Chapter Sixteen #2
Rather than follow them around like a lost puppy, Lucy made herself busy in the kitchen while Nick showed her the work he’d done.
The smaller bedroom and the deck were the biggest things, along with the shed door.
But he’d done a lot of little things, too, some with Lucy’s help.
When they came back in, Gran looked as if she’d gotten a little weepy, but she was smiling.
Lucy knew the feeling. When it came time to say goodbye to Nick as if he was nothing more than a friend who’d stopped by for a visit, she was weeping on the inside. But she kept a smile on her face.
* * *
Nick dropped his duffel bags on his bed and looked around at the bedroom he hadn’t slept in since mid-April. It was immaculate, of course, right down to the fresh bedding, because Beck had given it a thorough cleaning after vacating it.
He couldn’t help wondering what Lucy would think of it.
It wasn’t until he’d lived in Helen’s cottage temporarily that he realized there was a serious lack of color in this room.
The oak furnishings were plain, but solid.
The walls were beige. A throw rug with neutral shades of beige and gray partially covered the hardwood floor.
And a gray comforter covered the bed. He didn’t have any throw pillows or accent items, and now he was very aware there was nothing hung on the walls.
The only color in the room was the sage green of the armchair and ottoman in the corner.
Nick found it all soothing, but now he understood why Beck had told him he appreciated the use of the bedroom, but he’d been in bank lobbies with more personality.
The mattress was nice, though. If there was one good thing about being home again, it was the firmness of his mattress.
“Hey,” he heard Theo bellow up the stairs.
Nick walked down the hall to look over the railing at his youngest brother. “What?”
“I heard footsteps up there and didn’t know you were home.”
“Did you think somebody stole my truck and drove it here so they could rob us?”
Theo shrugged. “I mean, if somebody took your truck keys, they’d also have your house key, so it’s not that far-fetched. But I was out back with my headphones on, so I didn’t hear you pull in, and I didn’t see the truck.”
“What was the plan if I didn’t answer?” Nick asked, walking down the stairs.
“I probably would have yelled it again, but louder.” Theo shrugged. “Then? A bridge I didn’t have to cross, I guess. So Helen’s back?”
“Yeah. She came home early to surprise Lucy. I’d just wrapped up the last thing I wanted to get done for her, so it worked out well.” Except for the part where he was once again living with Gray and Theo, instead of with Lucy.
“I was getting ready to throw some kielbasa on the grill. You in?”
“Sure. Where’s Gray?”
“He said something about Cory, but I missed what, exactly, they were doing. Cory’s been pretty needy since the split.”
Nick snorted. “Then he shouldn’t have been so needy with that brunette from Pennsylvania at the Keel.”
“Right?” Theo pulled a package of kielbasa from the fridge. “The Keel? How did he think Brooke wouldn’t find out about that?”
“Pretty sure he wasn’t on his first drink of the night.”
“Lucy must be happy Helen’s home,” Theo said, and Nick was glad his brother’s focus was on the knife block because his flinch might have shown on the outside.
It didn’t matter they’d talked about this—that Helen would come home and it would change everything. It still sucked.
They’d finished eating and were sitting in the lounge chairs, talking about sports, when Nick’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, which Theo took as permission to take his own phone out and immediately dive into whatever social media app was popular this week.
The preview showed it was a text message from Lucy, and he almost sprained his thumb swiping to get to the entire thing so fast.
I’m sad we didn’t get to everything on our shenanigans list.
Nick chuckled. He couldn’t help it, even though it earned a questioning look from Theo. But he shrugged, and his brother went back to minding his own screen.
I’m not dead, Lucy. I’m just across town.
I bet Lavinia wouldn’t mind if you died. I think Jacob was a little young for her.
This time he laughed loudly, and Theo wasn’t put off with a shrug. “Who are you talking to?”
“None of your business.”
“So Lucy then,” his brother said, and then he smirked and went back to his phone.
Stop trying to hook me up with the dead whoopie pie lady. What’s left on our list?
Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain and going out on a boat.
So the two hard things, then. The initial burst of hope because he had a reason to see her again faded as he realized the only things left on their list were things he might not be able to pull off.
I’ll see what I can do, but don’t hold your breath or you might have to get up to shenanigans with Jacob.
She sent back what looked like every different laughing emoji the keyboard offered, but then that was it.
He wasn’t ready to be done, though.
There’s supposed to be quite a storm day after tomorrow, so you should put the cushions and umbrella for the patio set back in the shed.
I will.
You should write it on the to-do list on the fridge.
Don’t be bossy or I’ll come up with something else to put on our shenanigans list.
He could think of a couple shenanigans he’d like to get up to with her, but he just sent her back one smiley face emoji.
It helped, he thought, laughing with Lucy, even by text. It helped him get over the shock he’d felt earlier when he stopped by the hardware store and Don told him Helen was back in town.
In some ways, her earlier than expected arrival was for the best. He’d have longer to wean himself away from craving Lucy’s company before she packed up her car and headed to Miami.
But he thought he’d have at least a couple more nights in her bed before he went back to sleeping alone.
He thought there would be time for them to talk about whether they’d have bad ideas together once her grandmother returned—though somewhere else, of course.
He hadn’t figured out where exactly that somewhere else would be, since he didn’t want his brothers making assumptions.
His hand covered the phone sitting on his thigh. For right now, though, Lucy wasn’t gone. And he’d probably be able to sleep tonight.