The Lost Days (Prairie Town Book 3) by T.E. Ridener

over was a bad idea.
    “Hey, Kelly.  I’m sorry I’m early, but I was getting a little worried about Dev-o.  Is he here or do I need to send out a search party?”
    “He’s in the basement.” She headed into the kitchen and he followed her, allowing the mouth-watering aroma of spaghetti sauce to tease his nostrils.
    “That smells amazing.  Store-bought or homemade?”
    “Excuse me?” Kelly rather quickly began setting the table, all while keeping a strong hold on her daughter. 
    “The sauce, I mean; is it homemade or did you buy it from the store?” He flashed her his best smile and winked in Jamie’s direction.  The adorable toddler gave him a toothy grin and hid her face.  “She’s adorable.”
    “It’s store bought.” Kelly ignored his compliment to her daughter.  “I wouldn’t have had time, or the patience, to make it from scratch.  Devin’s in the basement if you want to check on him.  He’s been down there for a while.”
    Ouch.
    She didn’t seem to be in the best mood and he wondered briefly if having dinner was a good idea.  Furthermore, he worried Devin had done something to upset her.
    Way to go, you dick.  You screwed up any possible chance of this working out.
    But what, exactly, did he want to work out?  He’d only known Kelly and Devin for two weeks—what could he possibly hope to achieve with them?
    A guy can dream.
    “Sure, I’ll go check on him.” He cleared his throat and nodded, offering her another smile.  “Be back in a few?”
    “Take your time.” Kelly turned her back to him, draining the noodles while Jamie peered at him over her shoulder.
    He winked at the little girl before turning on his heels and heading down into the basement.
    “Dev-o?” He called out as he was enveloped by darkness.  “Did you get lost?”
    “No.” Devin grunted. 
    “Then why are you still down here?  I was getting worried.” He chuckled.  “I only needed you to measure a few things.  Do you need some help?”
    “No, I got it done.  It wasn’t hard.”
    He really didn’t like the sadness in Devin’s voice.  Even though they hadn’t been roommates for very long, he was already getting a little attached.  It was probably too soon and a really dumb move on his behalf, but he couldn’t help it.  There was something about Devin that drew him in, hopeless like a moth to a flame.
    He hopped off the bottom step and looked around the dimly lit basement.  There really wasn’t enough light in the place; Kelly needed to let him fix that. 
    He waited for his eyes to adjust and then he saw Devin sitting on the floor not too far away, his knees hugged to his chest.
    The poor guy looked like he’d just lost his best friend. 
    “Hey.  Everything okay?”
    “Not really.”
    Carefully approaching him, he crossed his arms over his chest and gazed down at him.  “Do you want to talk about it?”
    “I screwed up.”
    Easing down beside him, Nick scratched at the stubble on his chin—damn fast hair growth—and turned his head to look at him.  “Care to elaborate on this said ‘screwing up’?”
    “Not really, no,” Devin murmured, his gaze remaining on the concrete floor.  “I just have a big mouth.”
    “Ah.” He’d keep the dirty thoughts to himself.  “So I’m taking it you might have said something you maybe didn’t mean to say?”
    “Something like that.” Finally turning his head to meet his gaze, Devin frowned.  “Remember how we were talking about her husband the other night?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well, I may have said something about wishing I’d died in that car accident.”
    “You didn’t.”
    “I did, and it was stupid.  She got so angry with me and then I got angry with myself.  I don’t know why I’d say something like that.  I mean, I do know why I’d say it, but I shouldn’t have said it in front of her.”  He bowed his head and groaned.  “I’m an idiot.”
    “Hey now, I don’t think you’re an idiot.” His hand fell