Love Next Door

by Hunting, Helena

  “Hey, yourself.” He lets me hold on to him for a few long, comforting seconds before he kisses my cheek and pulls back. “How is Billy? How are you? I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

  “He’s okay. Or he will be, I hope.”

  “That’s good. Do you want to talk about it at all? Maybe you want to come back to my place? I can make up for being a jerk yesterday.”

  I give him a small smile. “Yeah, sure, that sounds good. Just let me grab a couple of things?”

  “Of course.” Van waits at the door while I shove pajamas and my toothbrush into an overnight bag. Once I have my things, I shoulder the bag, close the door to my trailer, and follow him down the path back to his place. I realize I’ve started to look at it not as Bee’s anymore, but as his.

  As soon as we’re through the narrow path, he links our fingers together. “You okay?”

  I realize I didn’t answer that question before, too fixated on Billy and what he’s going through. “I think so. I’ve known for a while that things with Billy weren’t okay, but seeing him break down today made me aware of how hard this whole thing has been on him. He’s always had ups and downs, but this is more than that. I hate that he’s been going through this alone this whole time.” As we step inside the cottage, I tell him about the episode Billy had at the hospital and that they admitted him.

  “How did your parents handle that?” He takes my bag, sets it on the kitchen counter, and pulls me over to the couch I’ve sat on a million times before. Being in here feels different now. Bee’s was always a haven, but this is so much more than that.

  “Better than I expected. I thought my mom would put up a fight, since they’ve been doing a lot of brushing things off, but I realized they didn’t know what to do. No one wants their kid to go through what Billy is. There’s guilt attached to it, like it’s somehow their fault that he’s like this, and I guess genetically there’s probably a link, but it’s not as though they have control over it. They needed someone to say this was a good idea and that it needed to happen so they could feel okay about it, and that person had to be me.”

  “And how do you feel about that?” Van brushes my hair back and smooths his thumb down the side of my neck. “Being the one they looked to for help to make the decision?”

  “We’re all in this together, so that definitely makes it easier. I don’t feel as though the decision rests solely on my shoulders. We made it as a family. And I know that Billy might be upset now, but I’m hoping with time and treatment he’ll see that we did this because we care about him.” I lean into him, letting those words sink in. “That’s what it’s always been like with my family. We back each other up.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad you have that.” There’s wistfulness in his tone.

  “Me too. I don’t know if I would have been able to make that decision on my own. Leaving my brother at the hospital was so hard; I just wanted to wrap him up in love and keep him safe, but I knew I couldn’t do that for him. Having my parents there as a support was a big help.” I squeeze his hand, aware that our family situations are vastly different. “I’m sorry about your brother,” I add. “I can’t imagine how you feel, or how hard this is for you. Family are supposed to take care of each other.” I tip my chin up as he tips his down.

  Our gazes meet, and something shifts in the air around us. A new kind of tension sparks and crackles between us. A connection that wasn’t there before, so much more intense this time.

  “I could be that for you,” I whisper. “The person you can count on not to let you down.”

  “You already are, Dillion.” He cups my cheek in his palm and dips down and presses his lips to mine. “You’re the best part of my day and the one person I look forward to seeing more than anyone else. I’m lucky to have you in my life.”

  This time when he comes back for a kiss, it’s a soft lingering one that sends warmth rushing through my veins, and heat settles low in my belly, sparking need. He deepens the kiss, and when it’s clear it’s about to become more, he takes me to his bedroom. We undress slowly, paying special attention to each other’s most sensitive spots, until we’re both panting and desperate.

  He settles between my thighs and enters me on a slow stroke. “I love this,” he groans against my lips. He pushes up on his forearm, his eyes meeting mine, soft and vulnerable. “I love you.”

  My heart clenches, and my breath catches in my throat for a moment before I murmur, “I love you too.”

  I wrap my legs around his waist, and we move together, a slow tide rising until bliss washes over us.

  CHAPTER 26

  DOWN WE GO

  Van

  The days and weeks that follow are hectic and stressful for Dillion. Not only is she worried for her brother in the hospital being treated for a psychiatric condition, but the threat from my brother hangs over both of our heads. It makes us edgy.

  While Bernie and I push back against my brother contesting the will and my father attempts to talk some sense into him—which is proving futile—Teagan is trying to hack into his email and see if she can’t find information that way. She hasn’t spent a great deal of time on computer hacking, though, so it’s not necessarily the most effective sleuthing either of us has engaged in.

  With everything going on, I do my best to be there for Dillion, aware that she’s the kind of person who tends to try to manage everything on her own. But I want to give her a shoulder to lean on, as she’s been doing for me.

  Three weeks after they admit Billy to the hospital, they have a formal diagnosis. He has bipolar disorder, and the hallucinations were a manifestation of the combination of medication, alcohol, and insomnia. The withdrawal wasn’t easy on him, but once alcohol was removed from the equation and they started him on medication (which will need to be monitored closely in the coming weeks), they agreed to release him as an outpatient. He has to attend therapy sessions several times a week, but he can sleep in his own bed. And he’s excited about eating something other than hospital food.

