CHAPTER 16
Eve
Rolling my eyes and pretending to not be bothered by Aiden’s innuendo, I ate more of my spaghetti and then figured I’d actually get to know them a little better. The wine definitely encouraged me.
“How did you guys end up here?” I bit my lip as Aiden refilled my glass with the last of the wine. “I’m already halfway to drunk.”
He shrugged. “You’ve never been safer getting hammered.”
Nash sat back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. “That was fucking delicious. To answer your question, we go where we’re needed. Someone reached out to our company and requested help. Our salaries and travel expenses are covered by a grant the town applies for. Harmony Valley is a little better off than most places we end up. Staffing can get pretty dicey in some rural areas.”
“Someone had to apply for a grant and then request you guys through your company?” I looked towards Grandpa’s door and frowned. “Do you know who it was?”
Tate nodded towards the door I’d just glanced at. “Hank. He even put us up in the cabin for free.”
“Grandpa filled out the paperwork to apply for a grant? Really?” I sipped at my wine and wondered how Grandpa figured everything out. I didn’t even realize he knew how to use a computer. “Weird. How long will you be here?”
Aiden looked contemplative as he ran his finger around the rim of his water glass. “We never really know how long we’re going to be somewhere. We usually stick around until the town hires someone on and we can train them. Harmony Valley is an unusual case, though, because, like Nash said, there isn’t a huge issue here.”
“So, you could just be gone tomorrow?” The idea made me uncomfortable and I sat up straighter. “Don’t you ever think about putting down roots somewhere?”
The energy around the table shifted and I watched the three of them exchange glances before Tate spoke up. “We have a little more notice than a day or two. And we do think about putting down roots, in that we’ve thought about it and decided against it.”
Something deep down inside of me cracked. I told myself I was sad for them and that the idea of never settling down just made me sad. “But…what about a family?”
Nash shifted in his chair. “We’re a family. The three of us.”
I felt my eyebrows furrow and I shook my head. “I know. I mean…what about partners? Kids? A dog or cat? You don’t want any of that?”
“We chose a different path in life.” Aiden studied my face as he spoke. “We met while doing these bullshit healing weekends almost ten years ago. We each had seen and done some shit overseas that left its mark. Seeing each other weekend after weekend led to us becoming friends and then something closer to brothers. The weekends didn’t touch the PTSD but we got together one of those weekends and decided to take a trip and it turned out that trip helped us more than anything else. The rest is history. Now, the longest we stay in one place is six months. That’s even a bit long for us.”
I didn’t realize I’d been leaning into him until I was at the edge of my seat. “Six months? You’ve already been here for half that.”
“Yeah. We’ll choose our next stop soon and then we’ll plan where we’ll stay and all that. We get to see so much of the country this way.” Nash smiled but it felt a little brittle. “This has always been what keeps our heads on straight.”
I nodded like it all made perfect sense to me but that crack was widening inside me. I finished my third glass of wine and wanted desperately to fill it but it was cavernous and it would’ve taken more wine than we had. “Wow. I’m glad you found something that helps.”
Tate sighed. “Yeah.”
“I’m sorry.” I realized how open ended that was and hurried on. “I mean I’m sorry you all had to see and do things that hurt you. I’m also sorry there wasn’t something better than weekend healing sessions waiting for you when you got home. You found each other, though, and that’s pretty amazing. And now you go around helping other people. It’s no wonder Grandpa is hoping one of you tastes his spaghetti and decides I’m worth the effort. You’re great guys.”
I stood up and scraped the rest of my dinner into the trash. My appetite was gone and all I wanted to do was retreat to my room and lose myself in the romance novel I was editing.
“Eve…” Tate stood behind me at the sink and lightly gripped my waist. “Are you okay?”
I rested my balled-up fists on the cold metal rim of the sink and ground my teeth together. “Yep.”
“You don’t seem okay. You seem—”
“I’m fine.” I spun around and smiled up at him. “I’m really great. I just realized I have a meeting with one of my authors. I have to go handle that. If you guys just leave your plates, I’ll take care of it when I’m finished with work.”
Before they could say anything else I scurried to my bedroom and shut the door. Leaning against it, I tipped my head back and stared up at the ceiling. The same old water mark stared back at me.
I didn’t know why I was so upset at the idea of them leaving. I’d avoided them for most of the time they’d been in town. Soon they’d be gone and things would go back to normal. I’d have less eye candy but that was fine. I didn’t need it anyway. It wasn’t like I was ready for anything else. Not that it mattered. The neighbors were leaving and they didn’t want anything serious, ever.
That was completely fine. I simply needed to go back to avoiding them and when they vanished it wouldn’t make a difference. It wasn’t their departure that was causing the strange ache deep inside my stomach. It was only the residual effects of what I’d gone through with my ex. That was all.