2. Parker
Chapter two
Parker
D riving my truck through the streets of Newport, I can’t help but smile at the familiarity and contentment I feel. I drum my fingers on the dashboard to the beat of the country song playing on the radio, my heart swelling with pride for my hometown. I’ve never lived anywhere else in my life, and I’m more than okay with that. I travel plenty and have seen lots of the world, but I always am happy to be able to come home to a place that offers me so much peace and familiarity.
“Hey, Parker!” Mr. Whitmore, an older man who takes a walk every morning to the nearby park and back, calls out.
I wave at him through the open window of my truck and slow down so I can respond.
“Good morning, Mr. Whitmore.”
“Heading over to the Halsey place?” Mr. Whitmore asks, adjusting his cap against the morning sun.
I nod. “Yep, we’ve got the renovations just about done for that one. Should be on the market soon.”
“Good luck to you!”
I wave again as I speed back up, leaving Mr. Whitmore to his walk, his cheerful whistle trailing behind him.
A few moments later, I pull up to the Halsey place. The house is a grand, old Victorian with tons of character, but like many older homes in Newport, it’s been neglected and has seen better days.
Pulling up in front of the house, I see Lauren already there waiting for me. She’s standing in front of the house with a clipboard in her hand, studying the exterior with a critical eye.
“Hey, Lauren,” I greet as I jump out of my truck. “How’s it looking?”
She turns toward me with a grin. “Hey, Parker! It’s coming along beautifully. The team did great work restoring the original woodwork.”
I run my hand along one of the newly polished banisters as I climb up onto the porch, admiring the intricacies of the design.
“It looks amazing.” Suddenly, a loud crash comes from inside the house, followed by a string of curses. I exchange a concerned glance with Lauren before rushing inside to see what’s going on. One of the crew members is standing amidst a pile of broken tiles, looking sheepish.
“Sorry, boss. The ladder slipped,” he explains, scratching his head.
I sigh while running a hand through my hair. “Let’s get this cleaned up and make sure it doesn’t happen again, alright?”
As I help the crew member pick up the broken pieces, I can’t help but steal another glance at Lauren. There’s something about her today that seems off. Even while helping us clean up the mess, she’s distracted. She keeps looking around or focusing a bit too long on a specific piece of broken tile before moving onto the next. That’s not like her. Lauren is always focused on the job at hand.
“How do you think it will sell?” she asks as we finish up.
A little taken aback by her sudden shift in mood, I reply honestly, “The market’s been unpredictable lately, so it’s hard to say, but it’s a beautiful house in a good neighborhood. I think it’ll do well.”
She nods and gives me a half-hearted smile before turning her attention back to her clipboard. Her reaction doesn’t escape my notice, but before I can ask her about it, we’re interrupted by one of the construction crew members hollering for my attention.
Finally, after what seems likes hours, I manage to get away from the crew so I can hunt Lauren down again to get some answers out of her. I find her inside the house, inspecting the intricately decorated living room.
“Lauren?” I call out, my voice echoing in the spacious room. She jumps slightly and turns to me.
“Parker…hey. Sorry, I was lost in thought.”
I nod. “I can see that. Everything okay?”
She hesitates, her eyes darting away before returning to meet mine, and her lips are slightly turned down at the corners. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”
I cross my arms over my chest and give her a pointed look.
“Lauren, you’ve never been good at lying to me. Something’s going on. What is it?”
She sighs and rolls her eyes, like she’s tired of me questioning her, but the small sparkle in her eyes lets me know that she appreciates my concern. “Fine. You’re such a nag, you know. It’s Chloe. I’m just anxious for her. She has a job interview today.”
“Chloe?” I murmur. “Chloe Davis?”
Lauren nods. “Yeah, she moved in with me. I told you that, didn’t I?”
Now that I think about it, that news does sound vaguely familiar. I think she might have told me when I was trying to focus on laying some tile a while back. Her words hadn’t registered then, but they sure as hell do now.
Chloe Davis. It’s been about seven years since I’ve seen her. She went off to college and never came back…not that she had any reason to. After her dad died, she had no family to come back home to see.
“So…Chloe’s back in town, huh?” I say, aiming for nonchalance but practically choking on the words. “That’s cool. That’s really, really cool. How is she?”
Damn it, I sound so nervous. It’s so stupid, but my heart is racing at the mere mention of Chloe. I feel like a teenager again, pining after her in the high school hallways.
Lauren’s eyes narrow suspiciously at my stuttering response.
“She’s good,” she says slowly, though her gaze doesn’t leave my face. “She’s been trying to find a job since she moved back, but she hasn’t had any luck so far. That’s why I’m worried.”
I run a hand through my hair, trying to dissipate the sudden knot of tension in my chest.
“Right, a job interview.” I nod while trying to appear casual. “I hope it goes well for her. Where’s she interviewing at?”
There’s a moment of awkward silence before Lauren answers. “Actually, Holt Realty.”
My eyes go wide, and my jaw drops. Holt Realty is the realty company we always work with to sell the houses we renovate. Years ago, we had tried other companies, but for some reason or another, they never worked out long-term.
“Wait, Holt Realty?” I splutter in surprise. “ Our Holt Realty?”
She gives me a curious look before nodding. “Yeah. That’s why I’ve been so distracted today.”
“Well, that’s…” I run a hand through my hair again, coughing to clear the lump in my throat. “That’s something.”
“Yeah,” Lauren replies. She studies me for a second, then chuckles at what she must see on my face. “You seem a little flustered there, Parker. Still carrying a torch for Chloe?”