  Dillion is sitting cross-legged on the couch, hugging one of Grammy Bee’s embroidered pillows. “I think we should throw him a little party. Nothing big, just a ‘Welcome home’ and ‘We love you’ kind of thing. The past few weeks have been tough, and he’s worked hard to be able to come home. I want him to know we’ve got his back and we’re proud of him, you know?”

  “I think that’s a great idea. Do you want it to be family?”

  “And a few close friends. Aaron has been to the hospital every day since they started letting Billy have visitors, so he should definitely come. And obviously you need to be there, since you found him down at the lake.”

  I’ve been to visit Billy a bunch of times since he was admitted. At first I went with Dillion, but after a few visits I started going on my own. We talk construction and play basketball on the outdoor court. He beats me every single time. Although he does have about four inches on me.

  “I can be there. Absolutely. Just tell me what you need help with, and I’ll do it.”

  “I’ll make a few phone calls, and then you can help me make a cake!” She hops up off the couch and plucks her phone from the end table. First she calls her parents, who are on board with the welcome-home party; then she calls Aaron and a couple of Billy’s other friends who have been supportive over the past few weeks.

  Once the calls are made and some food is ordered, she pulls out Bee’s KitchenAid mixer, circa the nineties, and we get to work making a cake and icing from scratch. Three hours and a lot of me dipping my finger into the buttercream icing and getting hit with a spatula on the back of the hand later, we have a WELCOME HOME cake.

  Dillion stands with her hands on her hips, frowning. “It looks like a pair of preschoolers decorated this.”

  I kiss her on the temple. “But the icing and the cake taste delicious, and that’s way more important. Besides, it means more because it’s homemade. He’s going to love it.”

  Twenty minutes later she gets the call
that her parents are picking up Billy and that people are on the way to their house. We bring the cake over to her parents’ place and find Aaron already standing in the driveway, holding a bottle of fizzy grape juice with a bow on it and a platter of meat and cheese.

  “Hey.” He grins sheepishly. “I thought maybe you could use a hand setting things up.”

  “Absolutely! Thanks so much for being here and for being so supportive.”

  “Always, Dee. I feel bad that I backed off as much as I did. I should’ve realized there was more going on.”

  “We all missed the signs for a long time, but now he’s on the right path, and we’re here to help him stay on it. That’s what counts.” Dillion gives him a side hug. “Anyway, let me run inside and grab all the stuff for the picnic table so we can get things set up before my parents get home. My mom said she’d text before they leave the hospital.”

  She flounces up the steps to the front porch and disappears inside the house.

  “Hey, man, how’s it going?” Aaron jams a thumb in his pocket and rocks back on his heels.

  “Good. You?” I like Aaron, and when we’re talking renos, the conversation flows, but sometimes I find it hard to get a bead on him.

  “Yeah. Also good.” He glances at the cake. “Dillion make that?”

  “She did. We did, actually.” Oh yeah, the territorial streak is strong.

  He grins. “But she decorated it, right?”

  “I think she did a great job, you know, for a nonprofessional.”

  “Oh yeah. She makes the same cake for Billy every year for his birthday. It’s Funfetti, isn’t it? Got all the little rainbow chip things in it?”

  “Yeah, it does. You guys grew up together, right?”

  “Yup. She’s like my sister, and she looks at me like a brother.”

  “I wasn’t . . . that wasn’t . . . I wasn’t trying . . .”

  Aaron holds up his hand. “You don’t need to explain, man. I get it. I might think of her like my sister, but I’m not blind. I know she’s gorgeous and she’s got a heart bigger than Pearl Lake. She loves hard. Just be good to her, that’s all.”

  “I plan to.”

  “I figured.” He tips his chin in the direction of Grammy Bee’s. “How’s the reno plans going? You still want me to have a look at the garage?”

  “That’d be great. I have a few different plans already drawn up, but it would be great to have someone familiar with building code, and plumbing and electrical, to have a look at it before I submit it to the town for approval. No point going to all the trouble only to find out I can’t tie into the existing septic, you know?”

  “For sure. Want me to take a look after the party?”

  “If you have the time, that’d be perfect.”

  Dillion returns with her arms laden with party supplies.

  “Babe, why didn’t you ask for help?” I rush over to grab some of the items perched on top.

  “I got it.”

  I nab a pack of paper plates and a box of plastic utensils before they hit the ground. “Really?”

  “You distracted me when you came running at me.”

  I don’t say anything else, but I move the cake out of the way, and Aaron and I help her set up. There’s punch and an array of nonalcoholic beverages. Bowls of chips, trays of veggies and fruit, and, in the center of it all, the cake.

  We have enough time to blow up a few balloons and tape them to the side of the house and the picnic table before Tawny and Allie show up, along with a couple of Billy’s more reliable high school friends.

  A few minutes later, her parents pull down the driveway. Her dad jumps out as soon as the vehicle is in park, opens the rear passenger-side door, takes Billy’s crutches, and helps him out of the truck.

  Over the past few weeks he’s put on some much-needed weight; his face is filling out, and the dark circles under his eyes are disappearing. He’s without his cast now, but he accepts his dad’s offer of a crutch so he can cross the driveway without difficulty.

