Chapter 27
Penelope
The chicken-and-rice soup simmering on the stove smelled delicious. I opened the pot and gave it a stir. I figured Theo would be hungry when he got back, and the least I could do was make dinner.
I hoped the move-out was going well. I still felt a little bad about not going myself. But Theo had insisted he’d handle it. And after the way Sean had yelled at me on the phone that morning, I was glad I didn’t have to deal with him.
Theo had said help was coming, so I knew at least one of his brothers had gone with him.
That was good. I didn’t have a lot of big furniture, but at least a few things would require two people to carry them.
Considering everything Theo was doing—and had done—for me, cooking dinner wasn’t much.
But it was better than nothing. And it did smell good.
For a second, my mind wandered to another way I could thank him. My vision blurred as I lost myself in a momentary fantasy involving me, Theo, the couch, and a total lack of clothing.
Blinking, I stepped back from the stove and fanned myself. That was not happening.
My hormones had other opinions, as did my lady parts, but they weren’t calling the shots. I was. And Theo and I were not sleeping together again.
I heard what sounded like someone pulling up outside. Was Theo back already? I thought moving everything out would have taken longer. The engine rumble grew, which seemed odd. Why was it so loud? I went to the front window to look.
It was loud because it wasn’t just Theo.
Theo’s truck pulled into the driveway while two more trucks, an SUV, and a blue muscle car parked outside the house. They were packed with stuff.
I went outside and watched, open-mouthed. Although I didn’t know his family well, I’d seen every one of them. It wasn’t just one of his brothers, either. It was all of them. And his dad.
Theo came over with a grin.
“No wonder you finished so fast,” I said. “They all came to help?”
“Of course they did.” He turned and raised his voice. “Most of her stuff can go in the garage for now. We’ll take it from there.”
The Haven men started unloading the vehicles. One of them—Josiah maybe?—tipped his chin to me as he carried a box into the garage.
“Thank you,” I called and turned back to Theo. “That’s so nice of them to help.”
“Yeah. They annoy me sometimes, but brothers do that. They’re good guys.”
My eyebrows drew in as one of his brothers carried a TV into the garage. “I don’t think the TV was mine.”
Theo shrugged. “It is now.”
“Did Sean give you any trouble?” “He wanted to, but no.”
“What did he do?”
One corner of Theo’s mouth lifted, revealing his dimple. “Threatened to call the cops. But Garrett was there, so we already had that covered.”
“I made soup, but I don’t think there’s enough for everyone.”
Theo leaned toward the opened door and inhaled. “Is that what smells so good? Don’t worry about it. I’ll buy them a round at the Timberbeast next time we’re all there.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I need to finish unloading, but I’ll be in soon.”
“Okay. Tell them all I said thank you so much in case they didn’t hear me.”
He smiled. “I will.”
Theo went to his truck as Luke brought over one of my paintings.
“Do you want this inside?” he asked.
“Yes, that would be great. Here, I’ll take it.”
He handed me the canvas. “It’s pretty.”
“Thank you. And thank you so much for…all this. It’s a huge help.”
“No problem. There were enough of us, it went pretty fast. Plus, I’m not gonna lie, it was kinda fun. Especially when Theo almost put a fist through your ex’s face.”
My eyes widened. “Theo did what?”
“Your ex started to mouth off. For a second, I thought Theo was going to lay him out.”
Theo getting in a fight with Sean? It was hard to imagine. Theo was so easygoing. Hard to imagine from Sean, too, but mostly because he’d gotten a bit out of shape in the last couple years. Theo would have destroyed him.
“I’m glad no one got hurt,” I said.
“Yeah, well, it wouldn’t have been Theo getting hurt. Except maybe his knuckles.” Luke shrugged. “Anyway, you did the right thing.”
I nodded. “Thank you again.”
“Mel says hi, by the way. She’ll probably call you later.” He backed up. “Good luck unpacking and everything.”
I took the canvas inside and leaned it against a wall in the living room where it wouldn’t be in the way, then went to the kitchen to check the soup. I had it on a low simmer, so it was fine.
In what felt like no time at all, Theo came inside, and I heard the other engines starting up and fading away.
He paused in the kitchen and inhaled again. “Pen, that smells so good.”
“Thanks. Good timing. I think it’s ready.”
We filled two bowls and sat down at the dining table together. Theo’s happy moans were music to my ears as he enjoyed his dinner. It felt good to do something nice for him that he genuinely appreciated, even if it was a small thing.
And even if his moans reminded me of my couch fantasy.
My mind continuing to go places I didn’t want, I retreated to my studio after dinner. I needed to spend some time painting my feelings. Although it wasn’t only my emotions that were getting the best of me. My more primal urges were doing their best to get my attention, too.
After a while, Theo poked his head in. “Hey, Pen? I have something for you.”
“As if you haven’t done enough already.”
“Trust me, this is awesome.” He came in with an armful of bedding—sheets and a big comforter.
It wasn’t just any bedding. It was my bedding from the other house.
“Oh, gosh. Thank you, but I didn’t want that back. I’m not going to use it.”
He gave me a mischievous grin. “I know. I thought you might want to burn it.”
“Burn it?”
“Yeah. There’s a firepit in the backyard. Zachary suggested we burn the whole bed, but I thought that was a little much, especially here in town. I don’t want to bring the fire department down on us. But the bedding?” He raised it up a little.
I snort-laughed. “That’s ridiculous. And I love it. Let’s do it.”
“Awesome.”
I put my painting supplies down while he took the armful of bedding out to the backyard. He’d already prepped the firepit with wood, so we could enjoy a little fire once the rest of it burned away.
We piled everything onto the wood, and he handed me a small box of matches.
“You do the honors.”
I took out a match and struck it. “Here goes nothing.”
Reaching out, I held the flame to a piece of sheet. It caught, and Theo lit another match to start the fire on the other side.
Soon, the whole pile was in flames. We stood back as the heat beat against us, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“This was a great idea,” I said. “Who knew it would be so satisfying? It’s like my old life is going up in flames.”
“It was time.”
“It sure was. Is it possible for me to say thank you too much? Because thank you.”
He gently nudged me with his elbow. “You’re welcome. Like I said, this is what friends are for.”
Friends. He was right, it was what friends were for. And that was what we were. And it was great. I was so grateful to have Theo as a friend. He’d come through for me when I desperately needed him. Friendship didn’t get much better than that.
I was free.
But there was a little part of me, deep inside, that wished he’d put his arm around me as we stood by the fire. Who longed for the feel of his strong body, his thick arms, his warm embrace.
I had to let that go. Wishing for something I couldn’t have was only asking for heartbreak.