Chapter Eighteen #2
They shook hands, and then Coach had a meeting with a teacher about a player’s grades, so Nick headed back to town. He’d only had one cup of coffee that morning, but he was riding so high after the meeting, he didn’t even need the caffeine.
By the time he heard Lucy’s car pull into the driveway, he was practically vibrating with nerves.
Going to bed early was already going to be a challenge.
He wasn’t looking for a full night of sleep, but he’d need about a solid four hours before he made the drive.
And that meant being asleep by ten o’clock at the latest.
Because the big door was open to let in the breeze, Lucy saw him through the screen door when he was on his way to greet her. She smiled and let herself in, meeting him in the living room.
Nick was so happy to see her, he didn’t even think about whether he should—he leaned and gave her a quick kiss hello.
Of course, in the next breath he panicked. That wasn’t a thing they usually did, but she didn’t seem to mind. She just smiled and held up her bag. “So, where should I put this?”
“I’ll take it,” he said, mostly because he’d been raised not to stand around with empty hands while a woman carried a bag.
Then he realized his mistake because he had no idea what he should do with it. “So, where should I put this?”
To his relief, Lucy laughed and rested her hand on his arm. “We didn’t talk about that part.”
“I realized that after the conversation was over and couldn’t think of a not-awkward way to bring it up.” He shrugged. “But I did put clean sheets on my bed, just in case.”
The way her hand went from resting on his upper arm to stroking down his forearm, her nails skimming his skin, took his breath away. “We definitely don’t want clean sheets to go to waste.”
“I’ll be right back, then. Go ahead in the kitchen and poke around to see what we have if you want. We’ll have to eat early so we can go to bed early, I guess.”
“Oh, Gran told me to ask you for wool socks,” she called up the stairs after him. “My feet are a lot bigger than hers.”
“I’ve got some set out on my dresser for you. Wool underwear, too, though they’ll be baggy on you.”
“She gave me the set that was baggy on her, so I only need the socks.”
After setting her bag on the chair in his room, Nick took a moment to breathe. He needed to calm down. It was Lucy. He didn’t have to try so hard with her. He could relax and just be himself.
When he found her in the kitchen, she was leaning against the counter with a glass of water. “Oh good, you found the glasses.”
“I did. I figured I’d just look in the cabinet where most people keep their glassware.”
“Smart-ass.” He loved her laugh. “Are you excited about this upcoming adventure?”
“Upcoming shenanigan, thank you very much. And yes. I’m a little worried about you doing all the driving on so little sleep. I’ve never driven a pickup truck, but it can’t be that hard. Gas. Brake. Steering wheel. Keep all four tires between the yellow line and the white line.”
“Pretty much. But I’m hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep. If I tell myself it’s a nap and not stress about it, maybe it’ll work.”
Lucy’s mouth curved into a naughty smile. “You might need some help relaxing when we get in bed.”
He rested his hand on her hip, but then he heard a truck door slam, so he didn’t move in for the kiss. “That’ll be Theo.”
“Can you tell by the sounds of their truck engines?”
“Sometimes, but I can always tell when it’s Theo because he slams that damn door.”
Sure enough, seconds later, Theo walked into the kitchen with his face in his phone. “Hey, Nick, did you hear Reese Noonan and Faith Lincoln reconciled and they’re doing a joint interview on prime-time TV?”
Nick watched Lucy’s entire body tense, and he was afraid she’d drop her glass, but she was gripping it so tightly that wasn’t possible. After setting it very carefully on the counter, she tried to take a steadying breath, but it caught in her chest and came out in a hiccupped sound of distress.
Theo looked up from his phone at the sound. “Oh damn. Sorry, Lucy. I didn’t know you were here.”
“No, it’s fine,” Lucy assured him, but Nick could hear the slight tremor in her voice, even if his brother couldn’t. “I hadn’t heard the news, so it just took me by surprise is all.”
“I told you both Lucy’s crashing here since we have to get up in the middle of the might to beat the sunrise.”
“Oh right. Cool. Makes sense.” Then he went to the fridge to grab a soda and went out to the backyard as if a woman staying over with Nick was an everyday occurrence.
It definitely was not.
“You okay?”
“Of course,” she said. “The names kind of blindsided me, I guess. Until I heard them, I hadn’t realized how little I thought about the Fairee debacle anymore.”
“That’s a good thing.” And then he thought about kissing her again.
The slider opened and Theo was back. “Hey, I heard you went to the high school today and met with Coach McCabe.”
Lucy’s eyes widened, but Nick just glared at his brother. “How the hell did that get around?”
Theo shrugged. “I don’t know. I heard it at the fire station. You finally going to join the team?”
“I’m going to volunteer to help out some,” he said. “When I can. But I’m not officially on staff.”
Lucy’s hand gripped his arm, and Nick looked into her eyes to see them gleaming with excitement. “That’s wonderful! I’m so excited for you!”
And then she threw her arms around his neck, and he didn’t care if the entire population of Wayward Harbor was watching. He was helpless to do anything but hug her back, lifting her off her feet a little.
Beyond the cloud of her hair, he saw Theo’s eyebrows arch. Nick narrowed his eyes. Theo smiled. Nick gave him his best threatening big brother look.
Theo’s smile grew into a grin, but he went back outside and closed the slider.