Chapter 9 Neighbor Whispers
Small-Town Rumors
By the end of the week, the tension between Liam and Mason hadn't disappeared.
It had simply changed shape.
The conversation about the age gap lingered between them like an unfinished sentence.
Neither pretended it hadn't happened.
Neither brought it up again.
The result was a strange mixture of honesty and uncertainty.
Liam understood Mason's concerns now.
At least partially.
The divorce.
The age difference.
The fear of repeating old mistakes.
None of those things were unreasonable.
What frustrated him was the assumption that he couldn't make decisions for himself.
That somehow his feelings mattered less because he was younger.
The thought continued irritating him long after their conversation ended.
Maybe that was a good thing.
For years, Liam had avoided confrontation.
Avoided disagreement.
Avoided anything that might upset people.
His ex had practically trained him to second-guess every opinion he had.
To apologize for taking up space.
To make himself smaller whenever someone stronger pushed back.
Lately, that was changing.
Slowly.
Not perfectly.
But changing.
And for the first time, he was beginning to notice it.
Saturday morning arrived bright and unusually warm.
Most of the repair work was paused for the weekend.
Mason was handling a few emergency jobs elsewhere.
Liam planned to spend the day catching up on university work.
Unfortunately, concentration remained difficult.
The graduate school offer sat open on his laptop.
Unread books cluttered his desk.
An essay deadline loomed.
Meanwhile, his thoughts kept drifting toward a stubborn plumber with broad shoulders and terrible timing.
Around noon, Liam decided fresh air might help.
He grabbed his phone and headed outside.
The neighborhood looked peaceful beneath clear skies.
Children rode bicycles down the street.
Someone mowed a lawn nearby.
Wind stirred leaves through the trees lining the sidewalks.
For the first time in weeks, everything felt normal.
At least until he spotted Mrs. Patterson.
Liam immediately considered turning around.
The elderly woman lived three houses down.
She knew everything about everyone.
Or at least believed she did.
In a larger city, people like her barely existed.
In small towns, they were practically local institutions.
Unfortunately, she had already noticed him.
"Liam!"
Too late.
He forced a smile.
"Hi, Mrs. Patterson."
The woman waved him over.
Liam reluctantly approached.
"How are your parents?"
The question arrived immediately.
"They're good."
"Still overseas?"
"Yeah."
Mrs. Patterson nodded thoughtfully.
Then her eyes narrowed slightly.
The expression instantly made Liam nervous.
He knew that look.
Everyone in town knew that look.
It meant curiosity.
Dangerous curiosity.
"I've been seeing that plumber's truck quite a bit."
There it was.
Liam internally sighed.
Of course.
The truck had been parked outside almost daily for weeks.
People were bound to notice eventually.
"There's a lot of damage."
The explanation sounded reasonable.
Because it was true.
Mrs. Patterson hummed.
"Must be."
The response carried enough skepticism to fill the Pacific Ocean.
Liam resisted the urge to groan.
The woman leaned closer.
"I don't think I've ever seen a plumber spend this much time at one house."
And there it was.
Not a question.
An accusation disguised as curiosity.
The implication settled immediately between them.
Liam felt his shoulders tense.
A few months ago, he would've laughed nervously.
Changed the subject.
Apologized for something that didn't require an apology.
Today felt different.
Maybe because he was tired.
Maybe because of Mason.
Maybe because something inside him had finally reached its limit.
"He works here."
The answer came calmly.
Mrs. Patterson blinked.
"Well, yes."
"Because he's repairing the house."
The older woman smiled politely.
Too politely.
"You spend quite a bit of time together."
The implication sharpened.
Liam recognized it instantly.
The same judgment he'd spent years fearing.
The same kind of judgment that had taught him to hide parts of himself.
The same kind that whispered there was something wrong with who he was.
For a moment, old instincts surfaced.
The desire to retreat.
To explain.
To make the situation comfortable.
Then something surprising happened.
He didn't want to.
Not anymore.
Maybe because he'd spent too much time rebuilding his confidence.
Maybe because he'd finally started seeing his own worth.
Or maybe because he was tired of allowing other people to define his life.
Whatever the reason, he remained exactly where he was.
"Is there a problem?"
The question escaped calmly.
Directly.
Mrs. Patterson looked genuinely surprised.
"A problem?"
"Yes."
Liam met her gaze.
"You seem very interested."
