Chapter Twelve
Lucy
Sitting on the porch with Ren is the highlight of my morning.
The spring air smells fresh, and the sun warms my skin.
We’re finishing our second cup of coffee after Nash and Colson left a while ago.
He makes me laugh so effortlessly that I can’t help but feel lighter in his presence.
I listen to him talk and really look at him.
Those green eyes sparkle while he’s talking about something funny that happened on the job a few weeks ago.
I’m barely listening to him since the sun is hitting him just right.
His tan, tattooed arms are covered only by his dark grey t-shirt.
It stretches across his broad chest, and while he’s not as big as Nash, he still has muscles.
In this light, you can tell his hair isn’t actually black, but the deepest brown I’ve ever seen.
He smiles at me, and I see his fingers flex and wrap back around his cup.
I want to know what those fingers can do.
“Earth to Lucy,” Ren chuckles, waving a hand in front of my face.
“Huh? Oh! I’m so sorry, Ren. What were you saying?” A blush heats my cheeks as I bring my cup up to my lips to hide behind.
“You were zoned out. What were you thinking about, Love?” Ren gives me a knowing look.
Shit. He saw me checking him out.
“Uhm—” I pause, and Ren lets out a laugh. The blush on my face grows hotter.
“It’s alright. I know I’m attractive.” He winks and I laugh. “I’ll just think of it as payback for the first time we met.”
“You did check me out, didn’t you?” I laugh again.
“Like I told Ember, I couldn’t help myself.” He drains his cup and silence falls between us for a moment. Looking out at the property, I can see the shop not far from the house.
“So do you not work all the jobs? Is that why you didn’t go to the Milfords today?”
Ren gives a small smile but hesitates answering.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t go to work just to babysit me,” I say playfully, swatting his arm.
Letting out a small chuckle, Ren rubs the back of his neck nervously. “No, it’s not that.”
“Oh, Ren, if you’re uncomfortable you don’t have to answer. I didn’t mean—” I’m cut off by Ren placing his hand on my arm.
“No, it’s just—”
He takes a deep breath, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. “Mrs. Milford and I have a history. Nash and Cole don’t like having me there because Mrs. Milford stands around, nitpicking the work we do.”
“Oh,” I say in a quiet voice, looking down at my hands in my lap. “I’m so sorry I asked.”
“You didn’t know, Love. It’s okay. I have some things I’m not proud of, and that just happens to be one of them. Nash told me you and him talked last night for a bit.” Ren bites his bottom lip and looks at me.
“He gave me the cliff notes version because I asked him—” I hesitate, then look him in the eyes. “Truth for a truth?”
Cocking his head to the side, he raises an eyebrow. “Okay. Truth for a truth.”
Letting out a deep sigh, he begins, “I’m sure Nash told you I had some attention-seeking tendencies when I was younger?”
I nod my head.
“Mrs. Milford was one of the people I knew I could get attention from. I saw the way she watched me when I would mow her lawn for money to help pay for some things I needed. Money is tight when you have eight kids, you know? Anyway, she had made comments here and there that made me feel good. That’s one of the shitty things.
She knew me; she knew about my family and how hard things were sometimes and how much I craved attention.
She used my needs against me. One day—and I know how cliche this sounds—one day, she invites me into her house for some lemonade.
It was almost one-hundred degrees, and I was so thirsty. Sweating and shit.
She gave me a glass of lemonade, along with a string of compliments.
I can still remember mentally battling myself because I knew what she was doing was wrong, but what she was saying made me feel so good.
One thing led to another, and we started hooking up every time I mowed their lawn.
Mr. Milford was always working, and at one point I was mowing their lawn twice a week.
” He lets out a sad chuckle, fingers pulling at each other.
Leaning forward, I grab his hands and wrap them in mine.
I want to wrap my whole body around him, but he continues, “I met Nash and Cole soon after that started, and when they found out, they started going with me. They said they were just helping with the yard work so we could hang out more, but I knew what they were really doing. They were saving me from myself.” Looking up at me, he smiles fondly.
“So no. I’m not here to babysit you. My friends are still protecting me, all these years later. ”
Switching our hands so mine are wrapped between his, he clears his throat and gives me a devious smile. “Your turn, Love.”
I let out a shaky breath as the words leave my mouth in a rush.
