Chapter 11
CHLOE
“Everything is fine,” Evan assured me. “Sorry to worry you.”
My pulse calmed. “Okay…”
He repeated his question. “Where are you?”
“At the storage unit.”
“I figured you might be there.”
“What’s up?”
“I hate to ask, but do you think you could come back here for like an hour? There’s a leak at one of my properties, and the management company is dropping the ball on having their people get down there in time. I’m gonna try to handle it myself, and I can’t leave Effie.”
“Gosh, of course. I’ll come back right now.”
“I appreciate it. I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t an emergency. The tenant is freaking out because she has guests coming in tonight, and her damn bathroom is a disaster.”
“Don’t even worry about it. I was wasting time daydreaming just a second ago.” Daydreaming about you. “It’s the least I can do.”
Ten minutes later, I pulled up at his house. He’d been waiting for me at the door and rushed out the moment I arrived.
I waved goodbye and turned to find Effie sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a chocolate milk.
“Hey, you.” I tossed my bag on a chair. “Looks like we’re gonna be hanging out for a little while.”
“Cool.” She slurped the last of her drink.
“What do you want to do?” I asked as I took a seat across from her at the table.
“Did my dad break up with Naomi?”
Talk about cornering me. This little girl did not play.
Evan had mentioned that Naomi gave him an ultimatum, but I wasn’t entirely sure of their final status or if they’d been back in touch with each other.
So I shook my head. “It’s not any of my business, honey.”
“Wanna make friendship bracelets?” she asked.
“That sounds like a ton of fun.” I smiled, relieved that she’d changed the subject. I didn’t feel comfortable discussing that situation with her.
“I have a kit I haven’t opened yet,” she said.
“Well, go get it.”
The chair skidded as she got up and ran to her room.
I rolled up my sleeves and made space on the kitchen table for us.
Effie returned with a pink box that was sealed in plastic. She broke it open.
“Have you ever made these before?” I asked.
She shook her head. “This is my first kit. I was saving it.”
“Well, cool. I’m honored, then.” I leaned my elbows on the table. “I’ve never made bracelets either, so we’ll be learning together.”
Effie dumped out the colorful beads, some of them falling to the ground. We separated them by type: letters, shapes, and sparkly pieces. We chose our colors carefully, and it was adorable the way Effie’s little tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth as she concentrated.
Over the next hour, she and I made a bunch of bracelets for her friends and then three other bracelets for her, me, and Evan.
Later that evening, Evan walked in carrying another bag of Chick-fil-A.
Effie jumped up and ran to him. “Chick-fil-A again?”
“Don’t get used to it. This’ll be the last night for a while. It’s late, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to make dinner.”
“This is the best day ever!” Effie cried.
He looked between us, seeming a bit surprised by Effie’s joyful demeanor. “You guys doing all right?”
She returned to the table and lifted one of the bracelets, running back to hand it to him. “We made you this.”
Evan’s eyes widened as he looked down at it. “You opened the bracelet kit?”
“Yup.” She nodded.
He placed the bracelet on his wrist. “Well, I might just wear this and never take it off.”
“If you wear yours, I’ll wear mine,” Effie said.
I lifted my arm. “And I’ll do the same.”
Evan’s eyes locked with mine. “Thank you,” he mouthed.
I nodded with a smile and mouthed back, “Of course.”
He stared down at his bracelet and cleared his throat. “We should eat before the food gets cold.”
“Let’s move our mess from the table, Effie,” I said.
The three of us sat down and devoured the Chick-fil-A. Then Evan sent Effie to take a shower, and he and I cleaned up.
“Did you fix the leak?” I asked as I put trash in the bin.
“After much trial and error, yeah. The plumber the management company sent showed up right when I was done.”
“Was he impressed with your work?”
“He was, actually,” Evan said proudly. “Thank you again for staying with Effie.”
“We had a great time,” I said. “Whenever you need me to stay with her, just let me know. It’s the least I can do when you’re not even charging me rent.”
“Depending on you is not something I plan to make a habit of unless there’s another emergency, but thank you for offering.” Evan let out a long breath. “Her mother got her that friendship bracelet kit the last time she visited.”
I’d been wiping the table, but froze. “Oh…”
“Effie had said she was going to wait for her to come back and make them with her. She’s been dying to open it up but kept saving it.
My fear was that Katerina wouldn’t be back anytime soon and Effie would outgrow the desire to even make the damn bracelets.
I’ve asked her many times if she wanted to make them with me, but she’s always insisted she’ll wait to make them with Katerina.
The fact that she opened the box and wanted to make them with you is very cool. I’m glad she didn’t wait any more.”
