Chapter 10
ten
JOHANNA
Today is looking to be a great day already.
My hair did that thing where you put in zero effort and it ends up looking like you’ve spent hours grueling over it. Quinn had my usual waiting for me downstairs and even complimented my hair and freshly painted nails. And to top it all off? March is here, the snow has melted, and spring is around the corner.
It’s my favorite season in New England . We might be known for our fall time, but there’s something so magical and revitalizing about seeing the flowers bud and bloom after surviving another harsh winter. Patrick always teased me for this, but I swear you can smell the sweet, almond flavor of the maple trees as the days get warmer.
I breathe in deeply as I walk down Robin Road , humming along to Dermot Kennedy playing through my headphones, hoping to catch that scent in the air.
Nodding hello to a few people headed to work, I can’t help but smile at how things have picked up since my first week in town. I’m feeling more at ease; those moments of overthinking my decision to move here have now passed, and I’ve made a few new friends who aren’t my dad. Even Amanda told me during yesterday’s session how impressed she was at how I’ve transitioned into a new routine and settled into my new job. It’s not to say I haven’t struggled, it’s how I cope with it and look after myself during those moments that’s key.
I reach the front door of the restaurant and pull my set of keys out of my coat pocket. When the song reaches its crescendo, I don’t hold back singing the chorus out loud, zero shame, because Dermot Kennedy !
A tap on my shoulder has me screeching like a banshee, and I whirl around with my fists raised to defend myself.
I’m about to punch the creeper in the throat and educate him about not sneaking up on women but stop myself before I pop them in the nose. Because I recognize this creeper.
“ Well , hello, stranger,” they drawl as my fists drop.
“ DEX !” I shout, and throw myself into the open arms of one of my oldest friends.
Chuckling , he returns the hug in a bearlike grip and picks me off my feet with ease.
“ Oh my god, I didn’t think you were in town for a while. When did you get back?” I ask as he places me on my feet.
“ Two days ago, but I made the most of not having any jobs lined up and slept yesterday away.” He tugs his beanie off his head and runs his hand across his shortly cropped hair. Swirls of black and intricate lettering peek out from the collar of his army-green parka. When Dex turned eighteen, he got his first tattoo, and I don’t think he’s ever stopped. His gray eyes shine bright against his sun-kissed skin from hours of working outside.
Dex is a hard guy to miss. His six-foot-five, husky frame towers above everyone, and his biceps are bigger than my thighs. He might look intimidating, but the guy is the epitome of the Big Friendly Giant . Soft and kind to his very core.
I notice he isn’t wearing his hearing aid—something he would always forget when growing up—so I make sure he can see my lips as I talk to him. He hasn’t lost all his hearing, but he’s completely deaf in his left ear, and I know speaking to him face-on makes it a lot easier for him.
“ What was the job?” I ask.
“ A couple of new cabins are being built near the Canadian border. Was up there just shy of seven weeks and then decided to take a detour on the way home.” He flashes me a megawatt smile that pulls out a grin of my own. Knowing I’m still worthy of those smiles adds to this already great day.
Dexter —or Dex , as most people call him—grew up a few houses down from my family home. We met on our first day of kindergarten. He was technically Patrick’s friend first, but because the two of us were inseparable, I easily forced my way into their friendship. Dex complained that because I was a girl, I would give him cooties, but I won him over eventually.
A lot of my childhood memories consist of riding our bikes around the neighborhood or playing hide-and-seek in the woods behind our houses. Once we all graduated from high school, Dex didn’t go to college but continued his job at the local lumberyard and later taught himself carpentry in his spare time. What started off as a summer job and a passion for woodworking, quickly turned into a successful carpentry business of unique and bespoke pieces. From dining tables to fully livable log cabins, you name it, he can make it.
“ Are you on your way to a job now?”
“ Sure am.” He jerks his chin toward the restaurant. “ Just got here.”
“ Here ?”
“ Mm -hm. Your dad asked me to measure some shelving in the kitchen. Once I heard a certain someone made a dramatic return to town, I pushed this job to the top of my list. Patrick sure kept your arrival quiet,” he says with a teasing nudge to my shoulder, and that’s when I notice the small toolbox at his feet.
“ Hardly dramatic.” With a roll of my eyes, I ignore his last comment. I give him my back for a second and continue unlocking the door. Once the alarm is off and I’ve switched on all the lights, he drops his stuff on the parquet floor.
“ You wouldn’t think so hearing all the gossip around town. Scandalous , Johanna .” He places his hand across his chest in mock aghast. “ I’m sure I heard Mrs . Stewart whispering about how you’d run away to a convent and got kicked out.”
“ Har - Har . That woman is a fuc—” My sentence is cut short when the woman herself slowly walks past the large glass window, eyes slowly examining us both. “ Jesus , that was creepy. Well , do you have time for a coffee and to catch-up? I might have a little favor to ask.”
“ For you, I have all the time in the world.” He pulls me into his side and squeezes me gently, smelling like wood shavings and home. “ Missed you, slugger.”
