Spicy Coffee, Sweet Love (A Contemporary Young Adult Romance)

by Andrews, Anna

  She smiled, and they continued walking again. "Well, I know you have a sister, Holly. Do you have any other siblings?"

  Cody shook his head. "Nope. See, boring."

  India giggled. "Okay, so no other siblings. What about other family members? Parents? Grandparents? Nieces? Nephews? Cousins?"

  Cody's cell phone suddenly interrupted them, and he saw Holly's name flash across the call display. "Funny you should mention cousins…" he said vaguely. "I've gotta answer this, Indie. Give me a moment?"

  She nodded, and he let go of her hand taking a few steps away from her so he was out of earshot.

  "Hi, Sis! How are you? I love you! Have you heard from Greg?"

  Holly laughed on the other end. "I love you too, Bro. He loved the drawings and the job's India's if she wants it. He said her work was extremely impressive."

  For the first time in many years Cody actually performed a fist pump as he hissed "Yes!" under his breath. Then he said, "Holly, you're brilliant for setting that up. Thank-you!"

  "He wants her to call him, and he says she can start on the tenth of September. She's working from home, so she can work her own hours just so long as she gets the projects done by his deadlines."

  "Alright, I'll let her know. Did he say when she needed to call by? It's just her dad died yesterday and…"

  "Oh no!"

  Cody appreciated the genuine concern in Holly's voice for someone she'd never met.

  "Yeah," he said. "It's been really tough. She was really close to him. The funeral is on Thursday."

  "I'm sure he'd understand if she wants to wait until after that to call him. Do you want me to let him know?"

  "Let me talk to her first. I'll call you tomorrow, okay? She's waiting for me right now; we're out for a walk."

  "Enjoy."

  "Thanks, Hol. Have a goodnight."

  "You, too."

  He hung up and returned to India's side. She looked at him curiously.

  "Was that your cousin then?"

  "No, it was Holly."

  She frowned. "But when you answered it, you said something about your cousin."

  Cody laughed. "She was phoning about our cousin. His name's Greg. And in answer to your questions, he has a younger brother Greyson, also my cousin obviously. My parents live two cities over. I have one set of living grandparents, and they live on the other side of the country. I have aunts and uncles, but I don't know them that well. My extended family is sorta spread out, living all over the place. We all get along; we just don't see each other more than once every few years."

  "Is there something going on with your cousin Greg, then, that she phoned about?" India asked, persistent in knowing more about Cody.

  Cody hesitated and then thought he should probably tell her while she was asking.

  "Greg works in construction," he began cautiously, watching her reaction. "His company has grown pretty big as he's really talented at it, but he's not much of an artist, so he hires other people to design the places he's building. He's looking for someone new to work for him. Basically, he wants someone that can work from home since he doesn't have a real office."

  "Like designing houses and then sending it to him?" Cody saw the interest spark in her eyes and smiled. He nodded and didn't say anything else, waiting for her with amusement as she shuffled her weight from one foot to the other nervously. He knew she was hesitant to ask.

  "Maybe, do you think…" then she sighed. "But you probably have to have certain experience or have taken certain classes for him to hire you, right?"

  Cody shrugged. "I imagine it could help get someone a job, but he doesn't require it. He's just looking for someone whose work he likes. He wants to build unique looking places that set him apart from other construction workers. He doesn't just build the frame; he's got people under him who paint the place, put in counter tops, etc., so when it's done the person has the full package and only has had to hire one company. Greg is looking for someone with an eye for detail and colors and designs."

  "That makes sense," she replied. Cody knew she really wanted to try for the job, but he also knew she was scared to ask him, probably because it was his cousin. He squeezed her hand and decided to quit teasing her.

  "Anyway, Holly had been helping him out I guess, and she called to say she'd sent him some drawings she'd seen, and he was extremely impressed by them. He's willing to hire the artist on the spot without even talking to her, provided she wants the job. I have to admit, I've seen the drawings, too, and they are excellent. I'd have hired the girl too, if, you know, I was in the house building business."

