Chapter 10 #2
I drove to Nora’s, only to find that once again she wasn’t home.
Honestly, it was a reprieve. It gave me a chance to shower and carefully tuck my emotions away.
Once I was done, I caught up on work, and then finally decided to text Jeffery back.
I didn’t want to lead him on if he liked me, but I wasn’t going to not talk to him either.
We could be friends, and it was nice to know more than just my brother, Nora, and Liam in this town.
Me: Sorry, I was busy earlier. Did you still need help at the Center?
He responded about fifteen minutes later.
Jeffery:
If you have the time. It’s not a big deal if you’re busy.
I deliberated, still feeling like I was doing something wrong by agreeing to help him, but I had to shake the idea. Jeffery wasn’t even really a friend yet, just a nice guy who seemed to care if I was offended by his actions and liked to follow up with flowers and coffee if he messed up.
Me: Yeah, I have some time before I have to pick up the girls. How about I come by in about twenty minutes?
Jeffery:
Sounds good
I had dressed for the day, drying my hair then slightly curling the ends. I put on jeans and a hoodie, then slipped my snow boots on before heading out.
Once I pulled up to the Community Center, it looked like there were only a few trucks parked along the curb, including Nora’s and her best friend, Rae’s.
I was just getting to know both Nora and Rae, but from what I gathered, they were just a few years older than me and had been friends since they were little.
Rae was the one who’d been put in charge of the Community Center, and Nora was in charge of designing it.
Pushing through the door, I immediately found Nora with her arms full of what looked like samples of some kind. Rae held a clipboard and was pointing at things with a pen in her hand.
“Haley!” Nora said, walking over.
I eyed her full arms. “Hey, do you want any help with that?”
Rae walked over and rolled her eyes. “She’s being dramatic and stubborn.”
Nora’s best friend had long, dark hair that was currently being hidden by a cute, forest green ball cap that had a mountain peak on it, with a circle around it. The words Mount Macon were printed within the circle. It was cute.
“Hey, Rae, where did you get that hat?” I asked, walking forward with them, until Nora released her load of samples onto a table.
Rae smiled at me. “This is going to be featured in Davis’s new shop. The grand opening is next week, will you be there?”
I had met Davis when I first arrived. He was Rae’s fiancé and the town grump from what I had gathered. He’d always been nice to me, but I had learned that not everyone was used to seeing him around so often.
“She will absolutely be there; she’s helping us set up,” Nora said as she picked through the samples. Rae and I watched her until she noticed us.
“Sorry, I hope you don’t mind being a part of our little group. It’s sort of out of your control. We like you, so you’re with us, whatever we do.”
Rae chimed in with a lift of her shoulder. “It’s true.”
My eyes felt a little watery, but I pushed them back and just smiled.
“I’m in, and I’ll absolutely be there to help you set up.”
Nora skirted the table. “Maybe we can do a little planning session, first? Haley needs to see your house anyway, Rae.”
“Yes, a thousand percent yes!” Rae said, smiling at me, “We need to do margaritas!”
“Awesome, let’s plan on this weekend.” We were talking about the plans when Jeffery wandered out of one of the classrooms that were being renovated.
His golden hair was covered by a backward-facing hat and his thick brown coat was replaced by a dark hoodie, but it had white smudges from paint, same with his jeans and boots.
“Hey, you made it,” he said warily, eyeing the two women beside me. He was probably wondering why I was over here talking when I had agreed to come and help him.
Nora and Rae both stopped talking and swung their gazes to Jeffery and back to me.
“Yeah, I was just catching up with them, but I’m here to help.”
He gave me a warm smile and lifted the hammer in his hand.
“Perfect, I could use your help holding some of these boards in place while I drill, and then I can teach you how to hammer if you want.”
Rae bit her lip, watching the two of us. I knew what they were thinking, but for some reason my face still heated like I was a teenager caught flirting. I had to cut this off, so I walked away from their table and followed Jeffery into the room.
We worked side by side in the chilly room. The window was covered in some kind of industrial plastic, but the winter air still made it through the cracks.
“So, you were busy this morning?” Jeffery asked, looking over his shoulder.
I gripped the wood he’d indicated for me to hold in place, keeping my eyes on the line he’d drawn with his pencil.
“Yeah, I was training with Liam at his gym.” I would never be that girl who lied to people just to make them feel better. I had no reason to. I owed Jeffery nothing.
His hum and the gruff way he pushed the nail gun against the cut made me wonder if that response hit wrong, but I brushed it off. It wasn’t my problem, even if it did.
We stood in silence for a few more minutes while he worked his way down the wood, the sound of the air compressor going off every now and then, filled the space in between the sound of the punch of the gun.
Jeffery’s long legs ate up the space of the room as he walked down it, and I tried to keep up.
“So, you almost came into McGrady’s last night…” He trailed off, giving me a lopsided smile.
I nodded, giving him a small laugh. “People don’t really like me around here because of my California plates. Even without those, most people here seem to know where I’m from, and make assumptions about me.”
A grunt came from my side as he continued to work.
“Well, only way to get past that is to show that you don’t care.”
That was true, except I did care.
“Want to come out tomorrow, try it out?” His brown gaze shifted over to catch mine.
My chest did a little panicked squeeze. I didn’t want to lead him on, but I also didn’t want to ruin it by assuming that’s what he wanted. This was just going out with one of my friends…maybe I could see if Nora or Rae wanted to go too.
“What time were you thinking?” I asked, keeping my eyes forward.
Our first row was done, so he twisted and grabbed another board.
“Maybe nine. That’s when things get fun over there, but it’s really up to you.”
Bending at the waist, I dipped to pick up the scraps from the cut he’d made with his table saw, just for something to do.
“How about eight? That way it’s not so packed, and I won’t be tempted to bail.”
He gave me a wide smile and nodded. “Eight, can I pick you up, or…?”
“I’ll meet you there. I have to help at Liam’s for a bit before I go.”
I turned so I didn’t have to see his response to that because it didn’t matter. I had made a deal with Liam to help him, and I’d honor that regardless of whatever confusing shit had happened between us. In the meantime, I was making my own friends, and I was going to have fun.