Chapter 4
FOUR
I toss the last of my tools into the back of my truck, finished for the day and ready to head home. And just in time too. I’m meeting Liam at my place in about five minutes, and I wasn’t sure if I’d actually get the last of these cabinets installed before then.
As I head out of the Campbells’ driveway and onto the road, I let my thoughts wander back to this morning when I met Liam in the store. I’m not quite sure what the fuck I was thinking, inviting him to live in my house after talking to him for two minutes, but he seems normal enough. And he has a job on an oil rig, so he can’t be a criminal or anything. Unless he’s on the run and looking for a place to hide, which is why he’s in Torrin Cove of all places.
But hey, maybe that’s the excitement I’ve been looking for. So… fuck it.
A few minutes down the road, I turn off and follow the long, winding driveway lined with tall trees. As I round the final bend, the view opens up to reveal my house tucked among the trees, facing the ocean.
And this is why I bought this house. It may be too big for just me, and needed a shit ton of work just to make it somewhat habitable, but this view gets me every night when I come home. It’s completely private, away from the rest of the town, and has everything I need. So far, it’s been a good project to fill my free time and keep me busy when my mind wants to wander.
I park next to Liam’s truck and make my way down to the dock, where he’s looking out over the water.
“Hey,” I say as I step onto the dock, and he turns to face me with a nod in greeting.
“Not a bad spot,” he says.
I smile softly as I stand beside him, my gaze following his over the water. It’s a secluded stretch of ocean, away from all the boat traffic. And right now it looks beautiful with the orange sky reflecting off the waves as the sun dips low. “This is what sold me on this place.”
He huffs lightly. “I see why.”
I turn my head to look at him, but he keeps his eyes on the water, seeming to get lost to his head for a moment. My gaze lingers on him a beat longer as I take in the emptiness in his eyes and the heaviness that seems to cling to him.
Until his gaze drops to my speedboat in the water before us, which I have set up for fishing. He nods towards it. “Get out much?”
I look down at it as well and sigh. “Not as much as I’d like. We don’t fish lobster on Sundays, so I try to get out on my own then.” I shrug slightly. “Otherwise, I just try to go out whenever I find the time and I’m not working too late.”
“Building barn doors?” he asks with a small smirk.
I chuckle. “Carpentry and a bit of everything else thrown in.” I tilt my head towards the barn on the other side of the driveway. “I have a workshop in there where I build tables, chairs, cabinets, you name it. But it’s evolved into house calls for repairs and installations of various kinds.” I huff out another laugh. “Like barn doors.”
He gives me a lopsided smile as the breeze blows his shaggy dark hair over his icy blue eyes. He lifts a hand to push it back, and I let my gaze run over the tattoos covering his hand and forearm. Then it continues to run up his muscular arm, before I quickly turn my head away.
“You fish?” I ask, looking back down at my boat.
“I did quite a bit growing up in Cape Breton. Not quite the same in Alberta.”
I chuckle, turning to face him again as he looks at me, his smile still in place.
“I bet.” I tilt my head towards the house. “I’ll show you around.”
Liam follows me up the dock and onto the small stone patio off the side door.
“I bought this place a year ago, and I was hoping to have more done with it by now.” I push the door open and step into the entryway. “Probably shouldn’t have sold my other place until I had more of it done, but… it’s liveable now.” We head into the kitchen, and I gesture to the large kitchen island. “I did finally install countertops, so at least there’s a functional kitchen.”
Liam walks around the island, silently taking in the space. He stops in front of the sink and peers out the small window which has a view of the water.
“I have a bigger window I’m going to put in there,” I say, leaning against the island. “Just… need to find the time.”
He nods, turning away from the window and glancing around again. And immediately, I feel uneasy. I don’t think he expected this. I told him it was a bit of a construction zone, but… it’s more than just a bit. The wall between the kitchen and living room is only partially torn down, since I haven’t had the chance to finish taking it out yet. Even though I started it months ago. I still haven’t put the tiles up for the backsplash after tearing the old, broken ones out, and the walls throughout the entire house are still full of holes after updating the electrical.
Liam heads through the partially torn out wall into the living room. It’s a large space with wood beams across the ceiling and exposed brick on the far wall, where a TV I never watch is hanging. A wood stove sits in the corner, and the original wide, wood plank floors creak as we walk across them.
“It’s a drafty house,” I say as Liam looks over the wood stove. “It keeps it warm in the evenings without having to turn the heat on this time of year.”
Liam nods again and that uneasy feeling grows. What the fuck was I thinking inviting someone to live here? This place is a disaster, and he’s probably trying to find a polite way of telling me thanks but no fucking thanks.
And why do I feel so disappointed by that?
