When Dane proposed to Neely, he bought her Malone’s Farm outside town. They’ll be moving soon, starting their lives together. This makes me ridiculously happy for them, but after today’s events, it also makes me feel a little sad. It’s another chapter coming to a close.
“That’s one way to get homework done,” Dane says. He grabs the bag of trash by the door and takes it outside.
I get up from the table, grabbing my dishes and Mia’s, and take them to the sink. As I rinse the plates, Neely opens the refrigerator. Out comes a bottle of wine.
“Want some?” she asks me. “This is from a winery in New York. My friend Grace and I used to try to go there once a month. This one is our favorite. It’s super sweet.”
“Wine makes me sappy.” I put the plates in the dishwasher. “After the day I’ve had, I probably need to pass.”
She sets the bottle on the counter and frowns. “Dane told me about the library. I’m sorry, Haley.”
“Yeah, well, don’t be sorry for me.” I close the dishwasher and lean against it. “I just hope they don’t close the doors forever. If the library goes, it’ll feel like the heart of Dogwood Lane will be gone. Then what happens?”
“I don’t know.” She frowns. “What’s next for you?”
“I’m not sure,” I say.
Neely grabs a rag and wipes off the counter. “I feel your pain. There was a time not long ago when I wasn’t sure what was next for me. But I found it, and I’m proof that sometimes you have to let go of any preconceived ideas about what’s right for you and just let the universe take its course.”
“That’s true. I wish I would’ve finished a degree at some point. That would probably help.”
“There’s actually a big demand these days for jobs you don’t need a degree for. Everyone clamored for diplomas for so long that there’re shortages in a lot of areas.”
“I’m not laying bricks or something,” I say.
“Speaking of things getting laid,” Neely says coyly, “Dane told me about a guy on the site today.”
The twinkle in her eye grows as I shift my weight.
Trevor has been on my mind all evening. I’ve wondered more than a couple of times if I made the right decision by not going with him.
I’m curious if he got a room at the inn and what he had for his early dinner. What does a guy like that think about a boring night in Dogwood Lane?
I could’ve known all that had I gone with him, but I didn’t. And I’m glad I said no. As much as the curiosity is killing me, it feels good to have stuck to my guns—especially with a guy like him.
My cheeks flush. “What’s that have to do with me?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Neely teases. “Dane said you two seemed to hit it off.”
“I don’t know about that,” I say lightly. “I met him this morning, so by the time I saw him at the house, I guess you could say we established a rapport.”
“Which is . . .”
I laugh. “Which doesn’t lead to anyone getting laid.”
Dane comes in and makes a face. “Let’s not talk about you getting laid.”
He moves through the kitchen, kissing the top of Neely’s head as he helps clear the rest of the dinner dishes. They work quietly side by side, the respect and trust obvious between them.
That’s what I want more than anything in the world—more than any job or loaded bank account. I want the look on Neely’s face in this very moment. I want to know what that feels like, and not so much what getting dumped via text feels like.
“What are you thinking?” Neely asks, pouring herself a generous glass of wine.
“That dating is kind of like being in the Colosseum,” I say. “One minute, the crowd is chanting your victory. The next second, a lion is rushing from the gate, ready to rip your heart out.”
“You try too hard,” Dane chimes in. “You try to make these assholes happy and sacrifice your happiness in the process.”
“No one asked you,” I say, reaching for the bottle of wine. I pour myself a small glass as I shove Dane’s observation out of my head.
“For what it’s worth, even though I wasn’t asked,” Dane says, “I think Trevor is a decent enough guy.”
Neely whirls around with a gasp. “Did you just say he was nice? You never like people. Men, specifically.”
“He and I talked some today,” Dane says. “He’s smart and made solid decisions about the job. Seemed pretty nice, and his family is loaded.”
