there not much longer after he’d started up with the lighter reps, so Luke spotted him on the heavier weights, staying quiet other than talking about work stuff. He spotted Luke and they moved over and did shoulders, then squats, working in companionable silence, just what he needed. A good workout, a great sweat, and a partner who didn’t ask too many questions.
He showered when he finished and Luke met him in the locker room.
“Feel like grabbing a burger?” Luke asked.
“Sure.” He’d missed lunch today and only had time for a protein bar, so he was more than ready for a good burger. They stopped at Bert’s and Will ordered his with the works, along with a side salad and fries.
“Well, if it isn’t two of Hope’s finest in law enforcement.”
And to think he’d almost made it through the entire evening. He lifted his gaze and smiled. “Hey, Chelsea. What’s up?”
She pulled up a chair. “Nothing much. What are you two up to tonight?”
“Just hanging out,” Luke said. “Have you eaten?”
“No. I’m doing an order to go. There’s some hot reality TV at home calling my name. How about you two?”
“Eating,” Will said, the evidence of that on his plate.
“Master of the obvious, aren’t you, Will?” She looked over at the counter, then turned her attention back to Will. “So…have you talked to Jane?”
“Tried to. She won’t answer my calls. But you probably already know that, so why the question?”
She shrugged. “Just thought I’d ask. Give her some time, Will. It’s not you. She really cares about you.”
“You should mind your own business, Chelsea, and stay out of this.”
“And you know damn well Jane is my best friend, and I’m only looking out for her best interests.”
“I wonder how she’d feel if she knew you were talking to me about her right now.”
Chelsea frowned. “Low blow, Will. I’m also looking out for you, so don’t be a dick.”
Luke crossed his arms, obviously amused at the interplay between the two of them.
“Don’t you have some poor kid’s life to ruin by failing him or her in math?” Will asked.
She laughed. “Don’t you have some poor bastard’s day to ruin by writing him an unwarranted speeding ticket?”
Luke snorted. “You two should take this act on the road.”
“Hey, Will knows I give as good as I’m given. And he can’t rattle me.”
“No, but I can tell you to go away and mind your own business.”
Chelsea let out a very loud sigh. “Fine. I’ll take the not-so-subtle hint and grab my to-go order and hightail it out of here. Seriously, though, Will. Don’t give up on Jane.”
“Seriously, though. Butt out, Chelsea.” Will waved her off and dug into his fries.
“That was interesting,” Luke said as Chelsea wandered off, grabbed her bag, and left Bert’s.
Will finished off his meal by taking a long drink of iced tea. “Don’t even ask.”
“Okay, I won’t.” Luke took a bite of his burger, chewed, swallowed, then washed it down with milk. “Unless you want me to ask.”
Will sighed. “You and Chelsea tag teaming me on this? The two of you should couple up.”
Luke laughed. “Tried that for about five minutes in high school, remember? It didn’t work then and it won’t work now. We’re more like brother and sister.”
“Yeah, I do remember. It’s kind of like her and me. Surely there’s a guy out there for her somewhere, someone who will rein her in and keep her from meddling.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. She’s kind of a free spirit. But what is going on with you and Jane? Unless you’d like me to mind my own damn business, in which case you can tell me to and it won’t hurt my feelings any.”
“Honestly? I don’t know. We went out, had a great time. Her little girl got hurt and I took them to the ER. Then I tried to call her the next day and she brushed me off, saying she was busy with her parents and her kids, which was fine. She said she’d call me back, and when she didn’t, I called her a couple days later. She brushed me off again. I tried one more time, and got the same ‘I’m really busy and I’ll get back to you’ speech.”