“I’m not looking for forever. I’m still trying to get from one day to the next.” She leaned over to take a peek inside the bags. “Thank you for the curtains. They will help to make it appear homier.”
“What else do you need?”
She needed everything, but there was no way she’d tell Louise. What little she had could fit in boxes. All the furniture in the tiny house came with the house.
“I’ll figure it out. Doc told me to try not to worry about it all at once.” She raised her hand to her chest. “That panic attack I had nearly did me in. I’ll get the house painted, and I’ll figure out how to furnish it later.”
By the look of astonishment on Louise’s face, she knew she’d said too much.
“You don’t have anything?”
“I’ve got a few things like a frying pan and a few dishes. I was a single woman living alone; I didn’t need much.”
“What about furniture?”
She didn’t want to elaborate, but it opened the can of worms. “It all came with the house. Once I get my car back, I’ll hit the secondhand stores and garage sales. I can fit a lot into the back, and what I can’t …”
“Jake can help. Maybe he can borrow Tilden’s, Wes’s, or Abby’s truck. Both of the Bishop boys have them too.”
“I’ll figure it out.” She lifted her thumbnail to her teeth and gnawed on the bit that had grown back. “Everyone has done so many nice things for me … I just … I feel bad.”
“People help because it makes them feel good too.”
“That’s what Jake said, but my experiences are different, and in my life, once someone does something nice for me, I seem to owe them. Often the repayment requires far more than the original deed. Far more than I can afford.”
Louise waved her hand in the air. “Not here.”
Thinking about how much Louise and her family had already given her, she knew she couldn’t take anything else. “By the way, I will pay Bobby for his work on my car.”
“It’s already paid. That man of yours stopped by the diner and handed me a check. I’m not supposed to tell you because he said you wouldn’t like it, but I think you need to see how important you are to him.”
“I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, thank Jake. Dress up pretty, and have a beautiful time. I think love is in the air.”
“I told you, I’m not looking for love.”
Louise turned to walk out. “You know that saying …”
Natalie didn’t have a clue. “What saying?”
“Love isn’t something you find. It’s something that finds you.”
Alone again, she opened the can of paint and started on the living room. “It will never find me if I keep hiding.”
Chapter Sixteen
He wanted to pull his hair out from the roots. “Natalie, let me buy you some furniture.”
“Absolutely not. I can do this on my own.”
“Yeah, you can, but you don’t have to. Don’t let your pride be your biggest mistake.”
“You two want to order, or should I give you more time to argue so you can build up a bigger appetite?” Maisey asked.
“We’ll order. I’d like a bowl of oatmeal and an endless cup of coffee,” Natalie said.
“I’ll have a dish of patience and my normal eggs and turkey bacon.”
“First lover’s quarrel?” Maisey scribbled on the pad and wrote Jake in big letters at the top.
“No, we argue all the time,” Natalie said. “He wants to buy me furniture, but he’s already fixed my Subaru, given me a job, and so much more.”
Maisey winked. “It’s the so much more that really counts.”
“If I didn’t have pride, I’d have nothing.”
Jake watched as the two women talked. It had been several days since their last argument, and he was still waiting for the makeup part. With the approaching social worker visit, Natalie was as nervous as a cat in a dog park.
“Sometimes, you have to let your pride go when your need is greater. What do you need?” Maisey asked.
“She needs everything and refuses to accept anything.”
Natalie glared at him. “Not true. I took the curtains from Louise. I’m driving my car, and I’m eating the food you bought when we went to Copper Creek.”
Maisey sat at the edge of the bench and shoved Natalie over with her hip. “Let me tell you a little story. I was married before Ben. Dalton’s father was one mean, miserable cuss. He beat me within an inch of my life multiple times. Then Dalton grew up, and each time he saw his father drinking and getting his mean on, he’d lock him outside and stand guard, so if he got back into the house, he wouldn’t get to me. One time he got into the house, and that was when I knew if I didn’t leave, Dalton and I would be dead.” She glanced around the diner as if to make sure she had enough time to finish. “We lived in my car for a week, and then Doc saved us. He gave me this location and asked me to open a diner. I didn’t want to take anything from anyone because that would mean I owed them.”
Jake watched Natalie nod her head.
“But you know what? Some people give expecting nothing in return. You’re that way, Natalie. I’ve seen you buy people’s meals when they came up short. You gave from your need, not your excess, which means even more. Did you expect them to pay you back?”
Natalie brought her thumbnail to her mouth and chewed. When there wasn’t anything to bite, she dropped her hands into her lap.
“Of course not. I give what I can.”
“End of discussion. Let people give what they can. I find, in the worst of times, people are generous. Let Jake be generous.” She slid from the booth.
“Maisey,” Natalie called out. “Did you ever pay Doc back?”
