Chapter 11
Nora
Denver: Emergency. Please call me back ASAP.
Idread calling Denver. Not because I’m worried about whatever’s going on with him. No, I’m afraid that it’ll involve needing my help and I’m stretched too thin mentally as it is. But I can’t avoid the man forever. He’s my boss and my boyfriend.
A shudder ripples through me.
I can’t shake the repulsion toward him lately and it’s completely unfair. He’s been nothing but kind to me. Generous enough to let me take as long as I need here at Grandma’s.
Except when I needed it most.
I close my eyes and inhale the familiar scent of her on my pillow. I’m unsure how I would have handled seeing her in the casket. At least now, my last memories of her are of her laughter, her voice, her hugs. That might’ve tainted those memories forever.
Perhaps I should be thanking Denver for saving me from that.
And yet, I can’t.
With a sigh, I find his contact in my favorites and mash the button. He answers on the first ring. I sit up in bed and turn on my lamp, ready to officially start my day.
“Hey, babe,” he says, breathless. “Hold on a sec.” A pause as he tells a barista the coffee is his. Then I hear the jingle of a bell on a door. I know he’s grabbing coffee from his usual place on the corner near the office. “Sorry. Had to get my morning fuel.”
Horns honk in the background. I certainly don’t miss the sounds of the city.
“You were able to get Spain all wrapped up?” I ask as I shuffle around the room to find my grandma’s robe and slippers.
“Yep. Grabbed the next flight out right after you. We really couldn’t have done it without you. You know that, right?”
That could be true, but Denver is more than capable of doing my job duties as well. It may’ve left him over there another couple of weeks, but he could have done it. It irks me that he’s hammering down this idea that I somehow saved the company by my presence.
“What’s up?” I ask, voice clipped as I walk over to Clo’s empty cage. It annoys me that Elias freely creeps in here to let Clo out while I’m sleeping.
It is his house, girl.
“How are you doing?” Denver’s question is not the answer to mine. “You sound upset.”
“I’m fine,” I say a little sharper than I mean to. “Sorry. Just tired and the day’s barely started.”
“Want me to have some coffee delivered? I already scoped out the local places around you.”
Elias isn’t the only creeper I know.
“I’m good. I’m sure there’s a fresh pot in the kitchen.”
He chuckles and then it dies down when I don’t laugh with him. “Wait, you’re serious? Since when do you drink coffee at home?”
“It’s fine,” I say with a sigh. “What’s the emergency, Denver?”
There’s a pause—something he often does when he thinks he’ll say something I won’t like—but then he launches into it anyway.
“You remember Thaddeus Johnson? He’s ready for a proposal. Wants us to meet him in Chicago next week,” he rushes out. “It’s only for two days. Don’t worry, I’ve booked your flight back to Budgie Bay right after. I can’t imagine much will happen in the two days you’re gone anyway.”
He continues rambling, but I’m still hung up on the audacity of him booking my flights. Before, it sort of made me feel cherished or like a princess when he took control and handled things for me.
Like Ron does for Mom?
I cringe at that thought. She tolerates him at best. But he’s loaded and she loves the cushy life. I don’t like that I’ve unknowingly followed in her footsteps.
Realization washes over me as I make my way to the kitchen through the dark house to make my coffee. I think me staying in Spain rather than going to the funeral broke something unfixable between us.
I find Grandma’s teacup on the drying rack next to the sink and set it on the countertop.
Denver goes on and on about how much money this deal could bring in and how he needs my magic touch.
I say nothing as I pour my coffee. It’s not until he finally stops yapping and I’ve loaded my hot mug with sugar and creamer that I finally get a chance to speak.
“No.”
“Which part?” Denver asks, chuckling.
“All of it. I’m not going to Chicago.”
My heart races wildly in my chest. I’ve never told this man no about work or our relationship. Maybe spending so much time with Elias, I’ve gotten good at biting back when I’m unhappy about something.
“Nora,” he says slowly. “I know you’re going through a lot, but—”
“I took this time off and I need it. You’re going to have to handle it on your own this time.” My words whip the air and the insinuation hangs heavy. Last time you needed me and I gave up something important to me.
“Can I FaceTime you? Maybe I should fly out there. You don’t seem well.”
I sip my hot coffee and then smack my lips. “I’m going to be just fine. In fact, I’ve been thinking a lot about us. Maybe we need to—”
“Ah, crap. Sorry, babe, but I have to go. Important call coming through.”
He ends the call before I can respond. Denver didn’t have a call. I know him too well. The man is avoiding what we both know.
We need a break. Likely a permanent one.
I tuck my phone into my robe pocket and then head for the back patio. The sun has barely started to rise. As expected, Elias sits in his chair, and Clo is perched on his knee. I open the door and am met with Clo’s cheerful chirping.
Elias doesn’t say anything but gives me a small nod in greeting. I curl up in the chair beside him and stare past the aviary toward Iris Ring Cove. I’m looking forward to seeing the sun making it glimmer.
