Chapter 21
GRACE
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Marjorie Brown: Anyone lose their shoe in front of the library? I’ll keep it warm until you come and claim it.
Comments:
Henry Connor: Just a friendly reminder to NOT wear random shoes you find on the street.
Marjorie Brown: I do it all the time. It’s good for my immune system.
Kerry Winsor: PLEASE just throw that away! It looks gross!
Jade Clark: Marjorie, out of curiosity, can I see a pic of your feet? For science?
Marjorie Brown: I knew you had one of those fetishes.
Kerry Winsor: Jade has a foot fetish???
Jade Clark: I do NOT. I wanted to see if she had an infection!!!
Mollie Wilson: It’s okay. We all support you.
Jade Clark: I DON’T LIKE FEET! THERE ARE WAY HOTTER BODY PARTS THAN THAT!!!
I was on my fifth sneezing fit when I heard a knock at the door.
“Shit,” I muttered. When I’d told him to come stay, I’d forgotten about all the junk that had piled up in that room. I was rushing to get it all cleaned up, but my allergies were fighting me every step of the way.
I sent up a silent prayer that my nose would keep it together and brushed the dust off my clothes.
“Hey!” I said as I opened the door. Dean towered in the doorway, and he was wearing that damn hat. “You made it. Come in.”
In the light of the house, I could see he was tired. His eyes had been half lidded when I’d seen him earlier, but this was an entirely new level. I’m not even sure how he’d driven here safely.
“Why don’t you sit on the couch? I’m just finishing up the room.”
“Aren’t I supposed to be helping you?” he asked as he took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair.
“No, I—” I was cut off by a sneeze.
Dean’s eyebrow crept up. “Been near dust?”
“Yes, but I’ll be fine. You’re tired and I can handle sneezing.” I made my escape, determined to finish the room so he could get to sleep. I was sure he was far too out of it to fight me.
I let out a sigh when I was alone. I should have kept up on all this while it was happening. Then I wouldn’t have a pile to organize.
“So, this is the junk room?”
I jumped. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
“And you’re pregnant and worked all day, so you should be too. Looks like we’re both breaking rules.”
“But—”
“Why don’t we make this easy and skip to the part where you tell me what you need me to do?”
“I kinda wanna fight more about it.”
He only shook his head. “Okay, then I’ll figure it out.”
“No, I’ll tell you, but I wanna help a little bit.”
“Fine,” he said. “But only a little.”
I wanted to be mad that he was so pushy with helping me, but it was also a breath of fresh air. Ever since Mom died, it had been me taking care of either the house or Brooke. Sometimes both.
I didn’t have much of a plan beyond shoving everything into the basement, but with Dean’s help, we were able to get a donation pile made, as well as a somewhat-organized pile in the basement.
The room wasn’t totally clean, but the twin-sized daybed was visible, and I could reach the sheets to change them.
Once everything was put together, I surveyed the room with a nod.
“Not bad,” I said. “And this makes it easier for when I turn this into a nursery.”
“Why not use Brooke’s room?” Dean asked. “It’s closer to yours.”
“Brooke would have a cow over that.” I shook my head. “She randomly visits, so it’s still hers.”
“Is this her house?”
“Does it matter?” I asked.
“It can if you run out of space,” he said.
“I have plenty of that. Almost too much.” Dean opened his mouth to argue, but it was broken up with a yawn. “You should get rest,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “You need it as much as I do.”
“As long as I don’t see Hugh’s wrinkly butt again in my dreams.” I was heading out the door when I heard it, and I paused, wondering if he was joking or if he’d had the misfortune of actually seeing Hugh’s ass.
The sun was peeking over the horizon when I flipped the last pancake. I wasn’t sure why, but I woke up before the sun had risen wanting to make sure Dean felt welcome.
When Brooke was here, she always wanted my homemade breakfast. I’d need a nap later in the day, but it was worth it for my guest.
As the coffee pot beeped that it was done, I heard footsteps.
“Perfect timing,” I said, turning to him. “I made breakfast.”
I wasn’t sure how Dean woke up in the morning, but I figured I would see him in some kind of pajamas and messy hair.
Instead, he was fully dressed in a T-shirt with his work logo on it and jeans.
“Really?” he asked. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Of course I did. This is what I always did when Brooke was here. He deserved the same treatment.
“I do it for all guests,” she said. “And I bet it’s better than whatever the hotel gave you.”
“The hotel didn’t give me anything but trauma,” he said and then glanced at the door. “I was gonna head out to work, though.”
“Right,” I said, trying to keep my voice level. I’d hoped he would eat with me, but I also knew he had a life. “I can make yours to go.”