The older woman's expression shifted.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Apparently she wasn't accustomed to being challenged.
Most people probably smiled and endured these conversations.
Liam usually did.
Not today.
"Oh, I didn't mean anything."
The response came quickly.
Too quickly.
Liam almost laughed.
Of course she meant something.
Everyone knew she did.
"I'm glad."
His voice remained polite.
Steady.
"Because he's helping repair my house."
The silence stretched.
For the first time, Mrs. Patterson looked slightly uncomfortable.
Good.
Liam wasn't trying to be rude.
He was simply finished being passive.
The realization felt surprisingly empowering.
A few seconds later, the woman cleared her throat.
"Well."
A smile appeared.
Smaller this time.
"I suppose that's none of my business."
Exactly.
Liam smiled back.
"Not really."
The conversation ended shortly afterward.
Mrs. Patterson found another topic.
Then another excuse to leave.
Eventually she headed back toward her house.
For a long moment, Liam remained where he was.
Standing beneath bright afternoon sunlight.
Listening to distant lawnmowers.
Feeling something unfamiliar settle inside his chest.
Pride.
The realization startled him.
Not because he'd won an argument.
Because he'd stood his ground.
No apologies.
No embarrassment.
No shrinking himself to make someone else comfortable.
Just honesty.
The younger version of himself would've struggled with that.
The version shaped by years of criticism and self-doubt.
The version who constantly worried about what everyone thought.
This version felt different.
Stronger.
Not because he was fearless.
Because he was finally learning that fear didn't have to make his decisions.
The thought followed him home.
It stayed with him while making lunch.
While studying.
While answering emails.
And later that evening, when he found himself thinking about Mason again.
The age gap.
The uncertainty.
The complications.
All of it remained.
But something else remained too.
The certainty that his feelings weren't something to be ashamed of.
Whatever happened next, that much was true.
For the first time in a very long time, Liam refused to let anyone make him feel small.
Not a neighbor.
Not his ex.
Not even his own fears.
And somehow, that realization felt like the beginning of something important.
Taking Sides
Mason had lived in the same town long enough to understand exactly how rumors worked.
Nobody ever started them intentionally.
At least that's what people claimed.
A casual observation became a conversation.
A conversation became speculation.
Speculation became certainty.
By the end of the week, everyone somehow knew things that had never actually happened.
Normally, Mason ignored it.
Small-town gossip survived because people fed it attention.
The easiest solution was refusing to participate.
Unfortunately, this particular rumor involved Liam.
Which made ignoring it significantly harder.
The first comment arrived Monday morning.
Mason was loading supplies into his truck outside a hardware store when another contractor approached.
Rick Jensen.
Electrician.
Forty-eight years old.
Friendly enough.
Talked too much.
"You're practically living over at the Carter place."
Mason immediately knew where the conversation was heading.
He kept loading supplies.
"Big repair job."
Rick nodded.
"Must be."
The tone carried enough implication to be annoying.
Mason closed the truck bed.
"Something you need?"
The electrician laughed.
"Relax."
"I'm relaxed."
Rick looked unconvinced.
"People are talking."
There it was.
The inevitable phrase.
People are talking.
As though "people" were some mysterious force of nature instead of bored adults with too much free time.
Mason sighed.
"What exactly are they saying?"
Rick hesitated.
Just long enough.
Then shrugged.
"You know how this town is."
Unfortunately, he did.
Far too well.
The conversation ended shortly afterward.
But the irritation remained.
Because the rumors weren't really about him.
If they were, he wouldn't care.
They were about Liam.
And Liam had already dealt with enough judgment in his life.
The thought followed Mason throughout the day.
Unfortunately, Rick wasn't the last person to mention it.
A customer made a joke about "special house calls."
Another contractor raised an eyebrow when Liam's name came up.
Even the owner of a supply warehouse seemed suspiciously interested in how often Mason worked on the Carter house.
By Tuesday afternoon, Mason's patience had worn dangerously thin.
Most people weren't being openly hostile.
That almost made it worse.
Smirks.
Looks.
Suggestions hidden inside harmless jokes.
The kind of behavior that allowed everyone to pretend they weren't doing anything wrong.
Mason hated it.
Not because it affected him.
Because he knew exactly what it could do to someone like Liam.
Years ago, comments like those would've destroyed the younger man's confidence.
The realization made something unpleasant tighten inside his chest.
By Wednesday morning, the irritation had become something else.