Chapter 15
“Are you sure you don’t want to just stay with me tonight?” I ask Avery as we cross the street and step into her yard. “I don’t like the idea of you being home alone after that scene downtown. What if Cory shows up?”
“I’ll be fine.” Avery answers in the darkness. “As soon as I get inside, I’ll lock my door and go to bed. I don’t think Cory will mess with me after running into the cops, anyway. Derek probably scared him off.”
I exchange a look with Andrew. “Okay,” I tell Avery, “but you seriously better call me if you have any problems.”
“Promise,” she says, holding up her pinkie.
I interlock my finger with hers. “Do not break a pinkie promise.” I say in a grumble, attempting to sound as intimidating as possible, but falling short, as usual.
Avery laughs. “Goodnight. And Andrew, thanks for walking us home.”
“No problem.” Andrew says, shoving his hands in his pockets and kicking at a piece of gravel on the ground.
We stand quietly in the yard and wait for Avery to disappear inside before we finish the two-block walk to our houses.
“So.” Andrew interrupts the silence. “What brought you back to Fawn Creek?”
“How did you know I ever left?” I laugh nervously.
“Well, I’ve heard things around town.” He trails off.
“Of course you have.” I mutter with a roll of my eyes. I can only imagine the things that he’s heard about the shit show that has become my life.
“That’s the beauty of a small town.”
“Something like that.” I let out a sigh. “Well, long story short, at the beginning of this week, my boyfriend of three years and I split up, resulting in me being without a place to live. Of course, this was the week after my grandma passed away.”
“Oof.” He breathes out. “That’s a hell of a couple of weeks.”
“The worst.” I agree. “Hazel left me her house, so at least it gave me somewhere to live in the meantime. I’m going to clean it up and get it ready to sell. Hopefully, by the end of summer.”
“Where are you going next?” Andrew asks as he quietly strolls along next to me, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.
I pause for a second to think about my answer. “That’s the fun part. I have no idea. Honestly, I haven’t had time to think about much this last week.”
“Why not stay in Fawn Creek?”
We step into my yard and I lead Andrew to my porch by motioning my head in that direction. “I don’t know. I just… I never pictured myself back here.” I say, plopping down on the porch swing as he moves to sit beside me. “When I left this town as soon as I graduated high school, it’s because I had always planned to live in the city and that’s what I’ve been doing. Until this week, anyway.” I shake my head. “I thought this place was a part of my past.”
He nods quietly. “That’s understandable. It’s almost like a rite of passage, you know? Like it’s ingrained in all small town kids to want nothing else but to get out of their hometown. To see the world.” He looks at the sky wistfully for a second. “But few actually get the chance to do so. And most of those that manage to get out end up coming right back.”
That last statement of his hits me a little harder than I expected it to. Am I just another statistic? Just another person who couldn’t break away from her small town roots? No. That will not be my story. This is just a blip. A pause, if you will. I look to my side and see Andrew studying me while I battle my internal crisis on the wooden porch swing next to him.
“So, what’s your story?” I ask, although I already know part of it. The last thing I’m going to do is admit I’ve talked to anyone else about him. Unlike him, I don’t want to look like a stalker.
“I live in Texas and I own a construction business there.” He motions his head towards the house next door. “My grandpa used to live next door to Hazel. He raised me and my little brother.” Andrew smiles softly, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “He passed away earlier this year, and he left the house to me. This is the first opportunity I’ve had to come back here and get the place ready to list.”
“Wait.” I turn to him. “You grew up next door? I practically lived with my grandma growing up. How do I not remember you?”
He chuckles. “Oh no, we grew up on a farm outside of town. Grandpa didn’t move here until my brother and I grew up and moved away.” He pauses to look up at the sky. “Grandma passed and then the farm became too much for him to handle, so he sold it off and moved to town. He and Hazel were close friends. She was always checking in on him and baking him pies.” He says with a smile.
I grin. “Hazel was such a good person. I miss her.” I say with a sigh.
