by Laura Drewry
She pointed to the ceiling in the living room where the dangling light had been removed altogether. The fridge and stove had been pulled out and shoved into the middle of the living room, directly below where the light had been, along with the toilet, bathtub, and sink.
Nick pointed at what appeared to be rolls of duct tape wrapped around the old fridge and stove. “Why?”
“Because,” she frowned. “You hear all those horror stories of kids playing around them and getting trapped inside.”
“When?” he laughed. “When do you hear those stories?”
“I don’t know,” she blushed. “But it happens, so I thought a little duct tape would do the trick.”
“A little?” As he dodged her swat, he caught sight of his old Coleman cooler in the corner. “Please tell me there’s food in there.”
“Of course,” she laughed. “Can’t have my laborers fading from lack of carbs, can I?”
“That’s my—” He stopped short of calling her his girl. A couple of days ago, he wouldn’t have thought twice about saying it, but now, thanks to Delmar, he was second-guessing it.
The cooler was full of cold drinks, fruit, and buns stuffed with ham, Swiss cheese, and all kinds of rabbit food. He took a big bite out of one and cracked a beer, then he just sat himself down on the floor and watched Jayne putter around the tiny apartment.
“Did you see the baby today?” she called over her shoulder as she climbed onto the counter. With the cupboards hanging where they were, all he could see were her legs, from ankle to knee, as she walked along the counter top.
“Yeah,” he mumbled over his mouthful. “What are you doing?”
“Cleaning the window.”
He stuffed the garbage in his pocket, then grabbed a second bun. By the time he made it to the kitchen, she’d scooted back around and was straddling the sink, window cleaner in one hand, rag in the other, her toes tapping along to what sounded like an old Journey song.
Nick shook his head at her. “Can I get you a ladder?”
“No, this is better,” she said, stretching to reach the top of the window she’d just resprayed with cleaner. “I’m too far away when I use the ladder.”
Her T-shirt pulled up a little when she stretched, giving Nick a peek at her skin, from her waist to halfway up her rib cage.
Crap.
“Right.” He turned on his heel and headed straight for the bathroom, even as Jayne continued to talk.
“So how’s the baby?”
“Gets cuter every day.”
“Not that you’re biased or anything. What did you buy her today?”
“Nothing much.” He flipped on the light in the bathroom and studied the bared framework. “Just a stuffed elephant.”
“Wow,” she mocked. “Such restraint. I’m impressed.”
“Impressed enough that you’d run downstairs and grab the screw gun for me?” She was already halfway down the stairs before he called after her. “Bring the extension cord, too!”
Things banged around for a few seconds before she hustled back up the stairs. She attached the gun to the long orange extension cord, handed it to Nick, then stood there, looking at him expectantly.
“What can I do?”
“I got this. Just keep on doing your thing.”
“But I don’t have a thing,” she said. “I need to wait until you guys are done doing your things, then I can clean and paint. Until then, I’m all yours, so put me and my super cool tool belt to work.”
“Okay,” he said, lifting his sandwich. “Let me finish this first.”
While he ate, he moved around the apartment, scanning the rest of the walls. Kyle and Todd had done most of the high boards, which left Nick with the lower half of the walls, and Jayne could help with that. The music stopped for a while and when it started again, he turned to find her grinning at him. Okay, it was really more of a smirk, and she added an eye roll, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was she’d finally turned off her eighties music and turned on some good country music.
“Hey, red solo cup is cheap and disposable, in fourteen years, they are decomposable …”
“Oh my God,” she laughed. “Seriously?”
“Guy’s a genius.” He waggled his brow and tossed her a pencil and a piece of broken gypsum board. “Need you to write down some measurements.”
Starting in the bathroom, Jayne scribbled down the measurements Nick called out to her. As they worked, he hummed along to all the songs, and when a George Strait ballad came on, it was all Nick could do not to dance Jayne around the kitchen. Not that there was space to dance, but still. Maybe he could add on to her apartment, make it bigger.
Or maybe he could find something horribly wrong with it so she’d be forced to stay with him a little longer.
It was just a thought.
* * *
There was nothing to do now but wait for the final inspection and hope for the best.
In the meantime, the least she could do was make Nick and Lisa dinner to thank them for everything. Lisa offered to bring something, but Jayne insisted she would do it all, then spent two hours running around town gathering everything she’d need.
Lisa arrived promptly at six just as Jayne finished setting the table.
“Can I help?”
“You can open the wine if you like.” Jayne handed her the corkscrew and a couple glasses and tried not to stare at the clock. Where was Nick? Duke waddled up and nudged Lisa’s leg, looking for a little attention, but instead of reaching down to pat him, she moved away.
Right. Allergies.
“Come on, Duke.” Jayne gave a little whistle and led him over to his pillow in Nick’s room. “Sorry, buddy, but you have to stay in here for a while.”
Granted, his big droopy eyes made him look a little pathetic at the best of times, but Jayne could have sworn he moped.
One and a half glasses of wine later, Nick still hadn’t arrived.