“ God , Harriet has not changed at all by the sounds of it.” Dex laughs from where he is kneeling in front of the sink in the ladies’ restroom. I’m leaning against the wall next to him, on hand with the wrench as he works. Or I think that’s what it is. I told him one of the sinks was leaking and he offered to look at it. It’s a good thing I came in early today, because it’s been great catching up with Dex for the last hour. He sent me a few texts when I first left, checking in on me, but like so many messages, I didn’t have the heart or energy to respond. I’m sure he knows everything that went down between Patrick and me. He could’ve easily given me the cold shoulder, considering we haven’t spoken at all in the time I’ve been gone. It’s so refreshing that it feels like no time has passed between us.
“ She is a walking oxymoron; has the style of a trendy teenager yet can’t work out how to find an email she drafted the day before. It was great staying with her, but I always worried I was cramping her style. This move home came at the perfect time.”
“ Are you glad you’re back?” He peers up at me, as he waits for my reply.
“ I am. It kind of happened out of the blue, but I’m glad to be close to Dad again and to be helping out however I can. I didn’t realize how much I missed this town until I stepped back in it.”
“ I’m sure you’re helping a lot. Some people just take a little time to recognize that.”
I don’t miss the insinuation in his words. I’ve been trying to find the right words for the last hour, but rather than think them over, I blurt them out. “ I’m sorry I never texted back. I - I … A lot happened.”
It shouldn’t surprise me that Dex’s response is full of empathy. “ This might not be the same thing, but remember we didn’t speak for about a year when you and Pat moved away for college?”
My fingers run across the cold metal of the wrench as I nod my head.
“ That time apart didn’t mean jack shit in the grand scheme of things, and neither do the last few years. You’re like family, Jo . I’ll never see you any differently, no matter what happened.”
“ Well shit, now I’m going to cry,” I say with a teary smile. It’s clear Patrick has told him everything, but why wouldn’t he? Dex is his best friend.
“ Please don’t. It makes me uncomfortable.” He stands and tests the faucet, makes a few adjustments, and gives the sink a tap before turning toward me. “ All fixed.”
“ My hero.”
“ Anything for the damsels in distress around this town. Hey , what are you up to tonight?” he asks and wipes his hands down the front of his pants.
“ I’m meeting up with some of the team at Shirley’s , you?”
“ I was going to see if you wanted a beer and a slice of pizza at Dough . Maybe next week?”
“ Oh , I’ve missed Dough so much. Their pepperoni pie was always wicked good. I’m off on Thursday and Sunday next week.” Dough is the town’s pizzeria, somewhere Patrick , Dex , and I would hang out on weekends or after school.
“ Thursday it is. Pick you up at seven?”
“ It’s a date.” I lean in and flutter my eyelashes at him.
Just then, the restroom door swings up, and we turn to find Patrick standing in the doorway. His eyes sharpen as they dart between Dex and me, his jaw ticking in irritation. It’s then I notice how close we’re standing, but I don’t move away, and neither does Dex , who has a weird smirk pulling at his lips.
“ Am I interrupting something?” Patrick asks brusquely, with a look that gives nothing away.
This day might have started off great, but seeing his stupid, handsome face reminds me how hard he’s been trying to avoid me at every turn. I walk into a room; he finds an excuse to exit it. I’ve tried not to let it bother me, but whenever he refuses to acknowledge my presence, a piece of hope I clung to over the years falls away.
So , this whole giving-a-shit-all-of-sudden thing he’s got going is not going to fly. No sirree.
“ Pat ! You sure are, just catching up with Jo here.” Dex throws an arm around my shoulder and ruffles my hair. I take a little bit of satisfaction in seeing Patrick’s jaw work overtime. I hope he cracks a tooth. “ Managed to score a night of fine dining with her. Isn’t that right?”
He looks down at me and winks, suddenly becoming very flirty and nothing like the friendly banter we’ve been tossing back and forth all morning.
“ Umm …” I look at Patrick , and that passiveness is long gone, because he’s looking at Dex in silent warning. The subtle widening of Dex’s eyes triggers a lightbulb moment, and I know to go along with the rouse. “ I mean, if you’re paying,” I reply innocently.
“ I always pay for my dates.”
Even I’m momentarily distracted by the smoothness in Dex’s tone, however, when the heat coming off Patrick’s glare warms my face, I take a small step away. I don’t want to poke the bear too much.
“ Right , well, as much as I hate to break this up, I have work to do in the office, and Jo should be opening up in”— Patrick glances down at his watch—“forty minutes, so she better get a move on.” His gaze morphs from fiery to stony when he glances at me. “ The rep from our wine supplier is coming in at one o’clock. Don’t forget.”
Dex laughs, shakes his head, and begins to pack up his tools. He can’t seem to believe the fucking nerve of Patrick’s dismissive tone either. He might find it funny, but me? I am trying to find my inner peace and not say what I’m thinking out loud.
Which is, You’re a massive asshole!
Instead , I put on the fake smile I’ve been using around him and push down the sassy attitude. “ Sure , boss. I’d appreciate if next time, you talk to me, not through me,” I say and give him a salute. Maybe the sassiness wasn’t completely bottled away, but he hasn’t bothered to utter more than a few curt words to me since I returned, and now he decides to start spitting orders at me. I think not.
I whip around and give him my back, hoping my long ponytail flicks him right in his dumb face. I look at Dex and give him a wink of my own.
“ See you next week, Dex .” With a pat on his chest, I turn to walk out of the restroom, not even sparing Patrick a glance. I swear Dex mouths, Good job, before I walk out .
Once the door to the restroom closes behind me, I check no one is around and raise my middle fingers at the door before stomping away.