“No.” He shook his head. “That would be fucking rude of me. You go sit down, I’ll make plates.”
“I can—”
“Grace,” he warned. “You cooked. You did more than enough.”
It hadn’t seemed like much in the moment, but it was nice to have someone else finish things out. I sat at the dining room table, trying to resist a smile at getting him to eat with me. He was slowly giving in and letting us be friends.
What else would he give in on?
The second the thought entered my mind, I shook my head. What was I doing thinking like that? Sure, he was being friendly. Sure, he’d stayed in my house and I’d seen a tiny glimpse of him that no one else had, but that meant nothing.
I didn’t need to get my hopes up.
“Butter and syrup?” he asked.
“Yes, please,” I replied. “Thanks.”
“Creamer in your coffee?”
“Yes, that too.”
Dean nodded and was gone. When I was alone again, I thought over how domestic this all felt.
It had been a long time since I felt like I was a part of a team in my own home. That had to be why I was acting so weird.
I felt mostly normal when Dean set down a plate and mug in front of me. “Pancakes, bacon, and coffee, just for you, ma’am.”
“Are you sure your calling isn’t to be a server? You’re good at this.”
“I’m good at it with you because I like you. Give me one rude customer and I’d be fired.” He walked back to the kitchen.
He likes me.
Oh, fuck. I needed to get it together.
I was planning on waiting for him to sit, but I started digging in to get my mind off his words. My pancake recipe had been from Mom, and the fluffy, light texture took me back to when she would make it for me. Closing my eyes, I enjoyed it.
“If that’s the chef’s reaction, then I’m about to have my life changed.”
“You’ll probably propose to me again.” He laughed and sat. I watched as he took his first bite, and when his eyes rolled back in his head, I knew I’d done well. “I’m waiting for my proposal.”
“Hang on, I’m still living in the moment.” Dean went for another bite, and I couldn’t help the swell of pride I felt in my chest.
We’d never be anything, but I liked it when we joked like we could be.
“Now don’t think I made all of this for you for no reason.”
His eyes opened. “Are you about to ask for help?”
“I’m about to ask for information. What the hell happened at the hotel?”
Dean’s shoulders fell and he rolled his eyes. “Don’t even get me started.”
“That’s the best hotel in the area.”
“It’s the only hotel in the area,” he said flatly.
“It’s not riddled with bedbugs, so that’s pretty good. What happened?”
“They double-booked me with someone.”
“Double-booked?” I laughed. “Are they ever full?”
“There was something about renovations temporarily closing a lot of the rooms.” He shook his head. “All I know is that I came back to the room expecting to fall into bed and sleep, only to find Hugh naked in my shower.”
I choked on my food. “Hugh? Why was he at a hotel?”
“He said he didn’t have hot water.”
“Him? Of all people? Naked?”
“It’s gonna give me nightmares. He’s wrinkly . . . everywhere. And not proportionate.” Dean looked like a five-year-old who’d seen a horror movie. His eyes were wide and his lip curled with disgust. And I had to stifle a laugh. “Are you laughing at my trauma right now?” His jaw dropped.
“I’m not trying to, but it’s a rite of passage around here to be traumatized by Hugh being naked.”
He blinked. “What? Why?”
“Hugh makes poor choices. Like getting the Facebook group mixed up with one of those Google image searches. And another time, I offered to measure him to make sure he had the right pant size, and he thought he needed to strip down. I only saw the outline of things before I told him to pull his pants up, but yeah. He’s like that. ”
“I don’t know if I feel better or worse that I’m not the only one who has wrinkly-ass trauma.”
I pressed my lips together to keep myself from laughing. I only spoke when I felt safe. “Welcome to Strawberry Springs, Dean.”
“You guys are fucking weird.”
“Oh, yeah. We are. It’s part of the charm.”
When I got home from the shop and saw someone with a massive pink cowboy hat on, I first wondered if Dean had decided to change up his look.
Then I realized the hat was on my sister.
“Brooke?” I asked. “H-hey. What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
“Why do you automatically assume something’s wrong when I come see you?” She crossed her arms, her bottom lip poking out.
“You’re right. I just didn’t expect to see you.”
“Well, it’s not like you do much. I figured I would spice things up.” She shrugged.
“My life isn’t all that boring. I have this—” I gestured to my stomach. “Remember?”
She looked me up and down. “Trust me, Grace. It’s hard to miss.”
I bit down on a snarky response. “So, is this just a visit, or are you staying?”
Brooke flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I’ll be here for a few days. I have some big plans.”