Maisey laughed. “Nope, I eventually bought the building for about ten cents on the dollar. When I told him that my pride wouldn’t allow the handout, he let me make payments, but he never kept the money. He turned around and gave it to others. Calls it his giving fund.” She pivoted on her white loafers and walked away.
“Are we fine now? Can we please go into Copper Creek and buy some furniture? I’m pretty sure when Social Services said Will needed a house, it was implied that he’d have a bed to sleep on, and a table to eat his meals.”
“Okay, but we shop at the secondhand stores and only get what’s necessary.” Compromise was the name of the game in life. He had to take his wins where he could. “Should we call Will and ask if he wants to come?”
All the tension released from her shoulders. “I love you for caring about him and wanting to include him in everything.” As soon as the words were out, her shoulders tightened, and her eyes moved around like she was looking for an escape.
He reached across the table and took her hand. “Don’t worry; I know you weren’t telling me you loved me. And I asked about Will coming because I thought you would want to include him. But, when you finally commit to a day for our date, he’s not invited.”
Once again, she relaxed. “Thank you for everything. I don’t know why you do it.”
“As I already told you, because I like you.”
She smiled. It was genuine and lit up her eyes. “If you tell a soul, I’ll deny it, but I like you too. More than I should. More than is safe for my heart.”
His heart thundered, somersaulted, and high-fived the lump in his throat. That was a big step for Natalie to admit to liking him. He understood her reluctance to fall completely. He didn’t want her to. It would only make it harder to go when he got the call, and he knew he would get the call.
Maisey delivered their drinks and breakfast in one pass.
“Are we calling Will or not?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, I’m sure he’d rather hang out with Cade and Abby for the day. There are horses and bees, which is so much cooler than beds and tables.”
“He’s a lucky kid to have you and the people of Aspen Cove.”
“Yeah, we’re both lucky.”
<
br /> A few days a week, someone came to pick up Will. Luke took him to the fire station. Wes took him to visit the Cooper brothers and the Stevenson Mill. Bobby showed him how to change the oil in his sister’s Subaru, which was now working like new. Yesterday, Abby asked to pick him up so he could visit the ranch to ride a horse and visit her hives. For a city kid, he was acclimating to country life well.
“Truth be told, I’ve been here in Aspen Cove longer than any other place.”
“Why is that?” He already knew, but he wasn’t sure if she did. Aspen Cove had become the family she craved.
“I don’t know. It feels like home.”
Close enough. “Now that you live in town, I’m sure it will feel more like home. Eat up. I hear furniture shopping can be exhausting.”
She took a bite of oatmeal while he ate a piece of his bacon.
“Have you never shopped for furniture?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I had a designer buy everything.”
“That’s so impersonal.”
“At the time, it wasn’t important to me.”
She sipped her coffee and looked at him as if she were looking inside him. “I bet you live in a sprawling mansion.”
“Nope, I live in a townhouse.”
She gave him a disbelieving look. “It’s the penthouse, right?”
“How did you know?”
“Your work clothes are designer brands, and you have a better manicure than I do.” She looked down at her chewed-to-the-nub nails.
“If you’d stop chewing your nails, you could get a manicure. In fact, we could make that a perk of running the bookstore.”
She swallowed another bite. “Nope, if I need a manicure, I can get one myself. You already pay me too much.”
“Forty thousand a year is hardly too much. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“I’ll be okay.” She scraped the last of her oatmeal from the bottom. “Now that you’ve hired someone, when will you go?”
“Itching to get rid of me already?”
“No, I just figured …”
He let out a sigh. “It was a done deal, but I didn’t sign the acceptance because I wasn’t sure when I’d finish here. I needed a flexible start date at Vision Quest. They took my soft start date as waffling and interviewed a few more candidates.”
“Oh no, you gave up your dream to open the bookstore?”
“No, I opened the bookstore because it was important to give back.”
She frowned. “See, even you felt like you owed repayment.”
He couldn’t argue, but it was more than that. “Yes, but not in the way you think. There is absolutely no way to repay someone for the gift of life. I merely wanted to give back. I could have donated a chunk of money to the National Kidney Foundation and been done with it. In fact, I did donate, but this was personal. Once I came here and met Doc, I knew I had to do something special. One of the best gifts a person can give is the gift of knowledge. A bookstore seemed appropriate. Just so happens, Brandy and Bea were avid readers.”
“You’re amazing.”
He laughed. “I am, aren’t I?” he teased. “You ready to fill that house with furniture?”
“Only the necessities.”
He agreed, but what she didn’t take into account was that necessities were subjective. Will would no doubt consider a gaming system and big screen TV a necessity. He always had to have a big chair in the corner with a table and light for reading. It was all perspective.
“No way, that’s too expensive.” She ran her hand over the plush upholstery of the sectional sofa that had seen little wear. She pointed to a sagging brown couch that had lived out its life in a frat house. “That one will be better. It’s only fifty bucks.”