The back door opens, and Dane’s best friend, Penn Etling, strolls in. “Who is loaded?” He runs a hand across his dark hair, his sleeve of colorful tattoos flexing in the light. “Haley’s here. How’s my girl?”
I laugh. “I’m not your girl, Penn.”
“But you could be.”
“You could also wipe the lipstick off your neck from whomever you were just sucking face with before you come trying to sweet-talk me,” I say. His hand clamps his neck, his eyes going wide. “I’m just kidding. You fall for that every time.”
“I was just surprised there was lipstick on my neck since I haven’t sucked face, as you so eloquently put it, with anyone in a while,” he says.
“So two hours?” Neely jokes.
“Try since last night.”
Neely sets down her glass. “Penn, can you learn to knock? Please.”
“I’ll try. Old dog, new tricks, and all that.” He spies the pan of lasagna on the table. “Why did no one invite me for dinner?”
“Because I’ve worked with you all day,” Dane says. “I need a break.”
“That’s what my mom just told me too.” He grabs a breadstick and hops onto the counter. “So what are we talking about?”
“Trevor, I think his name is,” Neely says, keeping an eye on me. “What do you think about him, Penn?”
“I think he’s staying in town tonight,” Penn says. Half the breadstick goes into his mouth.
“He said he was going to see about getting a room at the Dogwood Inn,” I offer. I pick at a crumb on the counter and try not to let it be known I’m interested.
Neely raises a brow. “Should we read anything into you having that information?”
“Ah, Haley. Don’t break my heart,” Penn says, a hand covering the Saint Christopher’s necklace hanging from his neck.
“I didn’t think you had a heart, Penn,” I tease.
“Only for you, babe.”
Neely laughs, taking a seat at the island next to Dane. “Do you have plans to see Trevor?”
“No,” I say, ignoring Penn’s fist pump. “He just mentioned it this afternoon at the library.”
Dane holds up a hand. “Wait. He was at the library? You saw him this morning at the café, at the jobsite, and then at the library?”
“I’m jealous.” Penn shoves the rest of the breadstick into his mouth. “Not fair.”
“He was just driving by the library as I was about to leave. No big deal and not hard to do in this town,” I say, staring at the crumb from Penn’s breadstick in front of me.
While that’s all true, it sounds different out loud. It could be construed that maybe, possibly, it wasn’t a coincidence at the library. That maybe, possibly, he was looking for me.
I gulp as I look up.
My friends’ stares are heavy, their smiles—everyone except Penn’s—uncomfortable. I take a long drink of wine and look at my phone instead of dealing with them.
The home screen is locked with a picture of Mia and me at a church ice-cream social over the summer. She’s sticking her blue-tinted tongue out at the camera as I make a duck face. And just like that, my thoughts go from the church to Lorene, and back to Trevor.
“Maybe you’ll run into him again,” Neely says carefully. “Like you said, it’s not hard to do in this town.”
“It doesn’t matter if I do or don’t.”
“Damn right,” Penn says. “He’s not your type.”
“Oh, really?” I ask, turning to face him. “What’s my type, Penn?”
He looks down at his body, holding his arms out like he’s giving himself a once-over. “I’d say five-ten. Stocky build. Dark hair. Tattoos. Charming.”
“That puts you out of the running,” Neely teases.
Penn grabs another breadstick and waves it toward her. “I’ve always liked you. Until now.” He chomps off the end of the breadstick.
I take a lungful of air and let it out slowly. My insides are still buzzed with talk and thoughts of Trevor. But in a very un-Haley-like way, I’m not obsessed with it. And I didn’t text Joel again today either. It’s progress.
“You know what, Dane?” I ask. “You might be right. I might’ve tried so hard for guys to like me that I jumped into their arms.”
“I don’t recall you ever jumping into mine,” Penn says. “Just saying.”
“There’s a reason for that,” I tell him. “Maybe two. Or ten.”
“I’m here when you need me,” Penn says. “Now that we’ve settled that, I need to go. I’m meeting a girl in twenty.”
