Love Next Door

by Hunting, Helena

  “Wait. Donovan Ferdinand Firestone, are you and your neighbor a thing?”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call us a thing—”

  “Your face is so red right now! You are totally a thing. This is so, so cute. I love it.” She claps excitedly.

  It’s followed by a knock at the door.

  Her eyes light up. “Is that her? It’s totally her!” She takes one step toward the door, but I catch her by the arm.

  “Please, for the love of God, Teagan, have some chill. She’s low key, and we are not making a big deal out of this, so you can’t either.”

  “Right. Okay. Find some chill.” She closes her eyes and breathes in and out. “It’s just so damn cute. And swoony.”

  “Swoony isn’t a word.”

  “Van? You here? Did you know there’s a yellow clown car in the driveway?” Dillion calls out.

  “I love her already.” Teagan slips out of my grasp and skips down the hall.

  Bradley appears behind her and gives me an arched brow. I say nothing. His car is douchey and he knows it. He shoulders me out of the way and makes it to the living room before me. He also skirts around Teagan and reaches Dillion, whose eyes are wide and her cheeks red.

  “Here, let me help you with those.” Bradley swoops in and grabs the bags she’s carrying, depositing them on the kitchen counter. “And I told my sister we should take the SUV since it’s more understated, but she likes to drive with the top down, so I indulged her.” He takes Dillion’s hand in his. “I’m Bradley, Donovan’s younger, better-looking, more successful brother. And who might you be? Other than an angel fallen from heaven.”

  “Uh, I’m Dillion.” She looks from me to him and back again. “And I’m far from an angel. Also, not to make it awkward, but I’m sleeping with your brother, so this flirty business should probably end here.”

  Teagan giggles. “Oh my God, I really, really love her now.”

  “I should also let you know that of the two of us, I’m more gifted below the belt.”

  “That’s untrue.” I cross the room, heading straight for the two of them.

  “Van’s a liar and very sensitive about the subject, as you can tell.” Bradley winks at Dillion.

  “Not sensitive at all.” I elbow Bradley in the ribs and get between him and Dillion. “Don’t mind him; he likes to push my buttons.”

  She smiles knowingly. “Well, that’s karmic, isn’t it?”

  I cup her face in my hand and tip her chin up, planting a kiss on her lips that lingers far past anything appropriate with my family in the room. But my brother is a shameless flirt and needs to get a clue.

  Teagan giggles and Dillion pushes on my chest. “Okay, stake claimed. Everyone gets the point.” She swipes across her mouth with the back of her hand and offers the other one to Teagan. “Hi, you must be Teagan. Van has told me so much about you.”

  Teagan ignores her outstretched hand and pulls her in for a hug. “It’s so great to meet you! Van’s been keeping you a secret, and I think it’s awesome that you two are a thing.” She slaps a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. I was supposed to be chill.”

  Dillion throws her head back and laughs. “I feel like I’m going to learn so many things about Van tonight.”

  “Absolutely. Let’s have drinks!”

  I sit back—since there really is nothing else I can do—and let Teagan and Dillion girl bond. I can’t deny it’s nice to see them getting along.

  Bradley follows me outside when I put the burgers on the barbecue. He swirls his scotch—he’s not excited about the fact that it’s less than twelve years old—and leans against the railing. “So you’re shacking up with a local, huh?”

  “Dillion lived in Chicago until recently, but yeah, she’s local. I know you have something to say; just make sure it isn’t going to get you punched in the face.”

  “Are you falling for her?”

  “I like her.” I slap several burgers on the grill.

  “She lives with her parents? Works for her dad?”

  “How would you know that?”

  “She mentioned it to Teagan while they were making drinks.”

  “Yeah, she works for her family’s business and lives with her parents. It’s temporary, though. She has plans to go back to the city eventually.” Although she hasn’t said anything about it recently.

  “‘The city’?” He arches a brow.

  I roll my eyes. I guess maybe I’m a local now too. “Chicago. You know I mean Chicago.”

