“I understand all that. No one will question your credentials,” I said. “Besides, you’ll be working with Nick and Logan for a lot of the labor. I doubt you’ll have too much trouble with them.”
“I’m not worried about labor,” Callum replied. “I want your agreement that you’ll defer to me on matters of design.”
“Now, wait just a minute. I will not hand over full control to you, Cal. I’ve been planning this renovation for years. I know exactly what I want and how I want it.” My heart felt like it was beating hard enough it would come through the wall of my chest. I was so close to getting what I needed out of him; should I let something like this stop me?
“You may know what you want, but I know what’s accurate. I can agree not to make changes without your consent if you agree to the same.”
It wasn’t the best of compromises, but it was something I could work with. “All right, I can agree with that. Is that all?”
“One last thing.” He paused for so long I pulled the phone away from my ear to check if he was still on the line. “We can’t discuss that night. Ever.”
His last request hit me like a bullet to the chest. “Cal, we never had time to talk after—”
“We don’t talk about it, or I don’t take the job. It’s a deal-breaker for me.”
“Okay, Cal,” I said. Even though I worried my agreement would cause problems further down the road. “I have a meeting with the Historical Society at the end of this month. Will you be able to have plans ready by then?”
“It’ll be tight, but we’ll make it work.” Here, he paused again, and I couldn’t help wondering if there was something important he kept himself from saying when he took those breaks from the conversation. “My PA, Jolene Moore, will be in contact with the details and the contracts. The faster we can get through the paperwork, the faster we can get started.”
“Okay, I’ll respond as soon as I review them with my lawyer,” I said.
Callum laughed, and the sound was rusty and dry to my ears, like he wasn’t a man that laughed much. I hoped that wasn’t the case. Despite what had occurred between us, I had no animosity towards my former friend.
“Always cautious, weren’t you, Liv?” he said. “All right, have your lawyer check it out, but don’t delay too much. I have other projects lined up for early October, so we can’t fall behind.”
“Understood,” I said. “Thank you for taking the job, Cal. It means the world to me.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Liv. We have to get through this project without murdering each other. Then we can celebrate.”
* * *
Callum
I put the phone down on the counter and tossed back the last dredges of my whiskey. It’d taken two drinks just to get the courage to dial her number. Hopefully, by the time we started working together, I wouldn’t need the entire bottle to get through the day. I doubted Olivia wanted a drunk for an architect.
“Why didn’t you mention we’re already in town?”
I didn’t turn to look at Fabián and barely contained the urge to sneer. “What purpose would that have served?”
“The application made it sound like time was of the essence for her.”
“It is,” I agreed. I poured some more whiskey into my tumbler, then walked from the kitchen to the small living room of the rental cabin.
Fabián followed me into the living room. He perched on a chair across from my seat on the couch and stared at me with concern on his expressive face. “Don’t you think drawing things out and relying on liquid courage to talk to her are good indications that we should give up before we’re in too deep? Jo hasn’t sent the paperwork yet. There’s still time to back out.”
I ran a hand over my face, feeling more exhausted than I had in years. Part of it was talking to Olivia again, but the other part was just being in this place. I’d never felt like I fit in Eagle Creek. I’d always been interested in books and learning, unlike my athletic brothers. And now after years of living on the road and maintaining a home base in Brooklyn, the tiny Wisconsin town felt even more ill fitting.
“I want to see this through,” I muttered. “That house is the reason I went to RISD. I want to do something with all the knowledge I got from hours researching the original building.”
“Just promise me this isn’t about showing off to the girl that broke your heart in high school.”
Even as my stomach tightened at the mention of that night, I looked at Fabián and said, “It’s not.”
His eyes narrowed. “If this house is as rare and special as you say, then this could be a genuine opportunity to grow the channel. We’ve had that guy from the Home Channel stringing us along for months. This may finally get him to pull the trigger on a series.”
“I thought the same thing.”
“You know it’s going to fall apart if you let the past and this unresolved bullshit with Olivia get in the way,” Fab said in a voice that was harder than he’d ever used with me before. “You’ve come a long way from the kid that ran with his tail between his legs. Don’t let this place drag you back down.”
“I won’t,” I said and took another drink.
Fab looked pointedly at the glass in my hand. “You rarely drink, but that’s your fourth of the night. Do you really think it’s not getting to you already?”
I dropped the glass on the table. “Excuse me for being a little human. We can’t all be the good-time guy that walks through life completely unaffected. Yeah, I ran, but at least I’m trying to deal with my shit. Can you say the same?”
“Don’t turn this on me just because I’m right.” Fab waved a finger in my face; his mismatched silver rings flashed in the dim light. “Don’t forget I was there the night you saw her engagement pics online. I was the one who sat by your bed for hours, terrified you’d die, but too scared to take an underage kid to the hospital to get his stomach pumped.”
That night had been my lowest of lows. The sight of Olivia’s cheerful face as she flashed her ring to the camera had broken me. Fab and I had been alone in our dorm over winter break, the only two residents who’d remained on campus. He asked me to dinner and found me in a pile of my own puke.
