Chapter 22
22
COLE
“Why the hell am I moving a bed on a Saturday night?” Jake complained.
“Quit bitching.” Ben lifted the corner of the mattress and started to slide it from the truck bed. “What the hell else did you have going on?”
“Maybe Lanie and I had plans.”
“Did you?” I asked but laughed when he frowned. “Then Ben’s right. Shut the hell up.”
“Did you talk her into it yet?” Ben asked.
“Haven’t tried,” I admitted. “I plan on going over to her place tomorrow.”
“Why wait?” Jake asked.
“I had to get a bed in the room first, dumbass.”
Ben laughed, and I saw Jake’s lips tip in a grin. I missed this. For years, I didn’t make time to hang out with these two, and I forgot how fun it was to just tease each other.
“I meant, why not go over after we’re done?”
“It’ll be late.”
Ben lifted his corner, and we started carrying the mattress. We’d already taken in the frame and box spring, so this was the last of it. I just needed to get some sheets and shit.
“Maybe that’s good,” Ben pointed out. “I’m sure your dad is right, and she’s not sleeping well. She might try to sleep during the day. It’d be nice for her to have all night and tomorrow to get some fucking rest.”
I considered that while we maneuvered the mattress up the small staircase leading to my apartment. I never gave much thought to my apartment, but it was a nice size with plenty of room for the two of us. Hell, McAllister lived there for years with his girlfriend, and they managed. I wasn’t in there too often, so she would essentially have it to herself.
We juggled the mattress but finally got it into the second bedroom and on the bed. I put my hands on my hips. The room was big. We’d just put a queen-sized bed in it, and there was still plenty of room for other shit. It also had a deep closet with a ton of shelves. It wasn’t technically a walk-in, but it was big enough to hold a lot of shit.
“So this is it?” Jake looked around. “You’re just giving her the bed, and that’s it?”
I rolled my eyes toward Ben. “You know we could’ve done this without him, right?”
Ben laughed. “He’s annoying, but he’s not wrong, you know.”
Sighing, I nodded. It did look really bare. “I don’t have any idea what she’ll want.”
“You have three sisters, man,” Jake pointed out the obvious.
I’d already considered that but hadn’t wanted to involve them. Hell, I didn’t even want them to know my plans because I’d never hear the end of it, but with one more glance around the near empty space, I knew they were right. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I hit a few buttons and held the phone between us.
Ben smirked. “You calling them?”
“What the hell do you think?” I answered just as it stopped ringing.
“Hey, Cole.”
“I have a favor to ask, Bailey.”
“What is it?” Before I could reply, she continued. “Am I on speaker?”
“Yeah. Ben and Jake are here.”
“Hey, guys,” she called out.
They both replied with hellos before she spoke again. “So what do you need?”
I sighed, unsure how to explain what I was doing. Turned out I didn’t have to when Jake spoke up. “He’s going over to Paige’s tonight to try to convince her to move into his apartment. We just lugged a fucking queen bed up here, but the room looks like shit. He needs you to girly it up.”
She was silent for a minute before speaking again. “You didn’t ask her first?”
“No,” I replied. “I figured I could guilt her into it if she knew I already set shit up.”
“Well, that’s a really honest answer.” Jake snorted out a laugh, and she continued. “And why are you doing this?”
“She’s not doing great, Bay,” I told her the truth. “She’s losing weight, she has really bad headaches, and Dad stopped today and said she’s probably not sleeping too well. Lanie offered to stay with her, and she said no, but I have a feeling that had more to do with not wanting to inconvenience her than what Paige actually needs.” I exhaled loudly. “I just figured maybe she’d sleep better knowing she wasn’t alone, and since I work crazy fucking hours, the only thing that might work is bringing her here.”
“That’s really nice of you.”
I could hear the hesitancy in her tone. “But…”
“I’m just not sure she’ll go for it. Paige is pretty headstrong.”
“It’s worth a shot,” I replied. “At least if she says no, the bedroom will be set up in case she changes her mind.”
“That’s true. Okay, well, you called the wrong sister to girly shit up, considering I work construction.” Ben and Jake laughed. “But I’ll grab Bree, and we’ll bring some stuff over. She has plenty of extra everything lying around.” She paused. “Be there in about an hour.”
She said goodbye and hung up. Shoving the phone back in my pocket, I looked at Ben and Jake. “I just realized I’m gonna have to run to the store. I don’t have anything in my refrigerator.”
“Do you know what she likes?” Ben asked.
“Not really.” I smiled at Jake. “But we know someone who does.”
Jake groaned and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Hey, baby, it’s me.”