“What?” I exclaim, a little too defensively. “No! Of course not. I never carried a torch for her. I just thought she was cute, that’s all. I thought a lot of girls were cute back then, if you can recall.”
Lauren raises an eyebrow at me, but she ultimately decides to let it go.
“Alright, then.” She laughs, shaking her head slightly as she turns back to her clipboard. “Well, if she gets the job, maybe you’ll get to see her around more.”
“Yeah,” I mumble under my breath as I watch her walk away, feeling more unsettled than I have in months. “Maybe...”
As the day wears on and we make more progress on the house renovation, my mind keeps drifting back to Chloe. Chloe who stole my heart all those years ago and never knew it. I couldn’t exactly hide my interest in her from my sister, but I always played it off as no big deal. Lauren never fully realized just how into Chloe I really was.
As the crew wraps up for the day, I find myself alone again in living room. My mind spins with thoughts of blonde hair, brown eyes that swirl like caramel when they catch the sun, and a smile that used to make my heart skip a beat. Chloe Davis. If she gets the job at Holt Realty…
I push away from the wall I’ve been leaning against for the last few minutes, shaking my head to try to clear it. Releasing a long breath, I head for the front door.
“Parker! Hold on!”
I turn and spot Lauren running down the house’s grand staircase.
“Lauren? I thought you went home an hour ago.”
She waves her hand dismissively as she reaches the bottom of the stairs. “I wanted to make sure the upstairs bathroom’s features were installed correctly. That’s not important right now, though. Chloe got the job!”
For a moment, all I can do is stare at her blankly before reality sets in and my heart lurches in my chest. “She did?”
Lauren nods. “Yep. She starts next week.”
A strange mix of anticipation and dread settles over me. Seeing Chloe again after all these years is going to be…interesting, to say the least. While I’m not a teenage boy anymore and I’ve moved on with my life, the uncertainty of how I’ll react to seeing her again makes me feel on edge. Will I still be as drawn to her as I was back then?
“Are you okay, Parker?” Lauren asks, studying my face.
I snap out of my thoughts and nod quickly.
“Absolutely,” I say with more confidence than I feel.
She gives me a skeptical look but doesn’t press further.
“Okay, well, I’m going to get going. Chloe and I are going to celebrate. See you later.”
“Right, celebrate.” I offer her a tight smile. “See you tomorrow.”
She studies me for another moment before giving a shrug and turning for the front door.
Once she’s out of sight, I let out a sigh that feels like it’s been building in my chest all day. Chloe Davis is coming back into my life. She’s going to be a permanent fixture at Holt Realty. Granted, she’s living with my sister, too, but that doesn’t feel nearly as daunting for some reason. Maybe because I know how independent Chloe is and how she’ll strive to find her own place as soon as possible.
I take another look around the living room, the antique chandeliers catching my gaze. Their soft light reflects off the polished wooden floors, illuminating the room in a warm glow. It’s so different from the state we found it in a few months ago—dilapidated and nearly uninhabitable.
As I walk slowly towards the door, my hand trails against the smooth, oak banister of the stairs. The brisk evening air hits me as I step outside, providing some much-needed clarity. Seeing Chloe again won’t be easy, but it’s not something I can avoid, either—not if I want to keep working with Holt Realty or going over to my sister’s house. As I make my way towards my truck, thoughts of Chloe continue their relentless assault.
I pull myself up into the driver’s seat and rev the engine—it rumbles to life beneath me. Flicking on the headlights, the beam cuts through the dusky twilight, illuminating the path ahead.
My heart pounds frantically against my chest at the thought of seeing Chloe again. I didn’t notice her until high school. Until then, she’d always just been my sister’s somewhat annoying best friend. In high school, though, she blossomed from an awkward tomboy into a gorgeous young woman who could charm anyone she encountered.
I was on the periphery of her life, always friendly but never too close, watching from the outside as boys flocked around her, drawn to her like moths to a flame.
She had been more than cute. She had been captivating, her laughter contagious and her spirit infectious. She had been the kind of girl who filled a room with sunshine just by walking into it.
Cheesy, yes, but Chloe always had the ability to turn me into a marshmallow.
By the time I pull into my driveway, I realize that my palms are sweaty on the steering wheel. I climb out of the truck, trying to shake away thoughts of the past.
“Get a grip, Parker,” I mutter to myself as I walk up the stone path leading to my front door.
Inside, my house is quiet. I usually don’t mind, but today, it just gives me more of an opportunity to think. I make my way into the living room and the built-in bar I installed when I first moved in. I pour myself a stiff drink and settle onto my old, leather couch. The ice clicks against my glass as I take a generous gulp of whiskey, feeling the burn of the alcohol warm me from within.
I glance around my living room, focusing on the little things around me in an attempt to distract myself. The gleam of the polished mahogany floor under the dim light, the soft texture of the antique rug under my feet, the faint smell of leather from my worn couch. Tonight, though, none of these details can pull my thoughts away from Chloe.
The clear ring of her voice when she used to cheer for me at football games. The way her eyebrows furrowed when she was concentrating on solving a math problem. The light in her eyes when she found a book she loved. I try to stop the images flashing through my mind, but they relentlessly continue.
I down another mouthful of whiskey and wince at its biting sharpness.
“Just keep it together, Parker,” I whisper into the solitude, pulling my stubbled chin into my hand. I set down my empty glass with a clunk and lean back against the plush backrest of my couch.
Releasing a long breath, I shake my head and chuckle. I haven’t even seen her yet, and she’s already throwing me for a loop.
It’s going to be one hell of a summer.