Chapter 4
four
Erina had taken an Uber to Teddy’s beach house originally, but given his good mood after how last night went with Finn, he offered to drop her at the airport.
She lingered in the kitchen when they were getting ready to leave, and he feared she’d suddenly announce she was staying another night, but she couldn’t. Prima ballerina could not miss dress rehearsals.
The look on her face said part of her wanted to, though.
Moving to the opposite side of the kitchen island where she stood staring at his can of spray cheese, Teddy folded his arms on the countertop and waited for her to speak first.
“I miss having you only a few blocks away,” she said finally, shrugging in answer to his silent question. “Sometimes. You know, when I need to get under someone’s skin.” With a long manicured nail, she tapped the bottle of cheese with its garish orange cap.
“I know, how the mighty have fallen,” Teddy said, since he knew that cheese was going straight to his love handles.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to be Mr. Perfect all the time,” she said, drawing his attention back to her face, which looked uncharacteristically somber. “Remember how Dad used to lay into Mom whenever she ‘wasted’ grocery money on things like this?”
Teddy tensed. They didn’t talk about Dad. Neither had spoken to him in years. “Yeah.”
“This is good.” She tapped the can again. “I mean, it’s disgusting, absolutely abhorrent, but indulgences, going after what you really want, that’s good.”
That’s what their father had always denied them, like he’d reveled in sucking the joy out of life.
“For you too,” Teddy said, not sure how else to respond. “It’s going to be a spectacular show. Even with Hartley as choreographer.”
“Of course it is. I’m prima ballerina.” Erina sniffed, straightened her posture, and with an impressive, bolstering smile, moved out of the kitchen to grab her bags and head for the door.
It wasn’t until after idle chitchat in the car, Teddy having parked to walk her inside the airport, that she turned to him with a touch of that somberness again and hugged him tight.
“See you soon?” she asked.
“No promises,” he teased but squeezed her tightly, too, and smiled when she laughed.
Erina’s visit hadn’t turned out quite as catastrophic as he’d feared.
Until he got back in the car and it wouldn’t start.
Why had he insisted on being a good brother and parking?
Teddy sat for ten minutes doing everything he could think of to get the engine to do more than sputter, all to no avail, and finally had to give up and call a tow.
He considered calling Finn but thought better of it when he remembered the sad look in Finn’s eyes as he explained that today was not a good day for their date.
Whatever Finn had going on, Teddy didn’t want to disturb him.
Firestorm Garage was somehow just as charming as everywhere else in town, including a pair of mechanics and a nice older gentleman in the office who all seemed earnest and helpful rather than crooked like grease monkeys in the city.
One of the mechanics got right to work, while the other, sporting the name tag Ronnie, explained to Teddy what might be wrong.
“As long as it isn’t the transmission, it should be an easy fix,” Ronnie said.
Enjoying coffee and a donut in the waiting room, Teddy prepared for bad news. The donuts were in a box labeled Small Miracles Bakery, which should have been his first clue that the universe was still out to get him—long before Rose and the female physical therapist from the health center came in.
“This really is a small town.” He greeted Rose with a nod. He seriously expected Finn to walk in behind them, but not this time.
“The smallest,” Rose said. “You’ve met Meagan, right? She works with Finn.”
“Not by name. A pleasure.” Teddy shook her hand. She was the same youthful age as Rose and Finn, her hair long and ginger-colored. This was the first time he’d seen it down.
“You’re Finn’s neighbor, too, right?” Meagan said. “From the other night? I was at Finn’s bonfire.”
Yet another of the crew who’d seen Teddy carried bridal style by a stranger. Wonderful.
“I’m surprised Ronnie didn’t recognize you. Or did he?”
“Because Ronnie is….”
“My husband.”
Naturally. “He did not. Anyone else from that party I need to kill to rise above the embarrassment?”
The ladies laughed.
“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” Meagan said. “How lucky for you to have a trained medical professional next door.”
So nice of her to call that out since it made Teddy feel about ninety. “Very lucky.”
“I can’t believe you had dinner without me last night,” Rose jumped in.
“We’ll have to fix that soon. Have you and Finn over so you can meet Blaise outside the apron.
” The fact that she was already treating Teddy and Finn like a couple made Meagan’s eyes sparkle with interest—and Teddy’s gut tighten.
“Am I correct in remembering you don’t normally invite others over when it’s movie night?” Teddy deflected.
