Dirty Laundry: A Tucker Springs Novel #3

was advising someone on how best to modify their free weight routine when the woman stormed up to him.
    He’d seen her come in out of the corner of his eye, because he didn’t recognize her and because she was in what he thought of as a woman’s “power suit,” the kind that very rarely showed up at Tiny’s. Super-suits tended to go to one of the fancier places by Tuck U, so his first thought had been that she was some kind of lawyer, and he worried that Tiny was in some kind of trouble. When she fixed her angry expression on Denver and headed his way, he couldn’t help it, he took several steps back, as if this might get him away.
    She stormed straight up to him, gave a nod to the man Denver had been speaking to, then pushed a manicured fingernail all but up Denver’s nose.
    “You,” she said, her voice dangerous and low, “are going to talk to me, right now. Are we doing it here, or would you prefer to go somewhere private?”
    Jesus H. Denver glanced over at Tiny, who was watching Denver with raised eyebrows. “Uh,” he said, trying to buy time. “Do I know you, ma’am?”
    Her eyes practically sparked, she was so angry. “No, but we have a mutual friend. Or at least I assume you’re still friendly toward Adam. You’d better be, because if you’re thinking of fucking him over, I don’t care how big you are, I’m going to murder you and drive you to Utah to bury you in the desert.”
    It was hard to be as big as Denver and shrink into yourself, but he managed it. “Shit.” He ran a hand through his hair, wishing he had his hat to pull down over his eyes and hide. “Yeah. Uh, we can go talk in the back.”
    “Good,” she said, though she didn’t even remotely back down. In fact, she seemed like she was just getting started.
    Frankly, Denver thought as he led her to the store room that doubled as Tiny’s office, he was willing to let her rake him over whatever coals she liked, metaphorical or literal or both. He knew he’d been a fuckhead for not calling Adam, and if Louisa—this could only be Louisa—was this upset on Adam’s behalf, things couldn’t be good. Which made him feel like a bigger shit-heel than he’d already felt like.
    He shut the door behind her and sat down on the edge of a stool, shoulders slumped as he waited for her lecture to begin.
    She glared at him for several seconds before she got started. “You do know you’re taking all the joy out of this by just sitting there like a lump instead of fighting back. I was kind of hoping I’d get to use some of my self-defense moves on you.”
    Denver hunkered lower, fixing his gaze on the floor. “Yeah, well, if you want to whale on me a little, that’d be fine. I already feel like crap.”
    “Then why don’t you fucking call him?” Louisa threw her hands in the air. “Jesus, Denver. He’s a mess. He’s waiting for you to call him.”
    Denver swore and got off the stool, pacing and rubbing the back of his neck. “I know. Fuck .” He slammed a hand into the wall before leaning against it. “I’m trying. I’ve almost done it about twenty times, but I don’t know what to say. I fucked up. I fucked up bad.” He pounded the wall again, swore, then sighed. “Jase read through the stuff Adam tried to give me. It scared the piss out of me, because it makes a lot of sense, what he said.”
    “That you might have a learning disability? Yes, it does. In fact, I’m embarrassed I didn’t think of it, though Adam hadn’t made it clear yet just how hard a time you were having. What I don’t get is why this is worth losing Adam over. Are you really that proud?”
    “No!” Denver’s fingers curled against the wall, and he pushed off it and started to pace again. “It’s not that. I mean—fuck, yes, I guess, it’s pride a little, but mostly—Jesus, fuck , I don’t know what to do with this! It does mean I’m stupid, I don’t care what he says, and it’s fucking hard to swallow. Ow! ”
    Louisa had stepped in front of him to stop his pacing, and when he’d tried to duck her, she’d grabbed his arm with an iron grip and dug her nails into his skin. When she spoke, her voice was rough with anger. “I was wrong. This isn’t pride. It’s ignorance and belligerence. So listen up, bucko. Learning disabilities are not a mark of stupidity, no more than deformations in the eyes are.”
    He ripped out of her grip, but it wasn’t easy. “Bullshit. This ain’t the same as needing glasses.”
    God, but she just