He stepped in front of her and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Let’s think long-term here. You buy that couch, and it will need to be replaced by next month. Besides, I’m sure if we took a black light to it, it would glow like Chernobyl with the amount of body fluids embedded into the fabric.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Just let me get this one. I like it. You like it, and when I visit, I want to be able to make out with you and not worry about catching anything.”
“You’re going to visit?”
He thumbed her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “Absolutely. What did you think? That I’d leave and never come back? That I’d abandon you?” He knew that was exactly what she thought because she didn’t have any other experience.
“Well, yes.”
“Nope, you’re stuck with me.”
By the lift of her lips, she didn’t seem to mind.
“You were supposed to be temporary.”
“I’m like a library book you get to check out from time to time.”
“I check you out all the time.”
How hard was it for her to joke like that with him? Rarely did Natalie let herself go, but he’d seen her protective layers peeling off like onion skin over the last few weeks.
“I know.” He touched the buttons of the sage-green polo he wore today. “I think you like this shirt as much as the blue.”
“Nope, the blue is still my fave. In fact, I think you should leave it when you go.”
“Because you’ll miss me?”
Her expression turned serious. “Maybe … but probably not.”
“You’re lying to yourself again.”
“Yep, but let me live in my lies.” She looked past him to the back of the store. “Didn’t you say we needed a table?”
“We do.” Her use of the word we filled him with warmth. Natalie was an I person. She didn’t let anyone into her life. Maybe she was referring to Will and her as we, but he had a feeling she included him in the equation.
She immediately went to a table with six chairs and as soon as she saw the price, she moved along. Rather than argue with her on every purchase, he tugged the tag free of the set she liked and shoved it in his pocket.
“This will do.”
He smiled and nodded. There was no way he was getting the rickety one just because it was cheap.
“Beds next.” He led her to the section of the store with bed frames and mattresses. “No arguments. Just so we’re clear, you’re not getting a used mattress, and neither is Will for the same reason as the couch.”
She frowned. “I’ll put a sheet over it.”
He shook his head with slow determination. “Nope. When I lay you down on a mattress and make love to you, I don’t want to think about how many other people have been there. I want to be the first.” And the only. Shit, where in the hell did that thought come from? “This is non-negotiable. You can, however, pick out the bedroom sets and dressers, so we know what size mattress to get.”
“It’s too much.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Natalie, consider it a selfish gift. Selfish of me in so many ways. First, there’s the sex argument.”
“You’re confident that I’d let you in my bed.”
“I’m hopeful. Then there’s the work element. If you have what you need at home, then you’ll be happier at work. Now pick out the perfect bedroom set.”
“Are you going to commandeer a drawer?”
“Yes, for my blue shirt. Let’s get this done so they can deliver today.”
She huffed. “That will cost a fortune.”
“Think of all the money you saved me by shopping at a consignment store.”
She moved down the aisles of the bedroom sets. “I’ve never had my own set. I can’t remember ever having a dresser.”
“What do you use now?”
“Will and I have plastic bins.”
“Not good enough.” He moved to a simple shaker style bed made from solid hardwood. He knew it would be pricey, but it would last. “Do you like this one?”
She reached for the tag, but he stopped her from seeing it.
“Do you like it, or is there another one of equal quality that you like better?”
“I love it.”
He y
anked the tag free and shoved it into his pocket.
“Let’s get something awesome for Will.” He led her down the aisle.
They found a bunk bed set that had a full-sized bed on the bottom and a twin on top for sleepovers. When he outgrew the bunk bed part, they could dismantle it and leave the full-sized bed intact. It was the perfect bed for a growing boy. Jake pulled the tag, and they made their way to the front.
“Ring these up and put them on this card,” he told the owner. “I’ll pay what’s necessary to have them delivered today.”
Natalie fidgeted next to him. He knew it was overwhelming for her.
“My crew can be there at two.” The owner handed him his card and the receipt, which he shoved into his pocket before she could see it.
“Perfect. That gives us time to hit Costco again for more essentials.”
“What else could I need?”
“Oh sweetheart, there’s so much I could give you.” His comment was filled with innuendo.
“You’re way too much.”
He laughed. “I’ve been told.”
She slugged him in the arm as they walked out.
Two hours later, they parked in front of the house only to find bags and boxes of stuff on the porch.
“What the hell?” Natalie asked. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. Looks like you got bags of love.”
She burst into tears, and he pulled her into his arms. “I don’t deserve any of this. I’m so unworthy.”
“Hey,” he scolded. “You are worthy of this and more. Remember, love can’t enter a locked door. Open yourself up to it, and you’d be surprised at how worthy a recipient you’ll become.”
One Hundred Decisions (An Aspen Cove Small Town Romance Book 13) Page 13