  "Oh," India replied, looking a bit disappointed. "Do you think she'll take the job?"

  "I think so. She's obviously interested in that sort of thing. I hope she will because she'd be a huge asset to Greg's company. She's just what he's looking for. She's such a sweetheart, too; I know he'll love having her on his team."

  "I thought you hadn't met her."

  "Greg hasn't met her. I have. She's done work for me in the past, and those are the designs that Holly sent to him. Here, I'll show you."

  He stopped walking and let go of her hand to pull out his wallet. Then he unfolded the pictures of his dream house that India had drawn. "See," he said as handed them to her. "She's really quite talented."

  India stared at the drawings in confusion for a moment before it suddenly sunk in. Her eyes widened as she looked at him. "Are you serious?"

  Cody chuckled. "Of course! You didn't really think I'd have Holly recommend someone else to him when you're looking for a job, did you?"

  "And he's already said I can have the job?"

  Cody nodded. "He wants you to phone him at some point, but yeah, he said you could have the job."

  India flung her arms around his neck.

  Admittedly, she was nervous. India knew that Cody had assured her the job was hers, that the phone call was more to find out about the job than a proper interview, but her hands still shook as she stared at the number on the piece of paper in her hands. When Cody had told her about the job last night, she'd been ecstatic. Now, though, Cody was at work, and she was left to herself to let her imagination run wild. She imagined situations where she made such a bad impression on Greg that he not only took back the job offer but convinced Cody to break up with her. They were cousins after all. She hadn't met any of Cody's family yet, unless you counted the text she'd received from Holly. Finally, she took a deep breath and decided that delaying the call wouldn't change the outcome.

  "Guess what?" India greeted Cody with a smile when he let himself into her house that evening.

  "What?"

  "Your cousin hired me."

  Cody laughed. "That would be terrific news if it was news at all. You do realize it was me who told you that, right?"

  She nodded. "I know but now I've talked to him, and it feels more official."

  "Glad to be working again?"

  "Well, I didn't really have much of a break," she giggled, "but it's definitely one less thing to worry about. Cody, listen, I was thinking…"

  She was interrupted by the phone ringing, and Cody sighed.

  "Is that thing still ringing off the hook?"

  She nodded and picked it up. Six phone calls and three hours later, she had completely forgotten about their conversation. Cody was looking tired, despite the fact that he was still being supportive of her. When she hung up the phone for the last time, she smiled at him apologetically.

  "Everyone wants to know when the funeral is, and where, and if we're accepting flowers or donations, and if they can speak. Then when they get me on the phone, they want to tell me all their memories of my dad. I don't feel like I can cut them off. It's not that I don't want to hear the stories. I'd love to learn every little memory people have of him, but I'm exhausted."

  Cody hugged her. "Turn your ringer off again and get some sleep, Indie."

  She nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You should go home and get some sleep yourself. I know
you're tired too, Code."

  He nodded but held her close for another ten minutes or so before finally saying goodnight and taking his leave.

  The next couple of days passed pretty much the same way. Cody thought to himself that he would be relieved when the funeral was over, and India could actually get a proper night's sleep. He spent as much time with her as he could, but he was still working full time, too. The phone calls were still plentiful, but they had eased up a little bit, and he was thankful for that. When he wasn't with India, he found himself on the phone a lot himself, mostly with Greg.

  The day of the funeral itself was a bit of a whirlwind, he found. India's siblings and their kids and even her mother had flown in the morning of the funeral and now they were all staying at her house. He'd called her and asked if she needed some help, but she said she'd prefer to meet him at the chapel because there was just too much going on at the moment, and she couldn't handle anymore. Cody respected that. When he arrived on the site though, he'd barely stepped out of the car before he found her arms around him. She looked pale and shaky.

  "Indie, are you okay?" he asked, shutting the car door.