He nods. “She really was.”
“Well, how much longer until your house is ready to list?” I ask, changing the subject before I start crying for the second time tonight.
“Realistically, if I really worked at it, I could have it ready next week.” He stands and yawns, stretching his arms above his body. His shirt rides up and gives me a glimpse of the abs I saw during our last encounter. I quickly look away, hoping he didn’t catch me staring. He doesn’t, as far as I can tell. “I don’t know, though. I’ve been kind of taking my time and enjoying being back home. It’s been nice to slow down and get back to my roots of handyman service, like by helping Cassidy at the coffee shop.”
I nod. “Who’s running your business while you’re here?”
“I scheduled a break between jobs so I could come do this. Took three weeks off, the longest vacation I’ve ever had.” He laughs. “I have some great guys back home to help me out, and I found them plenty of work for the time I’m gone, so they aren’t going without pay.”
I laugh. “You know, most people vacation at the beach or the mountains, not in Southeast Kansas.”
He just offers me a shrug. “Well, I better be getting home. It’s late.”
“Wait, I have to ask you something.” I say, with a raised brow. “Why did you call me a Karen? And why did you say I think I’m better than everyone else?” I frown. “That’s really not me at all.”
He scrunches his nose at me. “I was kind of hoping you had forgotten about all of that.”
I scoff, “No way. It actually kind of hurt my feelings, to be honest.”
He frowns. “It really was a dick move. I’m sorry.” I nod in agreement and he continues on. “Honestly, I didn’t know who you were when I saw you at the coffee shop. I just saw that you were all dressed up and wearing heels and carrying an expensive purse, so…”
“So you just assumed that I was a snob?”
He pauses. “I might have assumed that you weren’t from around here. I was so nervous that day.” He shakes his head. “I had spent all day trying to psych myself up to go from business to business, introducing myself as a licensed and bonded contractor, hoping to make some business connections and do some side work while I’m in town. And when we collided, you covered my only nice button up I brought with me in milky coffee.”
I raise a brow. “So you freaked out, ran out the door and..”
“And ran home to wash my shirt.” He laughs.
I shake my head. “Why were you nervous? If you have your own successful contracting business, that should speak for itself, shouldn’t it?”
He nods. “You’d sure think so. But, I was a bit of a wild child when I was a teen and I’ve found that people in small towns don’t tend to forget that stuff easily.” He shrugs. “So basically, I’m starting from scratch, trying to make a name for myself all over again.” He smirks. “I asked Cassidy who you were when I went back, and she told me you were Hazel’s granddaughter, who was visiting from the city. Grandpa Charlie had told me a lot of stuff about your mom. Mostly, he said she likes to pretend to be a little more uppity than she is. I assumed the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree, and I let my assumptions take over when you confronted me.”
My face reddens and I stare down the street, avoiding eye contact with him.
“But.” He says, breaking the silence. “I was wrong. You are nothing at all like I thought you were. You’re the exact opposite, actually.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “You should probably know I didn’t buy that expensive purse. It was a gift from my ex-boyfriend’s mom. It wasn’t my style, but I carried it to make her happy. I left it there when I left him.” I say with a shrug. “Also, I might have judged you a little, too. I was secretly calling you the Asshole of Fawn Creek.”
He chuckles. “I deserved it.” He pauses for a second, but then turns to make his way towards the stairs. “I better get home. It’s late.”
I nod and watch him walk across my yard before I call out. “Hey, Andrew?”
“Yeah?” He says, turning back towards me.
“I was wrong about you, too.”
“I know. Night, Tyler.”
“Night.”
My eyes flutter open just after nine o’clock on Saturday morning. As soon as my eyes open, my brain is overrun with the events of the previous night. Mostly, I rerun my late night chat with Andrew. I’m still not sure what to think of it, but maybe, just maybe, he and I can be friends. And only friends.