  “Mmm.” He swirls his scotch again.

  “Mmm, what?”

  “Mmm, nothing. Wasn’t she the executor for the will? Or am I getting the name wrong?”

  “She’s the one. Why?”

  “Right. So you’re not worried about her wanting what you have?” He motions to the cottage.

  I give him a look. “You said yourself it’s a heap. What exactly do I have to offer?”

  “You’re an architect, and at some point you’re going to have a job again. And this place, as run down as it is, has potential. Her dad runs the only construction company in this town, and she’s his employee.”

  “Since when did you become so jaded? Dillion isn’t like that. She’s honest and loyal, and she came back here to help her family out.”

  He raises both hands in the air. “Okay, okay. Sorry. It’s been a rough few weeks, is all. It’s hard to know who you can trust. I’m just looking out for you. No offense meant.”

  “I get it. But I like her, so no inquisition, okay?”

  “I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  An hour later we’re stuffed full of burgers. Teagan even tries Dillion’s loaded double-baked potatoes, which are to die for, despite her usually avoiding carbs like the plague. Once dinner is over, Dillion excuses herself, citing an early morning because she has to work.

  I walk her back to her trailer and kiss her good night. When I return to the cottage, Teagan is making drinks.

  “Where’s Bradley?”

  “In the bathroom. He’s probably going to be a while.” She arches a brow.

  “Why? Is he feeling okay?” Most of the time I like him, when he’s not being a pretentious ass. He’s ridiculously pampered and entitled. Teagan and I make a game out of poking fun at him because of it.

  “The Starbucks drive-through line was long, so he made me go in and get him a latte. I might have forgotten to ask for lactose-free milk on purpose.”

  I make a face. “Well, I guess it’s good he has his own bathroom, then.”

  “Yup. Sure is.” She looks over her shoulder before she grabs her purse and rummages around in it, producing a bottle of pills. She unscrews the cap and shakes two pills into her palm. She grabs a cutting board and a spoon and crushes them into powder.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Bradley is three drinks in; you know how he gets when he’s sauced. He goes on these ridiculously long tirades about nothing, and you can’t get him to shut up until he passes out. I’m just speeding the process and saving us from an evening of boredom.” She dumps the pill powder into a lowball glass and adds some scotch, then passes the glass and the spoon to me. “Here. Stir that.”

  “What is this stuff?” I mix up the concoction.

  “It’s a sedative.”

  “Is it safe?”

  “Totally. He’ll sleep like a baby. I do it all the time when he goes on one of his tirades and won’t shut up.”

  “Do you take these?”

  “Every night.” She smiles up at me. “It’s okay, Van. I’m okay. I just needed something to help calm things down.” She taps her temple. “Sometimes our family is a lot to handle. The therapy sessions weren’t cutting it, and I wasn’t sleeping well, and now I am. And I’m coping better too.”

  Bradley returns from the bathroom, rubbing his stomach. “I bet that coffee wasn’t lactose-free. Those baristas never listen.”

  “Here.” Teagan passes him the drink. “I made you a manhattan. I think you’ll like it, and it’ll
settle your stomach.”

  “Thanks.” Bradley takes a tentative sip. He smacks his lips a couple of times before he goes in for another one. He picks out the skewer of cherries and drains his drink in one long gulp.

  Teagan and I exchange a wide-eyed look before we both school our expressions.

  “Do you want another?”

  I’m not sure he should have another one, but I can’t communicate that to her with him looking right at us.

  “Yeah. Sure. Why not?”

  He sets the glass on the counter, and Teagan goes about making him another manhattan, this time not spiked with drugs. Bradley makes it three-quarters of the way through it before he spills the rest of it down the front of his shirt. I manage to grab the glass before he drops it, and then he quite literally passes out, full-on drooling.

  Teagan cringes. “Hmm, we probably could have gotten away with one instead of two.”

  “Ya think? How long will he be out for?”

  “Roughly six to eight hours, at least. Maybe more?”