Dane starts laughing. “And you wonder why no one takes you seriously, man.”
“What?” he asks. “I would’ve called it off with her if Haley had taken me up on my offer.” He looks at me. “You’re always my first choice, babe.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You’re welcome. And if things don’t work out and you wanna relieve some stress, you know where to find me.” He grabs another breadstick, shoots me a wink, and disappears as quickly as he showed up.
Neely laughs. “That boy is a mess.”
“Always,” Dane grumbles.
I grab my phone and shove it in my pocket. “I’m going to say good night to Mia and then head home. I need a hot bath and a notepad.”
“Um . . .” Neely raises a brow. “A notepad?”
“To take notes,” I say. “In all honesty, I’m feeling excited. I need to get a plan together. Or two. Or three.”
“Slow down, Tiger,” Dane says.
“I have bills to pay. I just need to figure something out.” I think once again of the flower shop and smile. “Hopefully this wine doesn’t put me to sleep before I can get my head wrapped around everything.”
“You drank three mouthfuls,” Dane points out.
“I’m a lightweight.”
“We might be out back when you come downstairs,” Neely says. “I tried to restore an old table today, and I want to show Dane. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.”
I head toward the stairs. “That’s fine. I’ll let myself out.”
“See you later,” Neely says.
“Thanks for dinner.”
“Anytime.”
I bound up the stairs, leaving their voices behind me.
Trevor
My stomach growls. It’s a loud, raucous-sounding gargle emitting from my gut, reminding me I haven’t eaten anything since the protein bar before I left home this morning. Much to my dismay, the Dogwood Inn doesn’t offer dinner.
I drop onto the white duvet covered in little purple flowers and look around the room. The walls are cream with a floral-print border. A television just a bit bigger than a large pizza box sits on top of a dresser that’s currently white but that I’d bet my last dollar has at least five layers of paint beneath it.
It’s so quiet I can hear myself breathe. There are no sirens, no car alarms, no dogs barking from a neighboring yard. I’m not sure what to do with myself.
Grabbing my phone out of my pocket, I dial my brother.
“Well,” he says, answering on the second ring, “how’s it going?”
“The site looks great, actually. The guys we hired are thorough as hell. I figured I’d get here and find a hundred corners cut, but there’s not one I can find. Everything is done to a T.”
Jake whistles. “That’s shocking.”
“I know, right?”
“A guy I know used them on a remodel a while back. Said they did a real good job, but you never know how that’s gonna go,” he says.
The bed moans as I stand. My shoes sink into the thick shag carpet as I plod my way over to the window.
A barn sits a few hundred yards back. A couple of horses stand in the field surrounding it, the breeze blowing their manes like something in a kids’ movie.
“Where are you staying?” Jake asks.
“Got a room at an inn, believe it or not. I’m looking at a horse right now.”
“Sounds terrible.”
“Nah, it’s not.” I scratch my head. “Weirdly.”
“I’m reading that pause to mean the real reason it’s not terrible is pussy related,” Jake says. “You already got one lined up, don’t you?”
“No,” I say quickly. “Nothing like that.”
“You sure?”
My thumb brushes against my lip as I try not to laugh at myself. No, I’m not sure. But I’m not not sure either. All I know is staying here doesn’t sound as bad as it might have this morning.
Maybe it’s because I’m relieved not to have to deal with Liz. It’s possible I don’t want to go back and sit in an empty house. I really don’t want to have dinner with Dad and Meredith and listen to her go on and on about her dogs and interior design. Any way you cut it, being here and staying busy for a few days seems preferable.
The chance of running into Haley again doesn’t sound too bad either.
“You’re totally not sure,” Jake says.
I turn away from the window. “You know what? Fuck off.”
Jake laughs. He knows me well enough to leave this alone.
“I kind of like it here,” I say.