I shoot Avery a quick text to make sure she made it through the night and then shuffle to the kitchen to make coffee. As I make my way to the couch, cup in hand, my phone vibrates with a text.
Avery: I am alive and well. What time do you want to meet downtown?
Ugh. More peopley activities.
Me: I just rolled out of bed. What if I meet you at Drip at 10:00?
Avery: Works for me. Are you bringing your boyfriend?
Me: I don’t have a boyfriend.
Avery: I don’t know. Andrew was hanging out awfully close to you last night.
Me: We are just friends.
Avery: We’ll see how long that lasts. That’s a lot more than you guys were a few days ago.
I roll my eyes and toss the phone down on the couch next to me. Andrew and I will not be a thing.
Devin, the barista, slides two iced lattes across the counter to me just as my phone pings. It’s Avery letting me know she’s here, waiting outside. I thank Devin and quickly grab our drinks to meet her. As I step through the door, she looks at me like I just saved her life by bringing her a coffee.
“Oh, bless you.” She says with a sigh, taking the drink from me and inhaling a long sip. “Are we getting too old to stay out as late as we did last night?” She asks, leaning on the handlebar of the stroller. “I like to think I’m still young and fun, but damn, then I stay out after 9 pm and have to question my entire existence.”
We stroll down the sidewalk towards the car show. “Yes, we absolutely are. I don’t remember the last time I stayed out until 10:30, but I’m going to need at least a week to recover from it.” I say with a yawn.
She sighs loudly. “When did this happen? We aren’t even thirty yet.”
I raise a brow. “We’re getting close, though.”
“Shut your mouth.” Avery glares at me. “We still have a couple of years.”
“Morning ladies.” A voice interrupts our conversation and we both turn toward the sound. Derek, the officer from last night, is standing on the sidewalk holding a coffee in one hand and a dog leash in the other. His German Shepard is sitting quietly at his feet, overlooking the crowd downtown. He’s off duty now, but still has that stance, like he is ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.
“Morning!” we say in unison back to him.
When we get a little further away, I lean towards Avery. “The hot cop was checking you out.”
She steals a glance at him and then rolls her eyes at me. “Whatever. He just feels sorry for me after that scene last night.”
“I think he wants to protect and serve you.” I mutter, bouncing my eyebrows at her.
Avery shakes her head and takes another sip of her coffee. “We’re just friends.”
“I’ve heard you say that about him before. He’s the one from the hospital, isn’t he?” I raise a brow in her direction, recollecting that Derek had shown up at the hospital when Cory got arrested for hurting her.
She nods. “Yes, and we were just friends then, too.” She steals another glance at him before looking back at me. “I told you. You saw that mess last night. I am at Cory’s mercy for the rest of my life. I couldn’t date if I wanted to.”
I frown at my best friend. I hate this for her. “But that isn’t fair. You guys are over. You deserve to have your own life.”
She shrugs. “I know. I guess life is just like that sometimes.” She continues walking in silence, and I follow next to her wordlessly. I hate this for her and I wish I could say the right words to make her feel better. I just have no idea what those words are.
We move through the car show, taking in the beautiful classic cars lining the street. The city blocked the entire downtown business district off, just like last night. Now, instead of being filled with concert goers and beer gardens, Main Street is full of classic cars, street vendors and the sounds of classic rock music.
Neither of us are really car fanatics, but the prideful faces of the old men sitting in lawn chairs behind their cars light up as we pretend to be. A lot of work and money goes into projects like these. I know because my dad has been working away on his grandpa’s old Chevy pickup for most of my life. We stop in front of a silver Corvette and I notice a disgusted look as it crosses Avery’s face.
“What’s wrong with you?” I whisper out of the side of my mouth.
She turns my body away from the men sitting behind the car watching us. “My mom once told me that men buy corvettes to compensate for having a small…” She shifts her eyes back and forth to make sure we are out of earshot. “Package.” She tells me in a low voice. “I obviously don’t know if it’s true, but I remember that every time I see one and it makes me laugh.”
