Chapter 23 Ginger
Ginger
It’s after four when we pull into the driveway of a cute little two-story twin home, off Main Street in Timber Forge. I spot Wren’s mustard yellow pickup behind what must be Hayley’s gray Subaru, even though she’s not due back from her girls’ trip until tomorrow.
The cottage-style house is set back from the street, and with its steep-pitched roof and porch overhang, it looks like something out of a perfect little small-town storybook.
The two sides mirror one another, like someone has cloned one side of the house and squashed them together.
Surrounded by trees on two sides and the back, the siding is a welcoming dusty gray-blue, and both front doors are painted a warm, buttery yellow.
There’s a white bench on the left side of the first door that’s missing on the other side.
Colorful throw pillows and several pots of bright flowers sit on the porch, and two more potted baskets of flowers hang at the end of the porch closest to the driveway.
It’s adorable, and from what I know of Hayley, it fits her personality perfectly—colorful, cheerful, and bright.
“Looks like you’ve got a welcome party, even with Hales out of town,” Hutch says with a nod to Wren’s mustard yellow truck before shutting off the engine.
“Looks like it,” I respond with a small smile. Wren had insisted on being here when Hutch dropped me off, and I’m grateful for it.
There’s also a bit of nervous anticipation, knowing she’s going to ask about things between Hutch and me. She’s my best friend, but I don’t know if I’m ready to share all the details.
Hutch opens his door to climb out, and I follow. I’ve only got one foot out of the Vanagon when Wren bursts onto the porch.
“Omg, you’re here!” she squeals, a glass of wine in her hand. “Hey, Hutch!”
Wren’s followed closely by an extremely pregnant Finnley, who gives both me and Hutch a tired smile and a small wave.
Hutch smiles and gives a two-fingered wave before opening the side door so I can grab my bags.
Wren bounds down the stairs and launches herself at me, nearly spilling her wine and bowling me over in the long driveway.
I let out an oof when she slams into me and wrap her in a big hug.
“Holy shit, I missed you so much,” I mutter into her hair as we rock back and forth.
“Me too!” she exclaims and then leans back to look at me. “How was the trip?”
I nod, hoping I’m not blushing as much as it feels like I am. “It was good.”
“Hey, girl,” Finnley says, stepping up with a grin. “I love your hair.”
“Thanks. Trying something new,” I say, catching Hutch's slight smile before grinning back at Finn.
If they only knew about all the new things I am ‘trying’.
“I love that you’re wearing it natural. It’s been years since I’ve seen all that curl,” Wren praises, reaching up to give my hair a little fluff with her fingertips.
I shrug like it’s no big deal. But it is. I’ve always been self-conscious about my super-tight, natural spiral curls, and Wren knows it. But something about the last three days has changed that. At least, a bit.
“Look at you!” I say, reaching for Finn. I squeeze her hands and then hold her arms out, taking in her baby bump.
She’s getting so close to delivering with weeks until her due date, but she’s ridiculously adorable in a sports bra and leggings that show off her generous bump. She recently cut off her waist-length hair and absolutely rocks the just-above-shoulder-length bob.
“I’m gigantic,” she mutters self-deprecatingly, and I shush her as I pull her into a hug.
“You’re gorgeous,” I assure her.
“Where are my idiot brothers and the gremlins?” Hutch asks, hefting the heaviest of my suitcases onto the driveway now that we’ve all said hello.
“At the ranch,” Finn says. “Paige has been bugging Huddy to take her riding for a week, and today was the first day he’s had a chance.”
“And let me guess, Hank’s working and Mom and Pop have the twins?” Hutch asks Wren as he unloads the last of my bags.
Wren nods with a smile. “Yep. They all but kicked me out the door. Hank had a few things to finish up and wanted to take Apollo out since he didn’t get a chance to this morning.”
“I’m sure you’ll catch them when you go pick up Oakley. Norah said something about having dinner with Mom and Pop tonight,” Finn supplies.
