Chapter 10 #3
“Hey, Warrick,” she says, smiling widely at the man at my side, as she steps off the stairs and makes a beeline for the guy who opened the door for us.
She curls into his side the moment she’s close to him.
“Amore mio, this is my boss, Buck, and his wife, James. Guys, this is Verity, she moved in with me yesterday,” Warrick says proudly.
“Hi,” I say lamely, gripping Warrick’s hand tightly as I lift the other one and wave like an idiot at them.
James’s eyes widen as her smile stretches into a grin. “Oh my goodness, Verity, it’s so great to meet you,” she gushes, stepping away from her husband and throwing her arms around me.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” I reply, frozen inside of her embrace, overwhelmed by her reaction to me.
“Give her some space to breathe,” Buck says, chuckling as he pulls James back into his chest the moment she lets me go. “It’s nice to meet you, Verity. We were wondering when Warrick would meet someone. Do you live in Rockhead Peak?”
“No, I just got to town a couple of months ago. I’ve been volunteering with the ranger service up on the trails and…wild camping,” I say, making my homelessness and joblessness sound like a choice, not a sad reality.
“This town is a freaky place, and somehow everyone who is meant to end up here finds their way eventually,” James says. “It’s a beautiful day; we should go and sit out in the yard. Do you guys want beers, or we have water or soda?” she offers.
“A beer—”
“Would be great for me, Verity will take a water,” Warrick says, talking over me.
Turning to look up at him, I frown.
Leaning down, he presses his lips to my ear. “You’re underage, amore mio, and I want you one hundred percent clear-headed whenever we’re touching,” he rasps.
Chastened, I don’t argue or tell him I started stealing my dad’s beers when I was barely old enough to read the label. Because even if he forgot to buy anything else, my deadbeat dad always made sure there was a six-pack in the refrigerator.
“Water would be great,” I tell James, whose gaze is darting between Warrick and me, openly intrigued.
Warrick’s smile warms me from the inside out, and I find myself smiling back, even though a part of me is kind of pissed with his high-handedness. Buck and James’s yard is beautiful, full of lush leafy green tropical plants that I’m surprised can survive the harsh Montana winter.
“This is beautiful,” I say when James hands us our drinks and takes a seat in her husband’s lap.
“It’s gorgeous, but we can’t take the credit. My brother-in-law did this before he moved next door. We’re just lucky enough to be reaping the benefits of his green thumbs.”
“Doesn’t the snow kill all of the plants?” I ask.
“No, he picked varieties that look tropical, but that are hardy enough to survive the cold with a little help,” Buck says, placing his palm on his wife’s stomach. “Do you like to garden?”
I shake my head. “I’ve always lived in apartments; I’ve never had a yard to try.”
“We can go and buy some seeds and plants, you can see if you can make anything but weeds stay alive in our yard,” Warrick says easily, like spending money on plants when I admitted I had zero experience is nothing.
“No,” I instantly say, shaking my head. “I’d probably kill everything.”
“So? Just by planting things, you’d be doing a whole lot better than me. I’m proud when I remember to mow the lawn. Even if the plants didn’t survive long, they’d still be pretty while they were there,” he says, cupping my chin as he talks.
“I’m sure Nero would be happy to give you some pointers. Why don’t you ask him when you go to their place?” Buck says easily.
“We can ask him what to buy. Planting some stuff will give you something to do while I’m on shift,” Warrick says, grinning widely.
“I should be looking for a job,” I reply without thought.
“No, amore mio. We already agreed that you need to take some time to relax. If you don’t want to get dirty in the yard, you can camp out on the couch and watch hockey highlights. You can worry about a job once you’re back to full strength,” Warrick says.
Even though I should fight him on this, the idea of just relaxing sounds so good that I have to swallow back the whine of want that forms in my throat.
But I can’t just take advantage of his kindness.
Now that we’ve admitted that there’s some romantic feelings between us, I need more than ever to feel like I’m pulling my weight and not allowing him to take care of me without giving anything back.
“You’re a hockey fan?” Buck asks.
“Yes,” I admit, meekly.
“Who do you support?”
“I don’t really have a team.”
“I suggested she adopt the Montana Mountain Marauders as her team,” Warrick says.
“Oh, that’s the team Tori’s brothers play for,” James says excitedly. “I bet she could get you home ice tickets.”
“I’ll have a look at what games are playing during our downtime. Maybe we could all go,” Warrick suggests excitedly.
My heart starts to beat wildly in my chest. I can’t afford ice hockey tickets.
I have a handful of coins that total less than five dollars to my name.
Meeting Warrick might have been a good thing, but I was literally desperate enough to get into a car with a stranger rather than having to move on to a new town, knowing that I’d have no place to stay, no money, and no food.
I’m not in a position to be making plans for a fun night out.
I need to focus on surviving, not dates.
“Verity?”
The sound of Warrick calling my name drags me from my panic spiral. “Sorry, could I use your bathroom?” I ask.
“Of course, it’s at the top of the stairs. This house is the same layout as Warrick’s,” James says sweetly.
Jumping up from my seat, I tug at my hand until Warrick reluctantly releases me. I rush into the house and up the stairs, closing and locking the bathroom door behind me the moment I’m inside.