But Liam pauses as his gaze lands on the doorway leading into the next room. And that feeling lets up a little bit. Because that room is the best part of this house.
I watch him as he makes his way into the small room and stops in the middle of it, looking out the large bay window that takes up almost the entire wall, with a view of the ocean.
I cross my arms and lean against the doorframe, looking out over the water as well as the sun continues to go down. “I had this idea that I would sit in here and enjoy coffee in the mornings.”
He looks over his shoulder at me, then down at the couch and small wood stove in here. “Not a reality?”
I shrug one shoulder with a shake of my head. “I’m a fisherman. Not enough time.”
Liam holds my gaze for a moment, then turns to face the window again. “You should make it.”
An involuntary sigh escapes me as frustration settles inside me. And not at him… at me. Because I know I should make time to actually enjoy things, such as this house. But time alone with just my thoughts is also something I’ve been trying to avoid.
“There’s another good view through here.” I point to another doorway on the adjacent wall, into a small hallway.
Liam heads through the door and into the bedroom across the hall. It has a large window with a view of the woods surrounding the house, opening to the water. The room is bathed in warm, orange light from the setting sun, and I try not to let my gaze rest too long on Liam as he stands before the window, the soft glow highlighting his features in a way that makes it hard to look away.
“There’s two other bedrooms upstairs besides mine, if you’d rather be up there. But this one has the best view out of all of them. And your bathroom is right next door.” I put my hands in my pockets as I linger by the doorway, watching as Liam just stands by the bed, looking out the window.
As I glance around the room, I shake my head at myself. What the fuck. I haven’t even done anything to this room, except put a bed and a dresser in here. The trim needs to be replaced, the floor needs to be refinished, and it definitely needs to be painted.
I swallow and lift a hand to rub the back of my neck. “I know this isn’t the best place to live… it still needs a lot of work. It’s quiet though, and private. There’s no traffic, even on the water?—”
“I can move in right now.”
My brows lift in surprise as Liam turns to face me.
“Ok,” I say, glancing once more around the room. “I can take this bed out, if you have your own…?”
He shakes his head, looking down at the queen-sized bed I put in here for who knows what reason. “I have everything I own with me in my truck. So, the bed works for me.”
I nod slowly, observing him for a moment. I’m not sure what he has going on, but maybe I wasn’t that far off when I thought he could be on the run.
But fuck it, right?
“Beer?” I ask.
He nods, and I turn around, heading into the kitchen. He doesn’t seem like the forthcoming type, and I’m not about to ask for his life story. So, we can at least somewhat get to know each other over a beer if we’re going to live together.
I grab two beer from the fridge and pass him one as he takes a seat on a stool at the kitchen island.
“What do you do on the rig?” I ask, twisting the cap off my beer as I lean against the counter opposite the island.
“I’m a welder,” he says, then takes a drink.
I nod, fiddling with the label on my beer bottle. “And this is your first time working offshore?”
He nods as well, looking down at the bottle in his hands. “Yeah. Did my training for offshore last week, so my first shift starts next week.”
Before I can say anything in response to that, he looks up at me. “I can help with your renos while I’m here.”
I glance around the kitchen and shake my head slowly. “You don’t have to. There’s quite a bit left to do, and probably not how you want to spend your time off.”
He shrugs, sitting back and looking around as well. “Not like I have anything else to do.”
An urge rises to ask him why he’s here in Torrin Cove, when he’s from Cape Breton. He’s on the complete opposite end of the province, and from what he said in the store, I don’t think he actually planned on living down this way. But I don’t ask him, and instead I point at the partially knocked down wall behind him. “I guess I wouldn’t say no to some help tackling that beast.”
He turns to look at it and chuckles. When he turns to face me again, his bright blue eyes meet mine and I can’t help but stare directly into them.
The corner of his lips tilt up in a soft smile. “I can help with that.” Then he gestures around the kitchen with his beer bottle. “So, you fish, work in a store, and have a carpentry business, all while renovating a house. Quite the life you got carved out for yourself here.”
I suppress a sigh and take a drink, trying to ignore the familiar feeling of frustration as it rises to the surface. But I simply nod. “Yeah. My family owns the store, and I inherited the fishing business. Quite the life…”
I immediately regret the way that came out, and Liam eyes me curiously. Thankfully though, he doesn’t dig any deeper into that response.
And as we shift our conversation back to the house and renovations, there seems to be an unspoken understanding between us. We don’t ask each other anything personal. Nothing more about work, family, home… nothing. We just talk about tile, support beams, and wiring.
Liam is a mystery, and I have no idea what he’s doing here. But I know all about hiding parts of yourself from others, so… who am I to judge?