“I’ll give him a call.” Lisa pulled out her phone but immediately frowned. “Weird. It went straight to voice mail.”
The words still hung in the air when Jayne’s phone buzzed on the coffee table.
“Hello? Hey, Delmar, is everything okay? Oh yeah, sure, that’s fine. Thanks for calling.” She hung up and turned to Lisa. “The battery died on Nick’s phone, but he’s going to be a little while, so we may as well eat without him.”
“I don’t mind waiting.”
Really? Jayne wanted to scream. At least if they were eating, it would give them something to do besides stare at each other. She showed Lisa the pictures of Sophia, and while Lisa smiled and awwed over each one, she didn’t waste any time handing them back to Jayne.
“You’ve been so great about me staying here,” Jayne said. “I really appreciate it.”
“It’s fine. Completely fine.” She ran her polished fingernail around the base of her glass. “I guess you’ll be glad to be in your own place, though.”
It was all Jayne could do not to choke on her wine. Fine, my ass, she mused. Fine was nothing but another four-letter F-bomb as far as she was concerned, but Lisa had been great about everything, so if she wanted to be a little passive-aggressive now, she’d certainly earned it.
“Yeah,” Jayne said. “As soon as I get the thumbs-up from Hague tomorrow, I’ll start moving my stuff over there.”
“That’s great. Let me know if I can help.”
“Thanks, that’s very sweet.” Jayne excused herself to go check on the lasagnas, but all she wanted to do was hide her smirk. Pretty little Lisa had some claws after all, subtle as they were. Good for her.
Half an hour later, Lisa finally cracked. “Maybe we should go ahead and eat.”
Thankful for something to do again, Jayne pulled the pine nut salad out of the fridge, refilled their wine glasses, then pulled the vegetarian lasagna out of the warming oven and set it on the table next to the salad. Nick could have the meat lasagna when he got home.
“I’ve never made vegetarian lasagna before, so
I hope this is okay.” She motioned toward the chair closest to Lisa. “Have a seat, I’ll just get the Parmesan.”
“Um, Jayne.” Lisa set her glass down but hesitated behind her chair. “I’m allergic to cheese.”
Jayne froze in midturn from the fridge. “You’re what?”
Lisa nodded slowly, her lips sucked in behind her teeth for a second before she moved her gaze to the salad. “And nuts.”
“No,” Jayne groaned, smacking the bowl of Parmesan down on the island. “Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I was,” Lisa answered. “Because it looks delicious.”
“Oh my … ugh … I had no idea, Lisa, I’m so sorry.” Panic jittered through her veins as she yanked open the fridge door again. “Give me a minute—there must be something else here I can make … a regular salad … a rice dish. I’m going to kill Nick. Why wouldn’t he tell me about this?”
“He doesn’t know.” A shy smile spread across Lisa’s face. “He knows about the nuts, but I never told him about the cheese.”
“Why not?” Jayne searched the fridge and freezer as she spoke. Nothing.
Lisa chewed her bottom lip, effectively ruining her perfect lipstick. “Because it … it gives me gas … and I didn’t want to tell him that.”
“Oh.” Jayne stuck her head deep into the cupboard, biting back the laugh pressing for release. She couldn’t laugh, not when Lisa’s chuckle sounded so clearly mortified. Seriously, Nick, had he never heard of quinoa? What about a simple box of rice?
“Don’t worry about it, Jayne, I doubt Nick’s kitchen had ever seen a vegetable before you moved in, so I doubt there’s much here to make. I think I’ll just go, but I’m sorry you went to all this trouble.”
“No trouble at all,” Jayne finally managed. “And don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”
She stood on Nick’s front porch, waved after his girlfriend, then went back into his bedroom to rescue his dog. Duke was right where she’d left him, curled up on his cushion, looking as pathetic as a basset hound ever had. He didn’t even lift his head when she lay down beside him.
“Don’t be mad; she’s allergic, what was I supposed to do?” She kissed his nose and scratched behind both ears, but Duke just stared at her, his jowls all pushed up from the cushion. “Maybe you should come live with me; wouldn’t that be great?”
“Not for me.” Nick’s voice made her jump. He stood in the doorway, his eyes crinkled in a smile, but Jayne wasn’t fooled. He’d been working up to eighteen hours a day for over a week; the man was exhausted.
“Jeez,” she breathed. “You scared me.” She scratched Duke’s ears again, then pushed to her feet as Nick inhaled deeply. “You could have told me Lisa was allergic to nuts.”
“Nuts? I thought you were making lasagna.”
“I did, but, uh …” She inhaled slowly. “Some of the nuts … I don’t know … she couldn’t eat any of it.”
“So what did she eat?”
“Nothing.” The smile came easily. “She was a champ about it though. Great girl.”
“Yeah, she is.” Nick didn’t smile when he said it, just slumped against the door frame. “Does that mean there’s lots left? Because I could eat the north end of a southbound skunk right about now.”
