Chapter 6
Rhett
Got back-to-school photos of all my nieces and nephews
-From Rhett’s Most Important Things notebook, August 8th
“Tell me you’re here to help,” Luke says in greeting as I walk up Allie and Devon’s driveway.
“Brian mentioned you might be able to use an extra set of hands at golf this morning.” I follow Luke into the house, where nothing looks out of place and there isn’t a box in sight.
“Turns out Allie’s idea of ‘fully packed’ and mine are not the same,” Luke explains, with a hint of teasing towards Allie, who smiles adoringly at him as she emerges from the hallway.
“Most of this stuff is Devon’s anyway, but you could move the coffee table out of the walking path.” She points through an archway toward the kitchen, telling me, “Your coffee’s in there. Brian said you were coming. Thank you so much for being here.”
Minus the sleeping pit bull in the sunny spot by the window, walking into the living room is like being in a museum curated by Devon Blake. The pale blue couch, vintage mid-century furniture, and what I’m sure are custom curtains couldn’t have been placed by anyone else. I’m surprised Luke couldn’t tell the same.
After helping him move the coffee table aside, I retrieve my coffee from the kitchen. It has half a dozen sealed boxes stacked on the ground as well as three open, partially packed ones on the dining table. There’s a yellow stand mixer that has to belong to someone other than Devon and a set of neutral-toned abstract paintings that couldn’t belong to anyone but her.
It takes all of my restraint not to walk straight into her bedroom to find her and see what the most personal space in her home looks like. Instead, I join the tiny crowd, that’s glaringly devoid of Devon, gathered in Allie’s room. I’m here today partially because Allie and Luke have been good friends to me, but mainly because I want to see Devon—spend time with her.
Allie introduces me to their friends, Sadie and Cam. Sadie’s a medium height woman, with fair skin a few shades warmer than Devon’s and blonde hair that turns into bright pink before it stops above her shoulders. Evidently, she moved in a few days ago, and she’s taking over Allie’s room. She seems a bit shy when she greets me and moves back to the work she’s doing at Allie’s dresser.
Cam, I saw briefly at the Voyeur Café opening earlier this week, where I spent a few hours helping set up before I got to hang out with baby Emery. He’s an inch or two taller than I am, with bright red hair, freckles, and tattoos covering him from neck to hands. I didn’t realize he was Luke’s best friend at the time, but I recognized him immediately as Cam Hacker, the Race Naked guy. He has a huge following on social media, more than a million if I remember correctly. He’s a motorcycle racer, but most people follow him for the personality and antics. He greets me with a hug, wrapping me tightly in his lanky arms, and thanks me for helping with as much gratitude as Luke and Allie did.
They work smoothly together, laughing, telling stories, and everyone stopping by to pet Betty whenever we pass through the living room. Allie and Cam sing along loudly with dated pop music while Sadie organizes boxes, and Luke and I start breaking down furniture.
Aside from how much I’m personally enjoying their company, I’m pleased that Devon has such good friends in her life. I want as much of her as she’ll let me have, which so far is not much, and I also want to give her everything I can. Which so far is also not much, so it’s a relief to see there are good people who she does allow in.
Sadie answers her phone while Luke and I are disassembling Allie’s bookcase. “Dev, you’re missing all the fun!”
I ask Luke in a hushed tone, “Is it odd that she’s not here?”
“Very,” he answers, matching my volume, but not giving me any information.
Allie presses her head up against Sadie’s, speaking into the phone, “I understand if you can’t, but I want to say goodbye to you today. It feels really weird to be moving out of our house without you here.”
Luke tilts his head at me meaningfully, and after a few beats Allie and Sadie say goodbye and hang up the phone.
“She’s coming.” Allie bounces on her toes, smiling ear-to-ear. “She’s been working so hard lately. I mean, she always works hard, but it’s on a whole other level these last few months. It’s getting out of hand. I barely ever see her anymore, and we live together.” Her smile drops, and Luke’s quick to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulder. “Lived together. She needs a fucking break, but she never takes them.”
Burning the candle at both endsis all I’ve known of Devon, and though I’ve understood her to be someone who loves her job and the company she owns, she also dropped info on the night we met that she might lose it all. Is it still true? Her friends must know, but the way Allie speaks about Devon doesn’t indicate any kind of sympathy for her situation. Hopefully, that means she’s worked it out by now.
It takes three hours of packing and two trips between houses before my favorite blonde makes an appearance. Allie squeezes her in a long hug, and Devon apologizes for not being able get here sooner.
“Can’t figure out her deal,” Cam says to me as he and I carry Allie’s headboard out to Luke’s truck.
“Whose?” I ask, even though I know who he means.
“Devon. Her and Allie are close.” He makes the effort of bracing the headboard with one arm so he can hold up crossed fingers on his opposite hand to emphasize his point. “Like really, really tight.”
“Mm hmm,” I nod, wanting to hear his opinion.
“Allie’s this buoyant little ball of giggles, and Devon’s,” he pauses, and I give him the benefit of the doubt that the next words will be kind. “Well, she’s not that. I mean I can tell she’s an excellent friend to Allie and Sadie, but she’s also very,” he pauses again, “stern.”
“If Allie’s bubbles, and Devon’s stern, maybe that just means they’re a good balance for each other,” I suggest.
“That’s a good take,” Cam says, setting the headboard down when we reach the truck.
While we’re loading it in the truck bed, Devon, Allie, and Sadie walk outside and get into Devon’s SUV together. Cam does me the courtesy of pretending he doesn’t notice that I stare at Devon the entire time, and I return the favor by not mentioning how he’s had his eyes on Sadie all day.
By late afternoon, all of Allie’s things are at her and Luke’s place, and all of Sadie’s things have been moved into their new locations at Devon’s house. When I’m headed toward the door to leave Luke and Allie’s, Devon stops me.
“It was good of you help today. They might have been a little lost without you,” she says, more warmth in her tone than she usually gives me.
I smile at the small bit of praise. “It’s no problem.”
“Bea and I are starting a new project tomorrow, a kitchen remodel on the other side of the golf course.” If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she blushed at the mention of the golf course, the same one we snuck across the first time we met. “They want custom cabinetry, and I told the GC you need to be the one to do it. His name is Trey. Have you heard from him yet?”
Thatis no small bit of praise. Checking my phone, I find a missed call and a new voicemail from a local number. I show her the screen. “This could be him.”
She nods, returning to her usual tone. “Let me know if it isn’t. I’ll make sure it gets handled.” She walks out the front door before I can respond.
I’m reaching for the handle to follow her out when Allie stops me. “You did something to piss her off, although I don’t know what it was.”
I was riding the high of Devon recommending me for that job, but Allie brings me down to earth with her assertion. “I’ve got an idea,” I answer.
She tilts her head at me, sending her ponytail swinging across her shoulder as she considers me. “You asked her out and she said no, right?”
Did Devon tell her that, or is she guessing?I nod, even though it’s not the whole story.
“She gave you a reason then.” Allie puts her hands on her hips. “What was it?”
I still don’t understand what happened that first night, even though I think about it constantly.The reason Devon gave me the next morning was an excuse, but I tell Allie anyway. “She said she doesn’t date guys who work in our industry because we’ll inevitably end up on jobs together.”
“Which you have,” Allie adds.
“Which we have,” I reluctantly agree.
She reaches up and pats me on the shoulder. “That’s a great reason, especially for Devon. You should do something about that.”