My memories of that night were hazy, but the fear in his eyes as he watched over me was the reason I’d finally gone to therapy. Until then, I’d assumed everyone had a hard time getting over their first love, but with the help of Dr. Harris, I’d learned a lot about why people-pleasers like me had a hard time moving on from things. With his help, I’d worked to identify my triggers and cope with my need to control my world.
“You’re not that kid anymore,” Fab continued in a softer voice. “Please don’t let that kid’s problems ruin all the good you’ve built.”
I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. What else could I say? He was right. My words slurred, thanks to the whiskey. “Is it wrong to want to show this town how much I’ve changed?”
“No,” Fabián said in a voice gone soft with compassion. He stood up from his chair to sit on the coffee table in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders. “But why now? Why not when your parents asked you back for their fortieth anniversary, or the grand opening of your brother’s bar, or your great uncle’s funeral, or–”
“I don’t know.”
“Bullshit.” Fab’s glare made me feel like a bug on a pin. “You avoid that town any time there’s even a tiny chance you’d run into the girl.”
“It’s not about her. I’ve moved on. Are you forgetting Molly?”
Fab leaned back as he laughed. “Yeah, I remember how you strung the poor thing along.”
“Okay, fair. But how about Frankie? I didn’t string her along.”
“No, because the minute it got serious, you bailed,” replied Fab. “Heaven forbid your girlfriend wanted to move in together.”
“We’d only been dating six months!�
�
Fab rolled his eyes. “Cal, you date no one over six months. It’s like you set a timer or something.”
“Enough,” I groaned and sunk back into my chair.
“Has everything you’ve done since you left been about her?” Leave it to Fabián, the insightful bastard, to dig down to the one question I asked myself almost daily. Fab seemed to understand my confusion, because he smiled and patted my knee. “Don’t answer me now, but you need to decide when it will be enough.”
He stood up from the coffee table and stretched his arms over his head and gave an exaggerated groan. “You think about that tonight, yea? I’m gonna head to bed. Whatever you decide in the morning is what we’ll do.”
Shame made my skin feel hot and tight, like a sunburn. “Fabián, I’m sorry for dragging you here. I just–”
“There was no dragging, Cal. You’re my best friend. I would have come even if you told me not to.” Then he winked and sauntered out of the room like a dramatic diva leaving the stage.
In my head, I knew Fab was right. But I’d spent many years of my life worrying about what the people of Eagle Creek, and especially Olivia Van Ess, thought about me. I’d stopped going to therapy years ago because I’d no longer felt the need, but maybe that had been a huge mistake. Maybe I should call Dr. Harris and see if he’d do a session over the phone.
Or maybe I should just get the fuck out of Eagle Creek.
Chapter 5
Olivia
There were panties on the lawn.
Bright thongs, hipsters, and boy shorts littered the grass like sprinkles on a cupcake. I gave serious thought to having a breakdown right on my front porch. But I had too much pride to let a silly thing like my unmentionables in the yard get me down.
Besides, it wasn’t my neighborhood anymore.
“Oh shit,” Ruby breathed, then turned to me with a horrified look. “I’ll take care of it.”
Before I could assure her it was okay, she dashed down the walk and shooed away her fiancé, Gray, and his friend, Hunter, from the mess in my yard, and ran around picking up my under things.
“I’ve never seen your front yard look this festive, Liv,” Lucy said as she came out the front door carrying an arm full of clothes on hangers. “What happened?”
“The guys dropped some boxes,” I muttered as I watched Ruby snatch up my underwear while she scolded the two men. I laughed when she wagged a finger at Hunter, who’d been snickering, and the big man started backing up like he feared her.
“I love when she puts them in their places. They never take me as seriously as they do her,” Lucy said, and I noticed there was a hint of jealousy in her voice.
Ever since Gray and Hunt had purchased Lucy’s family business, I’d watched Lucy battle mood swings bigger than a Telenovela actress. Between the loss of her brother at a young age and losing her family business to Jonah’s best friends, Lucy was dealing with a lot. So I tried not to put too much pressure on her to act a certain way.
At least she’d adjusted her attitude toward Ruby. Lucy had spent most of the last winter acting like the younger woman was part of the problem. I’d pulled Luce aside after Thanksgiving to make her see reason. And she was making good headway. But the lingering jealousy of Ruby’s relationship with Lucy’s long-time crush, Hunter, was still problematic.
“Maybe if you cooled it with the brat persona,” I said. “They’d treat you like an adult.”
Lucy laughed and tossed her head, causing her short golden curls to dance around her head like a shimmering halo. “Now, why would I do a thing like that?”
She winked at me, then walked off the porch and down the sidewalk, her strut even more exaggerated than usual, and said something to Ruby that had her laughing. Lucy used her bratty pin-up persona like a weapon, one that I wasn’t sure she needed. But she wouldn’t shake it, and I didn’t have time to think about that now. I had a house to clear out and a tiny trailer to move into.