“I saw you last night. You and Colson. I didn’t just see you guys.
I watched. The door wasn’t closed all the way, and I heard you when I was on my way to the kitchen to grab a drink, and I don’t know.
I couldn’t help myself. Then I ran into Nash, literally ran into him, on my way back to my room, and he asked if I enjoyed the show, so I asked if you and Colson were together. ”
Pulling my hands from his, I cover my face, which must be ten shades of red from the admission. Opening my fingers, I peek at Ren. His mouth is slightly open, and the tips of his ears are tinted pink. Before I can say anything else, Ren starts laughing loudly, leaning forward, grabbing his stomach.
Slowly bringing my hands back to my lap, Ren takes a few moments to catch his breath. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he can barely get his words out.
“Well, did you enjoy the show?” he asks, wiggling his brows, and I can’t help but laugh at him.
“This is embarrassing for me, Ren!” I say, lightly swatting his arm.
Standing up, Ren holds his arms out and motions for me. Slowly standing up, he pulls me into his chest for a tight hug, trapping my arms between us.
“I do have a question, though,” I ask quietly. I feel him nod his head. “Why does he call you Bunny?”
I feel his body shake with a quiet laugh. “He says I’m like the energizer bunny; I never stop.” I can’t help but laugh at the explanation.
“Next time you should join us, if you want,” Ren whispers, and even though I can’t see it, I can feel the smile on his face.
“Rennnn,” I groan as my face heats again.
He laughs and steps back, putting his hands on my shoulders, looking me straight in my eyes. My breath hitches at how beautiful this man is.
“Just saying. I wouldn’t mind one bit. But let’s go get our errands done while you think it over, Love.” Throwing me another wink and a smirk, he drops his arms and heads inside. I shake my head as a ridiculous grin spreads across my face and follow him inside to get ready.
Ren
Spending the morning and early afternoon with Lucy has been a blast. Her house had no animals in it, and the smell is already a little better than it was.
She walked me around the property, telling me stories about her Nana and how she grew up.
We only went in for her to grab a couple more things, including her favorite water cup and straw.
I gave her shit about her not wanting a repeat of last night, and her face flushed the prettiest pink color I’ve ever seen.
I think it might be my new favorite. We talked about what to do next and decided on lunch, which led us here, to the diner.
Sliding into the dark blue leather booth, the waitress hands us our menus and lets us know she’ll give us a minute to decide. Lucy doesn’t look at the menu right away, instead taking in the diner in all its glory.
“I really thought they would have updated this place by now,” she says, picking up her menu.
“What? The black and white checkerboard floor isn’t your style?”
Lucy lets out a laugh that’s music to my ears. “I mean, it wouldn’t be my first choice of flooring.” She grins over her menu. I’m about to speak again when someone walks up.
“Ms. Winslow, Ren.” The fire chief tips his hat. For being only a few years older than me and the guys, he looks great. The lines on his face from his stressful job are the only thing making him look older than us.
“Aww. No Mr. Hawthorn for me, Chief?” I make a pouty face at him while Lucy tries to hide her giggle.
Shaking his head, he turns towards Lucy. “Ms. Winslow, I wanted to let you know we’ll be back at your place in a couple days to see how it’s airing out. I do have some of the officers at Whisper Grove PD checking on the place a couple times a day.”
Lucy replies with a smile on her face, “I appreciate that, Chief. We went and checked it earlier and it seems to be airing out alright so far.”
“Don’t spend too much time inside just yet. We’ll give you a call when it’s clear and you can stop hanging out with this knucklehead,” he says, hooking his thumb towards me.
I throw my hands up in front of myself and look offended.
“Thanks, Chief,” Lucy replies as he walks away.
Picking up my menu, I peek over the top of it. Even though I’ve been with her for hours now, I can’t help but want to look at Lucy. Her hunter green top complements her dark hair wrapped in a knot on the top of her head.
Looking through the options, we both pick out what to order and lay the menus down. As soon as the waitress comes to take our order, my phone pings with an incoming message.
Pookie: Don’t freak out. Nash got hurt. We are heading home from the Milfords now. Again, don’t freak out.
Trying to keep the panic from rising inside of me, I look up to find Lucy staring at me. I feel my face pale as her eyes widen, realization hitting her that something is wrong.
“It’s Nash. We need to get home.”