Avery’s mom has always been an infinite source of wisdom when it comes to things like that. Luckily for us, as soon as we became teenagers, she began to share all of those nuggets of advice with us regularly. Much to my mother’s dismay, of course.
We turn back towards the car and the owner is watching us intently under the brim of his worn straw cowboy hat. Never in my life would I have thought about this mans package, and I almost wish I could wash my brain out. I’ll never look at a Corvette the same again.
Luckily, the awkward silence is interrupted by my name being shouted through the crowd. My eyes search the crowd for the culprit. Just two cars to my left, under a shade tree, stand Cassidy and Sierra. Sierra is waving excitedly.
“Sierra, hey!” I shout, as I move towards her. As the distance closes between us, I almost can’t believe it’s her. When I left Fawn Creek, she was still just a kid. Now, she’s a woman and I just can’t believe how much time has passed. She squeezes me into a hug and then I stand back to look at her. Her long red hair nearly reaches the waistband on her jean shorts. Her face has changed very little since she was a kid. But at least the splatter of freckles across her nose and cheeks hasn’t changed. “How are you so grown up?” I sigh.
“Right?!” Cassidy agrees. “It’s awful. I can’t believe it. She’s a full-time hair stylist at the salon and she’s getting married soon.” She puts an arm across her daughter’s shoulder and hugs Sierra close to her. “It all happened so fast.”
“Agreed.” I say. “When I left, you weren’t in high school yet.”
“Okay, you two old ladies. That’s enough.” Sierra rolls her eyes at our remarks. She turns to me. “Mom tells me you moved back. That’s so exciting.” Sierra interjects, changing the subject.
“Temporarily moved back.” I correct her, although I feel like I’m reminding myself as much as everyone else these days.
“How long are you going to be in town?” Sierra asks.
“Um, through the end of summer, probably. I’m trying to get Hazel’s house ready to go on the market before I leave town again.”
She nods thoughtfully. “So, you’ll be here for my wedding? It’ll be at the end of July.”
“As of right now, yes.” I tell her.
Sierra grins. “Okay, well, then you have to come. I’ll leave an invitation for you in the mailbox at Hazels.”
I smile back at her. “I would love to. Count me in.”
Behind me, Juliet fusses in her stroller, wriggling back and forth. Avery attempts to calm her by rocking the stroller back and forth, but it’s obvious that Juliet’s bored and ready to continue her stroll.
“We better get going.” I say to Sierra and Cassidy before leaning in to hug them both goodbye. “It was good to see you.”
“You too.” She whispers, hugging me tighter. “Let’s get together sometime, okay?”
“You got it.”
Avery and I spend the rest of the morning grazing through the vendor booths before stopping at the food trucks for lunch. We take a seat at a picnic table in the park with our food and wait for the local dance class to start their performance in front of the gazebo. I smile down at Juliet as she drools all over a French fry.
“She’s just like her Aunt Tyler.” Avery jokes.
“I’ve never met a French fry I didn’t like.” I agree with a shrug. “Well, what else is on the docket for today?” I ask, just as a group of tiny ballerinas take their positions.
Immediately, I recognize Piper, the little girl from daycare that was so worried about my messy hair. I smile at the quirky little girl. While all the other ballerinas have their hair all neat and their smiles frozen, Piper is dancing on the makeshift stage with face paint she obviously got from one of the local booths. The black and orange tiger face she’s rocking makes her even more of a star. I hope if I ever have a daughter; she grows up to march to the beat of her own drum like Piper does.
“Nap time for both me and Juliet.” Avery yawns. “This is pretty much it for me, unless you want to do something else.”
“So, I’m off the hook for the rest of the weekend?” I ask with the largest grin I can muster.
“I suppose so.” Avery shrugs.
Once the little dancers finish their routine, we clap and get to work at picking up our mess. I don’t know what I’m more excited about, to get home and get back to work on my house? Or to spend the rest of the weekend possibly running into my neighbor.