I turned to go back into the house and grab the last of the boxes in my bedroom. As soon as we read the will, I knew I had to sell my house. So I started packing immediately and finished well before the closing date. I only had a few odds and ends to deal with.
Leaving my pretty little bungalow was a hard decision, but between the cost of the renovation at the Van Ess House and my innate need to micromanage, I’d decided I needed to move on site. Then Nick reminded me the home was not fit for me to live in, and it had forced me to make another plan.
Enter Hunter and his fifth-wheel trailer.
“Are you positive you don’t want to move in with me?” Lucy asked as she breezed into the room and grabbed another armload of clothes. “There’s barely any room in that trailer. You’ll have to put over half your life in storage.”
I shrugged and slapped tape on a box filled with shoes. “It’s going in the carriage house, for now. It’s not like it will be on the moon.”
“You’ll be by yourself out there.”
“And I was alone here. What’s your point?” I went to the closet and pulled down another box to check its contents.
“It’s different being alone in a house in a neighborhood and being alone in a trailer next to an abandoned house in the woods,” Lucy snapped and tossed the mass of clothes on the bed.
“Are we really having this conversation again?” I said and looked up from the box I was inspecting.
“We’re going to keep having it if you insist on staying in that tin can in the middle of nowhere.” Lucy put her hands on her hips and shot daggers at me. “We’re also going to talk about the big secret you’ve been keeping.”
A headache was forming at the base of my skull, and every part of my body felt exhausted from the long day of hauling boxes. I was out of patience, and Lucy was plucking at my last nerve.
“I don’t have time for this today, Luce,” I said, willing her to understand how close to the breaking point I was. “I need to get this house cleared out today, so we can close tomorrow. I promise you can yell at me all you want tomorrow after my appointment at the title company.”
Lucy’s blood-red lips, her signature color, pursed in a pout. “Fine, but you’re going to provide me with wine and that artichoke dip I love as payment for delaying this conversation again.”
I laughed. “Fine. Now, can you please get those clothes into the moving truck and head over to the house with the others? I’ll be right behind you all in my car.”
“You sure you don’t want me to wait?” She scooped up the clothes she’d dropped on the bed. I had to bite my lip from complaining about the disordered mess she’d made of the stack.
“I’ll be fine. I just have this box and the kitchen stuff I used for breakfast to pack up, and we’re done for the day.”
“Okay, but if you don’t show up in an hour, I’m coming back to check on you,” Lucy said, and headed out the door.
Finally, the house went silent, and I was alone for the first time since seven this morning. On a sigh, I let my eyes wander around the nearly empty room. The bed was the last of the big furniture; Ruby and Gray were taking it home later tonight. The only thing left was the miscellaneous box in front of me.
The pretty lilac walls and white trim of my bedroom lowered my stress, as I’d intended when I picked the color. I’d kept a brave face for my friends, but today, the Van Ess name and the responsibility of owning the house felt like a weight around my ankles. If only I could just snap my fingers and the mess of renovation and disbursing Rose’s “gift” would be over.
I cursed the old woman’s name for what felt like the hundredth time since her death. I was used to Rose stirring the pot to get what she wanted out of life, but this “gift” to the town was more like an anchor weighing me down. I had to not only balance my own goals and career, but now I had to sit on the board with four other people and field the requests of the town. We hadn’t had our first
meeting, and already I was dreading the requests that would come in.
I took the last two boxes downstairs and walked through the house, checking to make sure they had taken everything out. The cleaning company would arrive within the hour, and by this time tomorrow, my bungalow on Beale Street would belong to another family. I touched my clover charm necklace, a gift from my cousin Priscilla, and said a little prayer in my head that the next family would find peace and joy in the house. Then I walked out the front door for the last time.
And found a ghost from the past on my front walk.
* * *
The sounds of the party seeped into the boathouse loft, even though I’d closed the doors and windows to get some peace from my classmates. I’d never intended the party to get out of hand, but when word got out that there was a party on the grounds of the empty Van Ess House, it seemed like every teen in a fifty-mile radius showed up.
When the twenty-somethings showed up with booze, I hid.
“How did I know I’d find you here?”
I looked up from my battered copy of Twilight to see Callum Waite standing at the top of the ladder. He’d changed from his graduation clothes into a pair of tattered jeans, sneakers, and a black Sex Pistols t-shirt. His soft waves looked scattered, like he’d just run his hand through them, and his eyes looked wary.
And he was just as tempting as the sparkly vampires in my book.
“Peter put the word out about the party. Things got too loud for me.”
“Figures this would be his doing,” Callum said with a snort, and walked further into the loft to sit on the couch opposite of my favorite reading chair. “Too bad Liam’s not on leave. He’d fix this.”
“Yeah, then he’d kick my ass for planning the party.” I rolled my eyes and closed the book on my lap.
“That’s what older brothers are for, getting you out of trouble then giving you hell for having the idea.”
To Be With You Page 4