  "It's just been too much," she whispered, tears flowing down her face freely. "I kept wanting to phone you and tell you to come and get me and bring me to your house to get ready instead, but I knew that would be rude. I'm just tired Cody, and I miss him so, so much."

  "I know," Cody said, kissing her head.

  "Cody, remember when I ran away from you at my work party?"

  Cody nodded. "Yes, of course. It was only a week ago."

  She looked genuinely surprised. "It feels like so much longer. So much has happened since then. But I just wanted to say that I'm so glad I did it, Cody. It was because of that night you even got the chance to meet my dad."

  "That's true," Cody responded. "That being said, I'm still rather hoping you don't run off and hide from me on any of our future dates."

  India chuckled. "I don't plan on it. But come on, we'd better go inside. My family wants to meet you."

  There was actually a lot of family to meet, and Cody felt a bit badly when he couldn't remember half their names or how they were related or even if they were related by the end of the day. Still, India didn't seem to expect him to, and the service itself was really nice, he thought. India's siblings both spoke at it, but India didn't. She'd decided that she'd never be able to make it through a speech and told Cody that she'd already said goodbye in her own private way while he was still alive. She didn't feel the need to do it again in front of everyone. A few people commented that she should have said something, but most of them seemed to respect her decision.

  Cody had actually taken the Friday off work, too, and he was glad he did. India's visitors were spending the night with her before leaving on Friday morning to go back to their real lives. He had a feeling she'd need him even more once they all left. Himself, he went home early, stopping for some fancy coffee on the way, wanting to give her the space she needed while her guests were there.

  It was around two in the morning that Cody's cell phone rang, waking him out of a deep and well-needed sleep. He saw her number and picked up immediately.

  "Indie, what is it?"

  "I can't take it," she said. "There's too many of them. It'd be okay on a happy occasion, but I'm not even getting to properly grieve myself. Now they're just talking about the will and inheritances and other than the kids, no one has even gone to bed yet."

  "Do you want me to come over, Indie?" He heard her chuckle.

  "No, there's no point. I'm at your front door. You could let me in, though."

  Cody jumped out of bed, throwing on a robe as he did so, and hurriedly went to let her in, pulling her immediately into his arms after he'd shut the door behind her.

  "I take it they don't know you've left?" Cody asked her after letting her cry into his arms for a long time.

  She shook her head. "No, I told them I was going to bed and snuck out. I've left a note in my room in case they actually look for me and worry. Cody, can I crash on your couch for tonight?"

  Cody nodded and set her up with a blanket and pillow. When he sat on the edge of the couch to kiss her goodnight, she caught his hand suddenly. "Cody, you've done a lot for me. You know I'm not trying to use you, right? I don't want you to feel taken advantage of. It won't be like this all the time once things settle down again."

  "I know, Indie," he told her sincerely. "Stop fretting and get some sleep."

  "I just feel bad about it is all."

  Cody sat down on the edge of the couch, rubbing her hand between his. "Indie, you believe me when I tell you that I love you, don't you?"

  "Yeah, I actually do."

  Cody grinned at her. "Then you should realize that I actually enjoy helping you out and doing things for you."

  She let out a huge yawn in response, and Cody chuckled as he released her hand and kissed her forehead again before leaving the room so she could sleep.

  Chapter 9. Epilogue

  By Saturday, things seemed a bit more settled. India had her house back to herself. It'd been a full week since her father had passed away, and she knew that Cody had the bed removed from the field as she'd seen it back in his guest room at one point. She felt relieved that he hadn't asked her to help carry it. She was getting to the point where she felt she could go out star gazing with him again if he asked her to but so far he hadn't, which actually surprised her a bit. She remembered suddenly that she had been about to tell him something a few days ago when the phone had interrupted. She picked up her cell phone to give him a call, and he answered on the first ring.

  "Hey, Indie."

  "Cody, I was just thinking about something."

  "Me too," he said. "I'm always thinking. Right now, I'm thinking that I'd love a fancy coffee."