  “What the heck is going on?” he asks, face turning red.

  “Welcome home!” we all shout, sort of in unison, and Aaron starts clapping, so we all join in.

  “Man, if this is the kind of party you throw me for winding up in the hospital, I should consider going to college or something. I feel like there’d be a live band if I managed to graduate.” While he seems embarrassed, he also looks genuinely happy.

  Dillion rushes up to him and says something. Billy smiles down at her and pulls her into a hug. “I’m joking around; this is great. Thanks for sticking by me.”

  Everyone greets him and gives him a hug, telling him in low whispers how glad they are he’s home and that they’re there for him, whatever he needs. I stand back and watch, amazed by the way his family has rallied around him, and I wonder how different things would have been for our family if we’d come together when we’d lost my mom, rather than going in separate directions.

  It doesn’t take long before Billy is worn out from the socializing, and probably the entire day. I help Dillion clean up, and while she takes some time with her family, Aaron follows me over to Bee’s so we can look at my plans for the garage and, later, once that’s finished, what it would take to renovate the cottage.

  “I don’t think it’ll be tough to get permits to make changes to the existing buildings. That’s not usually the problem around here. It’s more about when people are looking to build things like condos. The lake can’t handle much more boat activity than it already has.”

  “Dillion and I talked about that. I’ve talked to the town council and asked about cleaning up the beach on this side.”

  He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. I’ve heard about that. Just wanna make sure you’ve got Bee’s best interests in mind while you’re doing that.”

  “How do you mean?”

  He leans against the side of the truck, flipping a set of keys around his finger. “You’re city—you see an opportunity to swoop in and make changes—but there’s always another side to it. We can fix up that beach, but someone has to maintain it, and it all costs money. And if it’s too pretty, then everyone with cottages on the other side starts sniffing around, looking over here for more places to build. Bee was big on preserving the lake and the community. I hope you’re looking to do the same, is all.”

  I don’t have a chance to reply because a car pulls down the driveway. “What the heck is my sister doing here?” I mutter.

  She parks beside my BMW, which is covered with flower blossoms since I’ve been driving Grammy Bee’s truck most of the time. She barely has the car in park before she hops out. “You will never believe what I found today!” She practically bounces across the driveway, heading straight for me while waving her phone in the air. She skids to a stop when she sees Aaron leaning against the truck. “Oh! Hey. Hello! I didn’t realize you had company.”

  Her gaze flips between me and Aaron and back again, and she changes course and makes a beeline for Aaron. Teagan has always been highly social, and very charismatic. She holds out her hand. “Hi. Teagan Firestone. I’m Van’s sister. You must be a friend of my brother’s.”

  “Aaron Saunders. I was talking to Van about his reno projects. I work with Dillion and her dad.” He engulfs my sister’s hand in his giant one. His is covered in little scabs and nicks and scars. She has a purple manicure with some kind of design on the nail of both ring fingers.

  “You have huge hands.”

  Once he releases hers, she grabs his wrist and holds it up, like she’s forcing him into a high five. She matches the heel of her hand with the heel of his and presses her palm to his, splaying out her fingers. Her fingertips only reach his first knuckle.

  She whistles lowly. “That’s just . . . wow. You should be a basketball player with mitts like these.” Her gaze drops to his feet, and then she does a full-body scan, all the way from his scuffed work boots, over his ripped and stained jeans, and back to his face.

  He arches a
brow. “I like football better.”

  “There’s more violence in football. All that tackling. Full-body hugging.”

  I clear my throat, not sure what I’m witnessing.

  Teagan drops his hand and steps back.

  “I should probably be heading home,” Aaron says, flipping his keys around his finger. “Just shoot me a message later next week, and we can set up a formal meeting to go over your plans. I’ll help you get them ready so the permits won’t be a fight with the town.”

  “Great, thanks, Aaron. I appreciate that.”

  He nods to my sister. “Nice to meet you, Teagan.”

  “You too.” Her smile is on the right side of maniacal.

  I wait until he’s out of hearing range before I ask, “What the hell was that?”

  “I don’t know. But I made that so weird, and awkward. I guess it’s a good thing I don’t live here, otherwise I’d have to actively try to avoid him in the future. God, he’s so . . . small-town hot.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “Like he clearly hasn’t showered, or changed out of his work clothes, but that just makes him sexier. Why is he so sexy? I mean, he hasn’t shaved in at least two days. And he probably doesn’t manscape at all. I wonder if he has any tattoos.” She taps her lip.

  “Okay. You can keep those thoughts inside your head.”

  “Huh?” She looks away from his retreating form. He’s so tall he has to duck way down to avoid getting clotheslined by the tree branches over his head.

  “Nothing. Never mind. Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what exactly are you doing here?”

  “Oh! Right! I have Bradley’s cloud password!” She bounces up and down excitedly. “Or most of it, anyway. Enough that I think we can figure it out.”

  “How did you manage to get that?”

  “I drugged him again, and then I went through his desk at work, and his entire room at the house. I found some things I wish I hadn’t, but you know how he has the worst memory in the world and his password is the same for every single site?”

  I didn’t know that, but I go along with it. “Sure.”