Chapter 4 #2
“Just there in the corner is fine.” Stacey trotted her wooden chair across the hall to the dining room.
She glanced around, but there was no sign of her mother or children.
They’d likely gotten distracted looking through all the stuff they’d hauled along with them, or maybe they were somewhere dreaming about wolves.
“Listen, I just want to apologize about my mother’s behavior yesterday,” Stacey said quietly when they were back out at the truck and guaranteed not to be overheard. “She can be a little unruly, but I promise we’re not here to cause any problems.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He grabbed one end of the dining table and waited for her to take the other one. “Does she live here with you?”
“Yes. She’s with the kids right now and is an amazing help with them.
Of course, she keeps her top on for that.
” Stacey struggled with the heavy table, wondering just how weak he’d think she was after this.
Granted, that hard jawline of his made her weak in the knees, but that was a different sensation altogether.
“Hey, at least she’ll be easy to recognize from a distance when we’re all out on the beach,” Dylan cracked. His smile was more of a grin this time, one that made her sweat a little more than she already had been.
Regardless of how attractive she found him, Stacey was relieved to know that his first impression wasn’t quite as terrible as she’d imagined.
“That’s true! Of course, my kids think there are all sorts of interesting things out on the beach.
They’re really going nuts today. They told me they saw wolves out there having a bonfire. ”
Dylan stiffened in the entryway to the dining room, almost losing his balance as Stacey continued forward. He quickly moved his feet, regaining his stance. “Wolves?”
“I know. It’s ridiculous.” Stacey swung the table around and settled it onto the floor. She grabbed the dining room chairs and began putting them in place. “I mean, I’ve never lived right on the ocean before, but that’s not exactly the kind of wildlife I was worried about running into.”
“Have they been reading any books about wolves?” Dylan, too, helped position the chairs.
“I remember Lila checked out a library book about ghosts, and she couldn’t stop thinking about them for weeks.
Every little creak of the house sent her screaming from the room, sure that it was a spirit coming to get her. ”
Stacey considered this as they once again went back outside.
The truck was starting to look empty. “I hadn’t thought about that, but I’ll have to ask them.
They were pretty insistent about it, but kids tend to get caught up in whatever they’re currently interested in.
I would’ve thought moving to a place like this would be enough of an adventure for them, but maybe it’s just enough of an adventure for me. ”
“What made you come out here, anyway?” Dylan asked. “Don’t get me wrong; it’s a nice area. I just don’t usually see a lot of people coming in who don’t already have some connections to the place.”
Or a shit ton of money, Stacey silently added, remembering some of the home prices she’d looked at on comparative properties. “I needed a big change. The Boston suburbs were great in a lot of ways, but when I looked into this place, I knew it was meant to be.”
He was standing next to the truck, watching her, those dark eyes burrowing straight into her the way they’d done the previous day.
She’d hardly been paying attention to him as she moved back through time in her mind, once again experiencing that rush of urgency once she was out of the hospital and back on her feet.
But now, Stacey felt like she was the only other person in the world as he spoke.
“Sometimes destiny holds things for us that we can never imagine.”
“Yeah, it really does.” She turned, ready to strain her thighs and knees all over again to hop in the back of the truck, but it was empty except for a small box of dishes that’d been missed.
“Nor did I imagine someone coming along and helping me unload this in record time. Can I buy you dinner or something to pay you back?”
He opened his mouth, and the angle of his head suggested he was going to say no, but then he nodded. “Sure. You don’t need to repay me, but I could use a dinner out. How about I pick you up tonight? I know a great little place that you might like.”
“All right.” Was she smiling too much? Because as much as Stacey tried to tug the corners of her mouth back down, they weren’t cooperating. “I’ll see you then.”
“See you.” Dylan headed back over to his place.
That left Stacey to recover. She pulled out the box of dishes, finding that she barely had enough strength to tug the truck gate shut.
Whether that was because she’d exhausted her muscles with the move or because watching Dylan’s muscled body had driven all her strength away, she wasn’t sure.
She braced the box on her hip and headed back into the house.
“We’re coming!” Carol announced as she and the kids came out of the hallway. “We got a little distracted, but we can get another load now.”
“No need. The truck is empty. I’m going to get it dropped off in a bit.” And then she’d have to come back and take a cold shower.
“Empty? And what are you smiling about?” Carol followed her into the kitchen.
Stacey put the box on the table and pulled it open, casually unpacking the dishes. Was she still smiling? She wasn’t the kind who got all gooey over a man. She was a more rational person than that. “Why not smile? After all, we came out here to have fun, right?”
Carol raised a brow and was about to say more when the kids barreled into the kitchen to raid the fridge. She settled for a knowing smile. “Right.”