His revelation left me speechless. “I had no idea,” I said softly. “She didn’t mention it.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. She’s sensitive when it comes to anything having to do with her mother.
” He looked toward the closed bathroom door.
“You wouldn’t know it, because she loves to talk, but there’s a lot she holds inside.
Some days, I feel so guilty for putting her in a situation where she ended up with a bad mother.
I mean, I know that sounds stupid, because without Katerina, Effie wouldn’t even be here, but you know what I mean. ”
It made me sad that he’d blame himself for a situation that seemed completely out of his control. His ex had chosen to leave.
“I’m in awe of you, Evan. Truly. I don’t know that I could do what you do every day—go to work, come home and make sure she feels safe and loved until the moment you have to go to sleep. Then do it all over again the next day. She didn’t win in the mom department, but she got the best dad.”
His face reddened. “Well, thank you. That means a lot coming from the woman who once dubbed me Doofus McGoofus.”
“I did?” I chuckled, confused.
“Among other nicknames.” Evan nodded. “In your letter.”
I shut my eyes and cringed, realizing again how much I didn’t remember about that letter. “Can we not bring that up right now? We’ve been getting along so well.”
“I knew you were probably drunk when you wrote it. It didn’t sound like you.”
“I should’ve written it and put it aside like I was supposed to. It would’ve had the same effect. Instead, my drunk ass decided it would be a brilliant idea to walk down to the campus mailbox and send it to you right then and there, so I couldn’t change my mind.”
“You could’ve called me and requested a retraction.”
He was right. I’d often considered calling him, but always chickened out.
I shook my head. “The longer I waited, the harder it was to apologize. Weeks turned into months turned into years. If I haven’t already made it clear, I’m sorry I wrote any of those words to you.”
“I’m sorry I never responded. Because there was a hell of a lot I wanted to say, too, but was afraid to admit it at the time.”
“Like what?”
“I know you believed I somehow led you on, only to reject you. But it was in no way that simple. The connection you and I had was special to me. And I knew crossing the line with you would change that forever. You guys were the only family I had. I didn’t want to lose you—or them.
But especially you. I realize I ended up losing you anyway.
But it was about so much more than just our relationship.
You were leaving town for a huge opportunity.
No way was I going to allow myself to interfere with that.
I worried you would’ve stayed for me. I couldn’t have lived with myself if you gave up that scholarship to Northwestern because of me.
” He paused. “It killed me that you thought I didn’t return your feelings.
Because honestly…I did. That was the problem.
” Evan let out a deep exhale. “Man, I’ve never let all that out. ”
The ground seemed to shift beneath my feet.
He’d returned my feelings? I’d never been sure and didn’t know how to process his admission.
But I reminded myself that just because he’d had romantic feelings for me back then, it didn’t mean anything about the present.
So much had happened between then and now.
Before I could respond, my phone rang—a number I didn’t recognize with a Dry River area code. I worried that it was my mother’s care facility. My heart raced as I answered. “Hello?”
“Hi, Ms. Cavanaugh. It’s Lauren from Fielding Property Management.”
“Oh. Hi…” My nerves immediately calmed. Fielding was another property management company I’d contacted after I arrived here. They’d tried to find me a place to no avail.
“Listen, we have a new place that just opened up in Dry River, and it would be exactly what you’re looking for. It’s even a little below your budget, which is an added bonus, only thirteen-hundred a month.”
I blinked. “Where is it?”
“It’s about a mile down the road from the center of town. A perfect, centrally located spot. It’s ready to move in now, if you’re still looking for a place.”
I tugged at my hair. “Um…okay. Can I think about it and get back to you?”
“I don’t need to tell you that due to the scarcity of options in this area, this is going to go fast.”
“Would you give me until tomorrow?”
“Yes. I’d be willing to hold the property for you until then. In the meantime, I’ll email you a link to the listing.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. I’ll call you before noon.”
“That would be great,” she said.
After I hung up, Evan looked at me curiously. “What’s going on, Chloe?” he asked, a hint of worry in his eyes.
“A new place just opened up in town. Cheaper rent than this one was and close by. They’re willing to hold it for me until tomorrow.”
His brows furrowed. “But you’re not paying rent to stay here, so how could it be cheaper?”
“Well, you know what I mean. I’d have my privacy and also be out of your hair.”
Evan’s jaw tensed, and he broke eye contact. “Well, obviously, it’s your decision.”
An ache bloomed in my chest. That wasn’t the response I’d hoped for. I wanted Evan to talk me out of leaving, tell me that he wanted me to stay.
There was so much more I secretly hoped for, even if I wasn’t willing to admit it. And that was troubling because the last thing I could handle was another rejection from Evan Ricci in my lifetime.