  “Wow. Okay.” I scratch the back of my neck. “Should we lay him down? Maybe we should put him in Grammy Bee’s bed?”

  “Do you think she’ll be mad that we drugged him? What if she haunts us because of it?”

  “She’s not going to haunt us, Teag.”

  “How do you know?” A branch scratches the window, and she jumps. “Did you hear that? She’s in the walls!”

  “She’s not in the walls. I’ve been here for weeks; there are no ghosts, and Bee would not waste her time haunting us over knocking out Bradley.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Positive. She’s probably chilling up in heaven with Grampy, drinking heaven wine and laughing right now.”

  She nods and gives me a small smile. “I wish I’d spent more time with her. You always seemed to have such a good time when you were with her.”

  “I did.” I poke my brother in the shoulder, testing his responsiveness. “Hey, Bratty Bradley, you down for the night?”

  He mumbles but doesn’t otherwise move.

  “Wow. That must be some powerful stuff. And you take it every night?”

  “I have a lot of stress. It’s hard to live up to everyone’s expectations.”

  “Maybe you should focus on your own expectations for a while.” Teagan has been stuck in the middle for a long time.

  “Yeah, probably.” She sighs.

  “Let’s move him to the bed so he doesn’t wake up in the morning with a crick in his neck.”

  “Good call. You take the top half, I’ll take the bottom?”

  After five minutes of grunting and maneuvering, we finally get him into the bed. By the time we’re done, we’re both sweaty and breathing heavily, but at least he’s out of the way.

  Once we have him settled in bed, my sister and I each grab another drink and take them outside to the front porch.

  “So you and Dillion, huh?”

  “Yeah. I mean, for now anyway. I don’t think she has plans to stick around here once her brother is back on his feet, and I honestly have no clue what I’m going to do.”

  “Would you stay here?”

  “Indefinitely? I don’t know. I’m not sure there are all that many job prospects for me.”

  “You’ll find something that works for you. You’re too talented for this one little thing to get in the way indefinitely.”

  “Three million little things, you mean?”

  “I’m obviously downplaying it because I’m sure you’re already worried enough. But eventually the truth has to come out, right? And anyway, I like you with Dillion. You two work, even if maybe you shouldn’t. I don’t know if that makes sense. I really like her, though. You know, when we were kids, I wanted to be friends with her, but she was a couple years older and never around. Grammy Bee once tried to set up a playdate when I was little, but it didn’t work out all that well.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “She wanted to catch frogs, and I wanted to play Barbie.”

  I laugh. “Sounds like Dillion.”

  She leans back in her chair. “I’m glad you have her here. It’s good that you’re not alone.”

  “Thanks. And me too. I’m sorry about Troy. I feel bad that this happened because of me.”

  “This isn’t on you, Donny. You were the excuse he used to end something that should’ve been done a long time ago.” Teagan sips her drink.

  “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

  “I’m okay to talk about it. I probably should have expected it. I mean, his family is so influential in our circles, and with all the stuff going on, there was too much negative attention on him, so he ended things. Of course, he only told me that after I caught him cheating on me.” She wipes away fresh tears.

  “That dick. Ah shit, Teag, I’m so sorry. I would kick him in the balls if I could.”

  She gives me a small, tremulous smile. “Thanks. But that’s actually not the worst part.”

  If she tells me he gave her an STI or, worse, got her pregnant, I’ll kill him. Although she’s been pounding martinis like a frat boy tonight, so I’m going to guess the pregnant part isn’t an issue. “What else happened?”

  “He cheated with Portia. And now they’re dating.”

  “Portia Loewen? Your best friend?”

  She nods, and tears slip out and track down her cheeks. “I actually think it’s been going on for a long while, and this was the excuse he was looking for. I’m just so embarrassed, Van. I should’ve seen it. I should’ve known what was going on and I didn’t, and now I’m the one everyone is whispering about. And all my girlfriends have ditched me and taken Portia’s side. I feel like a joke.”