“No. Nope. You are not joining the dark side with Meredith. I refuse to let that happen.”
I laugh. “I just mean it’s not terrible. You might even like it.”
“No. It’s Meredith’s place. I hate it on principle.”
“Speaking of Meredith,” I say. “You should’ve seen Dane’s reaction to the poodle spa.”
“It probably looked similar to mine when I heard about it. And we are not putting that in our portfolio.” Jake groans. “It’s almost embarrassing.”
“Almost? Try again.” I yawn, my arms stretching high over my head. “I need to go. I’m starving.” A grin slips across my face as I think of Haley and her warning to get my stuff before ten.
“Tell her I said hi,” Jake says.
“Who?”
“Whoever you’re thinking about.”
“You’re outta your mind,” I say with a laugh.
“I’m gonna be if I don’t get out of this office soon.” He blows out a hefty breath. “What does sunshine look like? I don’t remember.”
I lug my bag onto the bed and rummage through it. “Take a day off tomorrow and come up here. Get some sunshine, fresh air, check out the house.”
“I have no interest in seeing Dad’s love nest. Thanks.”
“We’re getting paid for it.”
“Like we’re charging him what we’d charge someone else. We’re just covering costs and a little overhead.”
A paperback I’ve been reading for a couple of weeks is buried at the bottom of my bag. I retrieve it and toss it on the bed. “That’s your fault. I thought it was fine to charge him full price.”
“Yeah, well, I’m trying to be the change I want to see in the world.”
I chuckle. “And what change is that?”
“A world where everyone isn’t ready to fuck you over.”
Mom’s face floats through my brain, and by the way Jake grumbles under his breath, I bet he’s thinking of her too. Shaking it off, I redirect our conversation.
“If you change your mind about coming down here, let me know,” I say.
“Nah, I’m good. I have enough messes here to keep me busy. The meeting this afternoon went better than expected, but I still have to rework an entire schedule.”
“Suit yourself. I gotta go before the town shuts down.” I get to my feet. “I’ll send you some pictures of the Love Nest tomorrow.”<
br />
“No. Don’t. I don’t need or want that visual.”
I grab my keys and wallet off the nightstand and stick them in my pocket. Heading out the door, I switch off the light. “Talk to you later, Jake.”
“Bye.”
The door to my room shuts behind me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
TREVOR
My headlights shine on a hand-painted sign spelling out the words GRABER’S GROCERY in bright-red letters. It’s the only thing open in town besides a gas station and a place called Mucker’s. The latter is the size of a shoebox and looks packed.
I kill the engine and step onto the asphalt. The air hints at winter’s rapid approach. I shove my hands into my pockets, letting a shiver roll down my spine as I walk into the small market.
There’s one checkout line open. The girl working the lane has to be fresh out of high school. She looks at me, much to her current customer’s dismay, before giving me a wide, warm smile as a welcome.
I wave, chuckling to myself that I beat her to it, and grab a cart.
The place is quiet. There are random shoppers here and there as I walk the length of the store. Country music from the nineties trickles through speakers nestled somewhere overhead as I try to locate a deli counter or a sandwich.
“Can I help you find anything?” A man crouched at the base of the cereal display takes off his hat.
“I’m just looking for a sandwich. I didn’t realize there wasn’t any fast food in this town until now. And the café is closed.”
He grins, getting to his feet. “A burger chain tried to come in here a couple of years ago, but the town council ran them off. Said it would hurt local businesses, which I suppose meant the café and Mucker’s, as that’s all we have.”
“Mucker’s looked busy. Good food?”
“Yeah. Kinda famous for their pizza around here. And the Rocket Razzle, but those’ll put you on your behind if you don’t watch out.”
“Good to know,” I say. “So sandwich? I’m not picky. Just starving.”
He nods. “Yeah. Sorry. Keep going down until you get to the dairy section, then swing a left. There’ll be something over there to get you to morning.”
“Thanks.”
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