A Place for Daydreams (Rosewood Beach #3)

Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Dean stood on the front step of Alexis and Grayson’s new house and rang the doorbell. He heard the sound of chimes echoing faintly in the beautiful old house, and he smiled quietly to himself. He felt glad that Alexis and Grayson had found such a beautiful home to settle down in. It was hardly as glamorous as their massive mansion in L.A. had been, which he’d been to one time and legitimately gotten lost in, but it was just the right size for a couple who might have children one day. It was large enough to be spacious, and small enough to be cozy.

While he waited for his sister to come to the door, he glanced at the garden, admiring how well-tended it was. Although most of the flowers had wilted, there was still green life in the flower beds, and they were orderly and tidy. He knew that the garden had been in great condition when Alexis had purchased the house, but it was clear that she’d lovingly kept up the flower beds.

The front door opened, and Alexis appeared, grinning affectionately. She was wearing jeans and a comfortable-looking oversized dress shirt which he guessed might belong to Grayson. Her reddish-brown hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and her eyes were bright with energy.

“Dean! Just the man I wanted to see.”

“Here I am, your friendly neighborhood technician,” he said, laughing. “Explain to me again what you want me to fix?”

“Well, first come inside and eat a pumpkin scone and drink the glass of apple juice I poured for you.”

“Wow, free snacks? I should come fix things at your house more often.”

She laughed. “I had to pay you back for coming all the way out here somehow.”

“I wouldn’t call a five-minute drive ‘all the way out here.’”

“Just shush and eat the scone,” she said, handing him a plate.

“Yes, ma’am.” He chuckled and took a bite out of the scone, which was rich and buttery. “Mm, thank you, that’s fantastic.”

“Isn’t it?” She laughed. “Thanks. Hazel gave me the recipe.”

“Hazel is a baking wizard, and I’m happy to see that she’s spreading her magic.” He took another bite, savoring the taste. “Now that I’ve been paid in snacks, what’s the issue with your TV?”

“It’s not the TV, it’s the Roku device. The Wi-Fi is refusing to connect, and the remote is being temperamental.”

“Oh, those remotes. They’re just like teenagers.”

Alexis laughed so hard at his joke that she snorted, and Dean grinned before taking a refreshing sip of the apple juice.

“But seriously, Dean, we can’t get it to work. Grayson is a brilliant man, but he can’t figure out electronics to save his life.” Her voice rose in volume a little bit as she talked about Grayson, and her teasing tone implied that she meant for him to hear her say it.

Dean laughed. “Well, luckily for your marriage, I should be able to figure it out. Happy to help. Where is it?”

“Before—well, I wanted to ask you.” All at once her expression became serious. “Are you sure you’re up for it? I don’t want to tire you out.”

Dean gave her a look.

She nodded. “Okay.” She didn’t say any more about it, and he was glad that he’d been able to communicate his feelings to her with just a look. He was grateful that his family wanted to take care of him, but he also didn’t want to be treated like an invalid, or someone who wasn’t able to make their own decisions properly. If he’d been feeling too tired to come to Alexis’s house to work on her technology, he would have told her so.

“Lead me to the device,” he said, smiling at her.

She led him into the charming, cozy living room, where the Roku device was set up underneath the TV.

“See what you can make of it,” she said with a sigh. “I hope it’s not just broken. Then we’ll have to go buy a new one.”

“I bet it’s okay,” he said, crouching down and beginning to inspect the small device.

“Hey, Dean!” Grayson appeared in the living room, also munching on one of the scones. “Good to see you. Thanks for coming over here to help us out.”

“You got it.” Dean grinned at him.

“We need you to save us, because Alexis never lets me try to fix anything.”

Alexis laughed and patted Grayson’s face fondly. “It’s just that I knew that Dean would know exactly what was wrong. It’s not that I don’t believe in you, it’s just that… well, you remember how long it took when our internet was down.” She shook her head wryly.

“Hey, I tried what the guy on the phone said?—”

Alexis lifted a brow at him. “Speaking of phone calls, isn’t your mother expecting a call from you?”

Grayson chuckled. “Very smooth.” He kissed his wife’s cheek. “You’re right. I’ll be in the other room if you need me.”

“I always need you.” She grinned at him.

“Except for when technology isn’t working, then you need your brother.”

“Nope, I still need you.”

Alexis and Grayson kissed, and Dean let out a cheerful, “Eew!”

“Okay, okay, I’m leaving.” Grayson laughed. “Good luck, Dean!”

“Thanks.” Dean smiled cheerfully from his spot on the floor. He was amused by how cute Alexis and Grayson were acting. Once Grayson had left the living room, he turned to his sister with a smile. “Things are going well, huh?”

She nodded. “With Grayson? Oh, absolutely. It’s wonderful having my husband back. He’s treating me like he used to when we were dating—no, actually, he’s treating me with even more affection than he did when we were dating.”

Something about the way she’d responded made him curious. “What about things other than Grayson? Is that all good too?”

“Yeah.” She hesitated slightly before answering. “Things are going well generally too.”