  She giggled. "That's what you're always thinking. I was thinking maybe you might, one day, if you want, be able to afford your dream house if I helped you."

  There was silence on the other end for a moment before he said, "What do you mean by ‘help’, Indie?"

  "Well, like, if we had both our incomes, once I worked for your cousin, we could sell our places and then maybe…."

  "Live together you mean."

  She nodded and then realized he couldn't see her. "Yeah, I mean, you weren't opposed to it when you saw my house plans and everything."

  She heard him sigh and wondered if she'd been wrong to bring it up, but he spoke quickly. "Listen, Indie, We'll talk about it at some point when we can talk in person, okay? I'm actually here now, in the field I mean, just strolling around and thinking…"

  "About fancy coffee."

  It was Cody's turn to laugh. "Yes, thinking about fancy coffee. You wouldn't feel like bringing me some, would you?"

  "I'll be right there," she promised.

  The first thing India noticed was the trucks parked outside the field. She managed to squeeze her car in between them. Cody was at her side the instant she stepped out.

  "Cody? What's going on?"

  "Do you have my coffee?"

  She nodded and handed it to him. He took a whiff of it and then a sip before taking her hand.

  "C'mon," he said, leading her across the way. "I'll show you."

  They'd barely taken a few steps when a man suddenly came walking towards them, and India guessed it was the owner of one of the trucks. Cody grinned, tugging at her hand.

  "India, this is my cousin Greg. Greg, this is your new employee India."

  Greg smiled at her, and India dropped Cody's hand to take his offered one, shaking it firmly, but with a puzzled glance Cody's way.

  "Holly failed to mention that you're dating my cousin," Greg said with a laugh, having obviously noticed their joined hands. "No wonder she put it a good word for you. Nice to meet the talented India. Are you going to live here with him then?"

  India turned to Cody, wondering what he meant. Cody smiled at her.

  "I've been thinking about what you sa
id the other day about the mortgage and all that, Indie. I have to skip on the stables and pool for now, but I thought maybe I could afford to build the place after all. Then Greg here offered to build it for the price of supplies and the amount he pays his employees, so I jumped at the chance."

  "You're building it?" India replied in shock. Another worker showed up suddenly with some questions for Greg, and Cody took advantage of his cousin's distraction to lead India further across the field where they could talk in private.

  "Yeah. The guys actually started yesterday. Right now, it's a giant hole that they are filling with cement and wood to build the foundation. I'm afraid it means we won't be able to go stargazing for a while, though. At least not right in that spot, but the land is big."

  She suddenly looked a bit disappointed, and Cody thought it was about the stargazing until she spoke.

  "So, you don't need my income to help build it then?"

  Cody knew it wasn't a question of income so much as one about whether or not he still wanted her living there with him.

  "Well, I can do this on my own, India, but if I had your income too, we could pay it down quicker and work on that stable and pool for you."

  Her eyes lit up. "So you want me to sell my place and live here, too? You're okay with that?"

  "It's your dream too, Indie. I've known that since I first saw the work you put into those drawings."

  She felt too overwhelmed to speak so instead she threw her arms around him in a hug, and Cody kissed her tenderly.

  "Oi! Lovebirds!" Greg's voice suddenly floated up to them. "Foundation’s been poured. Did you still want to write in it?"

  "What's he talking about?" India asked as she pulled away.

  "I told him I wanted to write something in the foundation of the house where it'd be set in concrete. You've gotta do it before it dries."

  "Brilliant, I love that idea," India replied as they moved over to the construction site. "What are you going to write?"

  Cody thought for a moment before grabbing a stick and leaning down over the ledge of the hole to make his design. India read it slowly along with him as he wrote: India and Cody's Dream House. Built with a love that's even stronger than fancy coffee. September 1st 2012. Dedicated to Wayne Fisher. India could've cried when she read the dedication. Cody signed it as best he could underneath, though it was admittedly quite difficult writing with a stick in cement, and it didn't look quite like his signature. Then he handed it to India so she could sign, too.