Clo flutters over to me and sits on my hand that’s holding my teacup. I lean close to him, rubbing my nose on his little feathery head. “Good morning, bird friend.”
Elias makes a chuffing sound that has me scowling over at him.
“What?” I demand. “I’m not in the mood for your surliness this morning.”
His eyebrow arches up. “Surliness? You really do sound like your grandma.”
There’s a playful twitch on his lips, so I relax. He’s difficult to read a lot of the times, so I never know if he’s serious or not.
“You’re making fun of me,” I mutter, shooting him a glare.
“I’m not. You sound like her because that’s what she always said to Clo.” Elias smirks at me. “You can’t take a compliment either for the record.”
Warmth blooms in my chest. The fact that he revered my grandma so much that saying something like she did is considered a compliment solidifies how much he cared for her. Again, there’s a tender spot inside my heart for him that I don’t exactly like.
It’s easier to just see him as her rude neighbor, not her caring roommate.
“I can take a compliment,” I grumble, “but I’ve just had a bad morning.”
His chair creaks as he turns more to face me. “The sun hasn’t even made her debut. How can it be bad already? Because of me?”
How can this man be so grumpy but say things like, “The sun hasn’t even made her debut,”? Like I said, he’s confusing. The man makes zero sense to me.
“Not you,” I admit, meeting his gaze. “Denver. He wants me to go to Chicago next week for work.”
“And you said…”
“No.” I lift my chin, still standing behind my decision. “I already let him—er, that job—take something away from me.” My eyes water and I swallow down the emotion. “When I was across the world, it felt like the right thing to do at the time.”
“Now that you’re here?”
I sniffle and kiss Clo on his head. “I realize it was a mistake. One I can’t undo.”
We’re quiet for a long while after that. Elias is right. There’s something to these slow mornings. Hearing all the chaos on Denver’s end of the call set my nervous system bells ringing. I don’t miss the hustle and bustle. Maybe after a week or two here in Budgie Bay I will, but not today.
I needed this.
Even if it is under the worst possible terms.
“Denver sounds like a workaholic,” Elias says before sipping his coffee.
“He is. But so am I.”
Clo flies off to investigate Elias’s coffee. He gently moves the bird from the edge of his mug to his shoulder. Clo then pecks at his shorter beard as if grooming his owner.
Technically, Clo is my bird.
“I don’t appreciate you coming in while I sleep,” I blurt out.
He stiffens.
“Not that I thought you were being creepy like Wayne or Wallace or Warren or whatever that guy’s name was.”
“Wayne’s the creeper. Warren is my brother-in-law whom I haven’t mentioned yet. However, I expect you to keep them straight in the future unless you want to get in my mother’s bad graces.”
I snap my head his way. “I’m her client. She has to like me.”
“You don’t know my mom. That customer service rule isn’t one she abides by. If she doesn’t like you, she’ll tell you.”
Worry trickles through me that this woman might fire me after I barely got her hired, but then irritation chases it away.
“You have a knack for winding me up,” I say to Elias, eyes narrowing. “Don’t you have other hobbies?”
He sets his mug down and rises to his feet. “Actually, I do have other hobbies. Want to see?”
I’d rather sit here and quietly drink my coffee, but there’s a hopeful gleam in his eyes that has me following suit.
Clo abandons Elias again and flies over to the bird bath.
I follow Elias down the porch steps and into the grass.
The salty air invigorates me as we trek over to his shed.
Lawn tools hang on the outside and look pretty ominous.
There’s a couple I have no idea what they’re even used for, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them as weapons in a horror movie before.
“Is this your serial killer shed?” I ask, eyeing the sharp tools warily.
He snorts. “If I told you, then I’d have to kill you.”
“Ha,” I deadpan.
After he opens the door and turns on the light, he steps inside. I step into the small shed expecting to see anything other than what I do.
Cages everywhere.
Not the creepy kind.
Bird cages.
They’re in various states of repair. Some are wooden and a ton of them are made of metal.
A pile of metal scraps sits in a tub in one corner.
The worktable has a small cage in the center surrounded by small tools that I’d never be able to name.
I walk over to it and admire the detail of the cage.
The metal around the bottom has been crimped and it resembles a skirt.
A flower made of metal has been welded to the top.
It’s industrial and modern but somehow cute.
“This is unexpected…” I pick up a metal shaving and immediately regret it when it cuts into my skin. “Ow.”
“Happens all the time. Hence why I wear gloves.” He shakes his head. “Don’t touch anything else.”
The tip of my finger beads with blood. Elias rummages in a box on a wall shelf and then faces me, holding up a bandage. I rest my hand on the worktable and watch him as he swipes the cut with an alcohol pad. His hands are enormous, but he’s delicate as he wraps the Band-Aid around my fingertip.
There’s a gentle giant under this grumpy bear.
Eventually, maybe I’ll get to know him.
I certainly like him a whole lot better.