Dean stopped looking at the Roku device. He placed his hands on his knees and looked up at his sister. “Tell me what’s on your mind. I can tell that something is off. You can talk to me about it.”

She shook her head. “It’s really nothing.” She smiled at him. “Things are going so well at the pub. We’ve got happy customers, and Julia says the finances are getting better and better all the time. I feel so proud of what we’ve all accomplished since Dad passed. And you remember Judd McCormick?”

Dean pretended to shudder. “Who could forget the man who tried to bully our mother into selling the family business?”

“Well, the word on the street is that the McCormicks are extremely jealous of how things have picked up at The Lighthouse Grill. I mean, Judd was so sure that we weren’t going to be able to keep the pub because of Dad’s debts, but we overcame that challenge, and now the pub’s finances are doing better than ever before. I think it’s because Julia has been handling the finances so well. She’s practically a wizard at it.”

“I agree with you.” Dean grinned. “And I’m glad that Judd and his sons are jealous. That’s a one-sided rivalry, and we absolutely deserve to thrive in spite of them.”

“Why are they like that, anyway?” she asked, sitting down next to him on the floor. “Judd isn’t exactly mean-spirited, but he’s so entitled. Why did he act like he deserved to take our place just because he wanted it?”

Dean shrugged. “Some people are like that, I guess. They’re brought up to be selfish and they never learn how to be any other way. Although, the one McCormick son is different. Seth and Brady work for their father at the brewery, but Ryan works for a construction firm. I’ve hung out with Ryan a few times; he’s a good guy. He’s not like the rest of the family.”

“Huh. I guess that’s proof that anyone can be a good person even if they’re not brought up that way.” She smiled at her brother. “Well, good for Ryan.”

“Yeah, but there’s still something that’s bothering you, I can tell. I can agree that the pub is going great, and you’ve seemed to love working there. But do you? Are you getting tired of it?”

She shook her head. “No, I still love working there. But…”

“Ah, there is it! Come on, out with it. What’s on your mind?”

She laughed. “For a while, I didn’t even know what was bothering me. I felt as though something was missing, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Now I’ve realized that I’m missing my creative outlet.”

“That makes sense. You’ve always been a really creative person. I’ll never forget that time you made an entire Noah’s Ark out of papier-maché.”

She grinned. “Oh, I remember that. The pigs were my favorite. They were so cute and roly-poly.”

“They did look amazing. And you were like, twelve, and that’s impressive. You’re really good at creating stuff, Alexis. You should figure out ways to scratch that creative itch. Why don’t you pick up some old hobbies as a way of getting your creative juices flowing?”

“You mean I should make another Noah’s Ark out of papier-maché?”

He laughed. “Only if you want to. Do something that you really enjoy, that lets you feel creative. I always go out and find a fixer-upper car to work on when I feel like I need a creative release. It’s such a challenge that it feels like playing a video game or something.” He paused, suddenly feeling a wave of sadness as he thought about how his hands had a hard time getting through a regular workday now. He didn’t know if he would be able to do extra car work during his time off from work anymore. His heart sank as he thought about how that had been his favorite hobby, and he didn’t want to give it up.

Don’t say never, Dean , he reminded himself. Your strength might improve. Wait and see.

“Hey.” Alexis placed a hand on his shoulder, as if she could guess that the challenges of his diagnosis were troubling him. “I think things are going to get better for you. And you shouldn’t ignore the possibility that going to physical therapy might drastically improve your symptoms. You should really make an appointment, Dean.”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I already did.”

She let out a little yelp of excitement. “You what? You’re a fine one for secrets! That’s amazing. I’m so proud of you.”

He shook his head, laughing. “You act like I’d vowed to never set foot in a physical therapy clinic ever in my life.”

She grinned. “I know how stubborn men can be. And besides, I know it was something you felt torn about. So I am, I’m really proud of you for going. How was it?”

He shrugged. “It went well, I suppose.” He thought about his visit to the clinic and smiled a little when he thought about Noelle. She had been so kind and considerate. He’d had a great time talking with her. He wasn’t sure how he had expected physical therapy to be, but his session with Noelle had been so unexpectedly pleasant. Noelle had been insightful, and she’d seemed to genuinely care about his passions and interests. Then again, he reflected, she must be like that with everyone.

“Oh, come on.” She laughed. “Please tell me more. What was it like? Do you think it’ll help you?”

“It was fine. The physical therapist is very nice, and she seems to really know what she’s doing. It’s too early to tell if it’ll really help me or not, but I’ll keep trying it. But only because I’m outnumbered by women who insist on badgering me about it.”

He grinned as he said the last part, softening his expression so that she’d know it was a joke.

She smiled back and hugged him around the shoulders. “I’m so happy to hear that. I just know it’s going to change your life.”

He chuckled, but inwardly he thought that that was probably an exaggeration. He doubted that it would really change his life. He did feel hopeful, however. As much as he liked to tease about it, he felt grateful that his sisters had pushed him toward going to physical therapy.

If anything could help him feel better, it would be that, and he was glad that someone as kind and capable as Noelle was guiding him through the process.