We listened to Lanie rattle off a list of Paige’s favorite foods and things to drink before piling in my truck and heading for the store. Lanie wouldn’t let Jake hang up before he told her what was going on. She promised not to say anything to Paige if she talked to her before I tried to convince her of the plan that Lanie was very much on board with.
We shopped for groceries like we did everything when we were together, obnoxiously and loud. I guess there was some shit we’d never outgrow, no matter how old we got.
We were back at my place, putting away the last groceries, when the doorbell rang. Yanking open the door, I saw my three sisters standing there, arms loaded and wearing annoying smiles.
“Hey.” Harper pushed through the door first. “I heard you’re about to be playing house with a sexy blonde.”
“We’re not playing house, Harper.” I sighed loudly. “I’m just helping her out.”
“Did you clean in here?” Bailey sniffed the air. “Why does it smell so good?”
“Oh my god, he’s burning a candle,” Harper squealed. “I didn’t even know you owned a candle.”
“That’s the candle I gave him for Christmas and told him if he had any hopes of ever talking a woman into staying overnight, he better light it.” Bree laughed and shoved my shoulder. “I’m glad you listened.”
Jake slung his arm around my shoulders, acting serious, but he was wearing a shitty grin. “I feel like involving them was a mistake.”
“It was your fucking idea,” I reminded him.
“Oh yeah, that’s right.” His grin widened. “You’re welcome.”
“Can you go get the rest out of my SUV?” Bree asked.
My eyes widened when I saw everything they were carrying in those big bags they always seemed to have. “There’s more?”
Bree rolled her eyes. “Seriously, what’s wrong with you? It’s like you don’t know us at all.”
With a laugh, we jogged down to Bree’s SUV. There was a good bit still in the back, including two nightstands and two lamps. We carried it all back up and walked into the room but paused when Bree started calling out orders. I had to give Bree credit; she was good at this, and it showed. We were finished in less than thirty minutes, and the room looked like something out of a magazine.
“How do you do this so fast?”
Bree laughed. “Back in the fall, Ben added me to the payroll, so I’m available to the clients they’re building homes for if they want me to design their inside spaces. Unfortunately, until the building is finished, there’s not much time to make it pretty, so I’m learning to work really fast.”
“Just look at this, though.” Ben smiled. “This is why I pay her the big bucks.”
“Well, our work is done.” Harper rubbed her hands together. “Now all you have to do is talk her into it.”
Annoyed at her expression, I shifted my attention to Bailey when she spoke. “Do you know what you’re going to say?”
“No,” I admitted. “Figured I’d just go there and talk to her.”
“Is that the way you always handle situations with Paige?” Bree asked.
I shrugged. “I guess.”
She tilted her head. “How has that worked so far?”
She made a good point, but there was no way in hell I was asking my sisters for advice. Turned out I didn’t have to.
“You want some advice?” Bree asked but didn’t wait for me to reply before she continued. “Tell her why it’s important to you. Don’t do the shit you do to us, which always sounds and feels like a lecture. Don’t comment on any decisions she’s made. Just tell her why this matters to you and see what she says.”
“Or just throw her over your shoulder and carry her out of her place,” Harper suggested.
“I like that idea.” Jake nodded. “That’s what I do with Lanie to get my way.”
“That’s never going to work with Paige.” Bree laughed. “And it only works with Lanie because she knows it’s easier to just go along with the shit you do.” She gestured toward Harper. “It’s the same reason we go along with her half-assed ideas.”
“Hey!” Harper slapped Bree on the arm. “What the hell?”
Bree shifted her attention to Harper. “Were you or were you not the reason we were taken to the police station not too long ago?”
Bailey snorted. “Oh yeah, you definitely were.”
“Not the only reason,” Harper grumbled.
Bree put her hands on her hips. “Did you tell the cop you would only sell yourself to someone who could actually afford you when he accused us of being prostitutes?” Harper shrugged, and I listened to Jake and Ben chuckle beside me. “Did you use his mirror to put on lip gloss and then wink at him and ask him if you got points for being helpful?”
Harper grinned when we all laughed, including Bree. “I don’t see how any of that is relevant.”
Bree only shook her head and shifted her attention back to me. “Ignore those two and take my advice. I don’t like being pushed around or undermined. And the Paige I know doesn’t either.”
I frowned. “That’s the thing, though. She’s not the Paige we knew. She’s…” I hesitated, searching for the right word before continuing with the only word that fit. “Lost.”
“She’s still Paige,” Bree replied. “Maybe showing her that you understand that will help convince her that she can trust you.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I agreed, but I wasn’t sure.
The Paige we all knew was lost to us right now.
In the end, the only thing I could do was ask.
And hope like hell she took me up on my offer.