  “You’re not a joke, Teagan, you’re awesome. And Troy doesn’t deserve you. Portia is a bitch, and she was always a crappy friend. You know, if it’s too much to handle, you can come stay with me. I’m planning to convert the garage to a one bedroom.”

  She gives me a sad smile. “I appreciate that, but with my job and Dad . . . it’ll be fine. I just need to wait it out. It’ll all blow over. Once your name is cleared, it’ll all go back to normal. Minus Troy. We’ll get through this.”

  “We will. I’m here. Whatever you need, Teag.”

  It seems like out of all of us, Teagan is the one who has to suffer the most for sins she didn’t commit. I can’t help but wonder if normal is what we should be striving for—that maybe this is the universe’s way of telling us it’s time to make a change.

  CHAPTER 21

  THE RUSE

  Van

  I hate that my sister has to go back to the city. I don’t want her to have to face all the crap on her own. With the breakup and her shitty superficial friends, this can’t be easy for her. I wish I could convince her that it’s not her job to make sure Dad is okay. We all lost Mom, and yes, that absence never goes away, but living in the past isn’t really living at all.

  The day after Teagan and Bradley go back to Chicago, I get a call from Bernie. Nothing seems to happen quickly around here, but I’d like to get everything in order and in my name, for peace of mind.

  “Hey, Bernie, how’s it going? You need me to come in and sign some more documents?”

  “Well, I’d like to say yes, but we have a bit of an issue.”

  I flip a pen between my fingers to keep my hand busy. “What kind of issue?”

  “I’m not sure what to make of it, but it looks like someone is trying to contest the will.”

  “Contest the will? Why?” It’s been months since Bee passed. It doesn’t make sense that someone would contest it now.

  “Basically, this person is calling into question whether or not Bee was capable of making the decision to make you sole beneficiary of the estate.”

  I run my fingers through my hair, gripping the strands at the crown. I don’t understand who would want to take Bee’s cottage. A couple of months ago I would have been able to fight a legal battle over it without an issue, but with
only Bee’s random stacks of cash to live on, I’m not in any kind of position to put up a financial fight. The thought of losing all the memories associated with the cottage and Bee is inconceivable. “Do we know who it is?”

  “Not yet, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. Is there anyone you can think of who might be unhappy that you’re the sole beneficiary?” he asks.

  “I don’t know. I’m going to make a few phone calls, though, and ask some questions.”

  “Okay. When you have some time, it might be a good idea to come by the office.”

  “Sure, yeah. Is this afternoon okay?”

  “Anytime is good. Just tell Darla that I asked you to stop by.”

  “Sure. Thanks for letting me know.”

  I end the call and exhale a breath, hoping to find some calm, but it’s not working. Maybe my dad has gotten himself into more financial trouble than he can handle. But would he even think this place is worth anything? I don’t want to believe that he could do something like this behind my back, but I need to at least find out if he knows anything about it.

  I pull up his contact and hit the call button.

  “Donovan, it’s good to hear from you, son. How are things in Pearl Lake?”

  “They’re okay.” They’re not really, but I’m warming up to that.

  “Good, good. I’m glad to hear that. Teagan said she had a wonderful time with you. She misses you, though. She told you about her and Troy falling out?”

  “I miss her too. And yeah. She did.”

  “Mmm.” I hear tapping in the background, signifying that he’s probably answering emails while on the phone with me. “It’s unfortunate. They seemed so well suited. And he’s doing very well in finance. He would have been a stable partner for her.”

  “Yeah, well, his lack of loyalty sure did show his true colors, so I’m going to say she’s better off without him. Anyway, I wanted to check in with you, see how things are going. Have we made any progress on the investigation into the missing funds?”

  “I have a forensic accountant looking into things for us. I know you must be eager to get back to Chicago and return to the twenty-first century.” He chuckles, and I am reminded of how much of a snob he can be. Even when my mother was alive, he would rarely, if ever, come stay in Pearl Lake.