Hutch nods with a small smile before picking up the two biggest suitcases. “Thanks.”
“Let’s head inside and get you settled,” Wren says, making her way around me to help Hutch. “Hales stocked the fridge with literally all your favorites before she left.”
Hayley Hayes is a PE teacher and assistant soccer coach for the girls’ soccer team at the school she works for. While I’m ready to relax, I’m glad Wren and Finn made it a point to be here. Spending the first couple of hours in town with familiar faces will be nice.
“And how did she know what all my favorites were?” I ask Wren pointedly.
“Um, from your best friend, of course,” Wren says, taking my laptop bag from me and slinging it over her shoulder. “Come on, bestie.”
“I wish you wouldn’t have made such a fuss,” I tell her, but I secretly adore that she did this for me. I’ve missed having her around, missed having someone other than me think about groceries.
“She even made sure to buy the kind of toilet paper you like,” Finn points out with a laugh.
Wren spins back around, dropping her hands on her hips to shoot Finnley a look. “Yeah, and who made her a little gift basket for her bedroom with her favorite chocolates, snacks, and bottled water? There’s even a sleep mask in there scented with lavender.”
Finn at least has the wherewithal to look sheepish. “Hey, it’s the B&B owner in me. Plus, I’m nesting.”
I shake my head and laugh at both of them. “Well, thank you. It feels nice to be taken care of. I love you guys.”
Wren throws me a wink, and Finn lets out a sigh, flapping her hands in front of her face.
“Oh God, you’re gonna make me cry again,” Finn sniffles and blows out a breath.
Hutch’s chuckle sounds from the porch as he makes his way inside ahead of us, making me smile.
“Again?” I ask.
“Ohhh, yeah.” Wren nods dramatically. “It’s a whole thing.”
“Shut up.” Finn laughs and reaches for my garment bag. I let her take it because it’s not that heavy.
“Listen, I get it. We all have our weird pregnancy stuff. Mine was being horny all the time and yours is crying.” Wren shrugs. “It is what it is.”
That makes Finn laugh and press a hand to her lower back as she waddles along. “Oh, trust me, I have the horny thing, too.”
I scoff and slam the door to the Vanagon closed, lowering my voice conspiratorially. “Okay, you bitches, enough talk about sex with your disgustingly handsome husbands.”
I follow Finn and Wren up the short set of stairs into Hales’ place.
We step into a newly renovated space, and the interior further screams Hayley.
Granted, I don’t know her as well as I know Wren, or even Finnley, but I can definitely see her mark on the place.
The living room is an eclectic mix of new and old, a low, velvety emerald-green, sectional takes up the largest part of the space.
It’s the kind of couch that you could fall into at the end of a long day and never want to get out of.
Next to that is a bright yellow, tufted, egg chair with pink and green throw pillows nestled in it.
The honey blonde wood floors are covered in a colorful patchwork rug, and cozy boho poufs dot the open floor space.
Two multi-colored afghans drape over the couch, and the space is peppered with potted plants.
Hales even has an old wooden ladder turned on its side, and various plants hang from it in front of the window to take advantage of the natural light pouring in.
The room is bright, but not overpowering, and is inviting in a sort of hippie modern chic way.
Wren leads me through the white and stainless-steel kitchen, pointing to a closed bedroom door.
“Hayley’s room is there, the powder room is here.
” She swings the door open wide, revealing a small bathroom with a toilet and a pedestal sink.
The walls are done in subway tile, with pops of pink and green in the art, hand towels, and rugs.
“Her place is adorable,” I comment as we cross the kitchen to a short flight of stairs that lead to the second floor.
“That’s one thing about Hales. She’s got a hell of an eye,” Finn agrees.
“When Huddy brought up buying this place as an investment, I told him I’d agree, but only if he asked Hales to help Hutch design the space.
Left to his own devices, it would have been a design disaster, and well, I’m in no condition to contribute.