“Blaise works a late shift once a week, so that’s why Finn and I have brother-sister nights. We alternate cooking. Meaning, some weeks I bring takeout.” She giggled. “This would be different. You’re more than welcome to come. We can still watch a cheesy action movie if you want. Doom was classic.”
Teddy smiled, remembering how he and Finn had bonded over that. “Well, I’d say we could do tomorrow night, but Finn and I were planning on just us.”
“Really?” Rose leaned closer like that was the best gossip she’d heard all week. At least there were some things Finn hadn’t shared with her yet.
“I originally asked for tonight. He has plans?”
“Oh.” She leaned back with a start. “Yeah.”
Teddy looked to Meagan, but she seemed tense and tight-lipped now too. “Something I should be concerned about?”
“No, it’s, um…,” Rose stuttered. “Not our place to say. Finn will explain. It’s just something about today. It’s not you.”
“Is that why the brother-sister time this weekend? But today is more important?”
“Exactly. Today’s a day he prefers to be alone.”
“Okay.” That only left Teddy with more questions, but he got the impression that asking them wouldn’t lead him anywhere.
“We stopped in to drop off Ronnie’s lunch before grabbing some ourselves,” Meagan said, hefting her purse that teased a peek of Tupperware inside. “Would you?” She gestured to the door, meaning he could join them if he wanted to, but Teddy had had enough awkwardness for one day.
“I need to wait for the verdict, I’m afraid, but the offer is appreciated.”
Rose and Meagan said their farewells and moved for the garage.
“It was nice to meet you, Teddy,” Meagan said. “You’ll have to join us for one of Finn’s bonfires.”
“I doubt I could avoid it if I tried.”
They laughed again, Teddy with them, but as soon as they were gone, his smile faltered. Something or someone related to Finn kept following him everywhere he went in this town, which made it that much more glaring that right now Finn was absent.
And Teddy had no idea why.
Teddy did need a new transmission, which would take a day or two to replace.
For now, he had a loaner, and Ronnie at the auto shop said he would call once the car was ready.
All Teddy could think about on the drive home was what a cruel joke it was that his car needed a replacement just like he had.
Because it was old and broken and not running like it should.
Maybe that wasn’t all he could think about, but he was trying to distract himself from the itemized list going through his head of what Finn might be up to today that had made Rose’s brow scrunch.
Disposing of those bodies Teddy suspected in his basement.
Committing grand larceny.
Seeing his parole officer because of previous murders or larceny.
Getting tested for a rare, incurable disease.
Visiting his ex.
Teddy was almost thankful when his phone beeped to remind him of his exercises. It was old hat now, nudging the coffee table out of the way so he could spread out on the padding of his area rug. He was sore, and a few repetitions made him hiss, but nothing concerning, just routine.
That was aggravating sometimes, too, the monotony of it. As a dancer, monotony was expected with exercises and warm-ups, but at least in ballet, modern dance, ballroom, everything Teddy had thrived on in his younger days, the most mundane of moves could still transform into something beautiful.
Rolling back onto his feet, Teddy wondered if he could try a few old moves, nothing insane, no extending his leg over his head, just a simple spin, a relevé, a sauté.
He stepped off the rug onto his laminate, sock-clad feet helping him slide smoothly.
Plié, step, spin.
Easy.
Plié, relevé, plié.
A slight twinge, but Teddy pressed on.
Plié, relevé, plié, sauté—
Teddy’s hip seized at the tightening of his muscles to launch upward off his toes, and he barely stopped himself from falling when he landed.
Fuck. His pride and his hip had taken a hit. He knew better, but those were the easy moves, the basics. It was like a singer losing their voice, incomplete when they could no longer do what they were born for.
Lowering himself back to the floor, Teddy lay down on the rug again to give his hip a reprieve.
He was so sick of only being able to do the same moves over and over, but he was even sicker of being frustrated.
He’d originally been annoyed when Finn appeared in his life, but now he longed for that distraction, because with Finn, during their appointments, the repetitive nature of the exercises didn’t seem as mind-numbing, not with long fingers alighting at Teddy’s hips or gently supporting his back.
Teddy hummed thinking about it and stretched out more comfortably. Finn’s fingers were nice to imagine anywhere.
Then he pictured them curling around the hips of someone else, and a spike of jealousy tore through him.