Chapter 7 #2
I’d been slowly working my way through the large house one room at a time, cleaning away the dust and grime that had accumulated during my aunt’s illness, and restoring it to its former glory, but there was still a long way to go.
After getting a shower, blow-drying my hair, and swiping on a hint of makeup to hide the signs of a terrible night’s sleep, I threw on the clothes I’d designated for housework: thick, fuzzy socks, a ratty pair of jeans that fit a bit too tightly in the butt and were so worn out they had rips in both knees, an old tank that had been white at one time but had grown dingy with age, and an old, faded flannel of my dad’s that I wore unbuttoned with the sleeves folded up to my elbows.
Tying my hair back in a sloppy bun on the top of my head, I headed downstairs, filling the coffeemaker and setting it to brew before going out to check on Stargazer.
I knew my girl wanted to run by how she acted while I was mucking her stall and laying out fresh hay for her, but I just didn’t have the time or energy. Giving her a quick brush down, I apologized and returned her to her stall before heading back to the house.
The feral barn cat that roamed the property was sitting on the back porch railing, swishing its tail to and fro as it watched me climb the steps.
“Morning, Cat,” I greeted, earning an annoyed meow from the unhappy kitty.
The animal might not have been friendly, but thanks to Aunt Reenie keeping her in cat food for the past few years, she’d come to expect the same from me, and she had no issues with making her displeasure known if she felt I wasn’t moving fast enough with breakfast.
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled at the irritable ginger. “Just hold your damn horses. I’m getting it.”
I moved into the mudroom where the bag of cat food was stashed and dumped a scoop into the empty bowl sitting on the porch. She snubbed her nose at me before hopping off the railing and dragging her fat ass in that direction.
“You’re kind of a bitch, you know that, right?” I asked the snooty feline. She simply lifted her tail, showing me her rear end before plopping down and digging in.
With a roll of my eyes, I headed into the house for a much-needed cup of coffee.
If I didn’t know she was the sole reason for the lack of mice in the barn or around the house, I’d have called animal control on the pain-in-the-ass feline, but she knew she had it good here, and I could only assume that was the reason she was such an entitled brat.
I was two cups of coffee in and had already made some serious progress on the family room at the front of the house.
The windows were now grime free, letting the bright sun in unimpeded.
All the beautiful antique wooden furniture had been dusted until it gleamed and had a pleasantly subtle citrus smell.
Stevie Nicks was belting out “Edge of Seventeen” through my earbuds, and I was dancing around, using the extendable duster wand to get the moldings and ceiling fan when a tap on my shoulder scared the living hell out of me.
My earbuds went flying as I spun around, swinging the duster wand wide.
Hayes caught it easily and pulled it from my hand as if it were nothing while fighting back his humor at having nearly given me a heart attack.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” he started, looking more amused than sorry.
“Didn’t mean to scare you. I knocked, but there was no answer, and I could hear you…
singing,” he finished, choking like he was trying his hardest not to laugh and was losing the battle.
My face burned in mortification at being caught singing at the top of my lungs. To make matters worse, when it came to Stevie Nicks, I had a tendency to try and mimic her incredible, husky voice and usually ended up sounding like a bag of cats being drowned, not that it ever stopped me.
“I was just, um, cleaning.”
That rich brown in his eyes grew soft as his expression gentled. “I remember your love for Fleetwood Mac.”
I shifted from foot to foot, tugging on the hem of my tank. “Well, Stevie mainly. I mean, they’ve got some songs I like, but I prefer Stevie’s solo albums.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I remember that too.”
That warmth I’d felt in the cab of his truck the night before came rushing back, melting the bit of ice still clinging on from my nightmare.
Back when we were together, Hayes used to be able to fix everything with just a touch. All my problems disappeared the moment his fingertips brushed against my jaw and down my neck.
A shiver washed over me from that memory, and I cast my eyes down, suddenly feeling extremely nervous. I wasn’t sure how to act after how we left things last night. I felt like I’d crossed a line he had firmly in place, and I didn’t know how to come back from that.
“I stopped at Muffin Top on the way here,” he said, breaking into the awkward silence that was filling the room. “I got you a coffee and a bear claw.”
“No way,” I breathed, finally noticing the white paper bag tucked between two large cups in the drink tray he was balancing in his hand.
Reaching out, I divested him of his wares and placed the tray on the coffee table.
The Muffin Top logo stamped on the front of the bag and the paper cups was enough to make my mouth water.
“I used to love their bear claws! Thank you. You didn’t need to do that. ”
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure if you’ve had them since you got back to town, but if not, they’re just as good now as they were when we were kids.”
I let out an excited squeak and dove for the bag, ripping it open and pulling the bear claw out. The moment I took that first bite, my eyes slid shut and a happy moan made its way up my throat.
“Oh my god,” I said through a mouthful of pastry. “It’s even better than I remember.”
When I opened my eyes to look at him, that gentleness in his expression was gone, replaced by something raw and starving. It was a look I used to love, a look that made my skin break out in goose bumps as my body quivered with excitement.
“Hayes,” I whispered, unable to say anything else.
At the sound of me saying his name, he took a step closer, and my blood began to sing. But before anything could happen, a knock on the front door broke through the moment, shattering its spell completely.
I bit back the curses that wanted to spill out at the interruption and moved to the front door, whipping it open in agitation. A woman I didn’t recognize was standing on the other side, holding a huge crystal vase filled with clouds of white and blue hydrangeas so big they nearly dwarfed her.
“Temperance Levine?” she asked, having to lean to the side to see me past the flowers.
“Yeah, that’s me,” I replied, my forehead puckering with a frown.
“These are for you.” She shoved the obnoxiously large bouquet at me, but something in my gut made me take a small step back.
“Who are they from?”
The woman’s head tipped in confusion. “Huh?”
“Who are they from?” I repeated, refusing to take the arrangement until I got an answer. It wasn’t that they weren’t beautiful, and hydrangeas were my favorite, especially white and blue ones, but there were very few people in my life who knew that.
“Look, lady, this vase isn’t exactly light. Can you just sign for the flowers already?” She shoved them at me again, and again I took a step back.
“I got it.” Hayes came into my line of vision, divesting the woman of the flowers and giving me a look like I’d just lost my mind.
“Sooo,” the lady at the door dragged out. “You gonna sign, or what?”
Instead of grabbing the clipboard in her outstretched hand, I snatched the small white envelope tucked between my favorite flowers and ripped it open.
Temperance,
Always thinking of you.
-P
“Take them back.” My voice came out in a whisper that shook almost as bad as my hands.
“What?” Flower Lady asked incredulously.
My voice came out stronger as I looked up and clenched my hand into a fist so tight the card crumpled. “I said take them back. I don’t want them.”
“Tempie, sweetheart, what—”
“I can’t just take ’em back,” Flower Lady argued. “They’ve already been paid for.”
“Fine.” Yanking the clipboard from her, I scribbled my signature at the bottom and snapped, “There. They’re signed for.
Now take them back. I don’t care what you do with them.
Resell them, throw them in the trash on your way back, I don’t give a damn.
You can tell your boss they were delivered safe and sound. ”
I grabbed the arrangement from Hayes and pushed them into Flower Lady’s arms. “Please. Just get them outta here.”
“Oh… kay.” She looked at me like I was crazy, but thankfully took the arrangement and hightailed it off the porch and back to her delivery van.
I slammed the door closed and turned back around, blowing out the heaviest sigh as my shoulders slumped.
“You wanna tell me what the fuck that was all about?”
Looking up at Hayes, I chewed on my bottom lip before finally admitting, “I think I need to get a restraining order.”