There were solid bones, but with all her flourish, it really adds to the charm, I think. ”
“Yeah, you two did amazing with the space,” Wren adds, nudging Hutch with her elbow and a smile.
He returned hers with a small smile of his own before nodding to my bags. “You want me to take these up?” he asks.
“I think we can get them,” Wren tells him.
“You sure?” he asks, then shoots me a wink and cheeky grin. “Been hauling this one’s shit around for a couple days anyway.”
I can’t help it. I default back to an eye roll and a hair flip. “We got it, Bigfoot.”
Something in his expression changes, and I immediately wish I hadn’t been so flip about it. He didn’t have to bring me along on his road trip and it really has been a great time. In more ways than one.
But I can’t say that. Not when his quick change in demeanor makes my stomach feel funny.
But in true Hutch fashion, he recovers quickly and nods. “Right. Well, I’m gonna take off then.”
“Thanks again for bringing my bestie to me,” Wren says sweetly.
“Yes,” I say, finding my voice again, but it comes out stiff. Too formal. “Thank you for the ride.”
Hutch glances at me before nodding again and turning to go. “No problem.”
Suddenly, I don’t want him to go, not knowing when I’ll see him again.
Why? I have no idea. And what am I supposed to say, even if I were to go after him? It’s not like there’s anything but sex and a barely there friendship between us. He’d made it perfectly clear he couldn’t offer me anything more, and why the hell did I have that thought?
No. It’s better this way. We had our fun and now it’s over. It has to be. So I watch as he heads back through the kitchen and into the living room, vaguely aware of Wren saying something to Finn.
“I think I left my AirPods in the van,” I say suddenly. “Be right back.”
I hurry after Hutch, hoping to catch him before he leaves. I don’t know what I’m going to say, but I hope a plan will develop when I get outside. He’s climbing into the van when I step out onto the porch.
“Hey,” I call out, and he stops, climbing back out. He waits until I come down off the porch and make it around the front of the van.
“Miss me already?” he teases, arm outstretched where he’s gripping the open door.
“Ha ha,” I say with another little eye roll and then clear my throat. I know I already said it, but…I really appreciate everything you did for me this week.”
His lips tip up in that sexy smirk that I used to hate but now kind of love. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding decisively. “Despite the rocky start, I had a lot of fun, and well, you’re not as annoying as I initially thought.”
I secretly love that I have to tip my head back to look up at him. I have no idea how tall he is, but his size is nothing but a comfort to me and for some reason, I want to be close to him.
“Was that another compliment?” he asks, denim blue eyes full of mischief. “Must be all the orgasms.”
I chuckle lightly, my skin flushing. “Must be.”
He watches me for a couple beats and then says, “Well, in any case, you’re welcome. Anytime.”
The way he says it is full of promise. It makes my pulse flutter a little and I look up at him, uncertainty tugging at my stomach. I can’t get sucked into this man’s orbit. I want to. I really fucking want to. But it will never work. He’s not capable of more.
“Can we keep this,” I wave my hand between us, “you know, on the down-low?”
He lifts a brow at me. “You want me to be your dirty little secret?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.” I grimace, and he chuckles. “I meant since we’re back here and all, it’s probably best if what happened on the road trip stays there.”
He shrugs lightly. “If that’s what you want.”
“Okay,” I say, fidgeting with the hem of my top, before stepping back. “So, I guess I’ll see ya.”
He nods, eyes trailing over my face down to my mouth, where they stay for a beat or two before coming back up to mine. “See ya.”
With nothing else to say, I turn and head back to the porch.
Was it my imagination, or did he look uncomfortable when I asked him to keep things between us? God, he’s so hard to read sometimes.
As I’m about to step inside, he calls out. “Hey, California?”
I stop and turn around to face him, hand on the doorknob. “Yeah?”
“You’re not as annoying as I thought, either.”
A smile pulls up my lips. “Thanks.”