Jayne couldn’t help it; her hand moved as though it had a mind of its own and ruffled his drywall-dust covered hair, making it stand out even more.
“Give me a couple minutes to warm it up.”
He didn’t respond, just turned and shuffled behind her out toward the couch. It couldn’t have been two minutes later when the snoring started; quiet at first, then slowly building until each new snort made poor old Duke start.
With the pasta warming, Jayne took what was left of her wine out to the living room. She’d give him a couple more minutes before she woke him. How could he possibly be comfortable? It looked as though he’d tripped over the table and landed face-first on the couch.
A few minutes turned into ten, then twenty. She turned off the oven and cracked the door a little to vent the heat, then returned to the recliner to watch Nick sleep. In a few short days, everything would be different again. She’d be in her own apartment and he’d be here.
It was a five-minute drive between the two places, yet it suddenly felt like five eons.
How ridiculous was it that even as she sat almost right beside him, she was already lonely? Already missing him? He’d taken her in and given her a home, a friend, and a family; once she moved out, she’d still have that, just not like it was now.
She wouldn’t come home to him every night; wouldn’t have him to talk to, or to watch stupid SportsCenter with.
With the exception of her time with Barry, she’d spent most of the last dozen years living alone and loving it, and yet less than a month with Nick made her dread living without him. Nick might not have heard Todd’s comment at the store last week, but Jayne had, and even though she thought Todd was a total prick, his comment did drive home a valid point.
Nick had put his life on hold for Jayne and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by anyone.
“Hey.” Nick’s drowsy voice brought her focus back to his face; to his eyes, barely opened, his stubbled cheeks, and his slow, sleepy smile.
God, she was going to miss him.
“What time is it?”
Jayne glanced over the back of the chair to the clock in the kitchen. “Almost nine thirty.”
“What?” He sat upright. “Did I miss dinner again?”
“Nope, it’s in the oven.” She pushed out of the chair as Nick scrubbed his face with his hands and stretched.
“You should’ve woken me up.”
“What for? Food’s not going anywhere.”
“Smells good.” His voice came from almost right behind her, sending a long shiver down her spine. “I’m starving.”
“Shocking.” She shooed him out of the room and pointed toward the bathroom. “Go wash your hands and I’ll get it on the table.”
When he was out of sight, she leaned back against the island and blew out a quiet breath. Get a grip, Jayne. You knew you were going to have to leave at some point.
Of course she knew it, and of course she was being ridiculous, but she couldn’t help it.
While he ate, she warmed the pie in the oven, sending the aromas of apple and cinnamon wafting through the room. Nick plowed through three pieces of lasagna before he finally stopped long enough to take a breath and swig some of his beer.
She took his plate and set the entire pie on a hot pad in front of him with a clean fork.
“The whole thing?”
“Help yourself, sunshine.”
To his credit, he did hesitate before diving in, but once started, he didn’t stop until half of it was good and gone. Jayne started to load the dishwasher, but Nick took her hand and half dragged her toward the couch, where he pulled her down to sit beside him.
“What’s up?” he asked, crossing his feet on the table. His socks were all loose and floppy, hanging lopsided over his toes.
“Nothing,” she lied.
“Tell me.” Why did his voice have to be so soft? “Are you mad ’cause I missed the first dinner then slept through the second?”
“Oh, please. I’m not that much of a girl.”
“If you say so.” He laughed quietly and nudged her shoulder with his. “So what’s up then?”
“Nothing.” She pushed off the couch and went straight back to the kitchen where she yanked a beer out of the fridge, cracked it open, and guzzled straight from the bottle. Smooth, Jayne. Real smooth.
“Doesn’t look like nothing to me.” Nick leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest.
She swallowed what was in her mouth, grimaced against the taste, and set the bottle on the island, but didn’t release it.
“It’s ridiculous.” She stared down at the island for as long as it took her to find the strength to swallow back the tears she hadn’t expected. Tears? Really? She hadn’t sh
ed a single one the day she got on that bus twelve years ago, and she was putting a hell of a lot more distance between them then than she was now, so what the hell was her problem?
Typical Nick, he just stood there and let her take whatever time she needed.
Jerk.
“Fine,” she sighed. “But you know I’m not good at this kind of stuff, so it’s going to sound stupid and then you’re going to make fun of me and then I’ll get cranky …”
“I’ve seen you cranky before.” His crooked little grin was back. “I’m pretty sure I can handle it.”
“It’s just … well … I’m, uh …” She blew out another breath and forced herself to look straight at him, but no matter how hard she tried, she could only whisper. “I’m going to miss you.”
Jayne snapped up her beer and guzzled more as his grin twitched and his eyes crinkled. The only thing that saved his life right there was that he didn’t laugh.
“I told you it was stupid.”
“It’s not stupid,” he muttered, moving toward her. She didn’t dare move because her legs felt like rubber and one slight twitch would probably send her flat on her face. So she stood with one hand gripping the edge of the island for balance and the other curled around her beer even after Nick wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head.
“A nice guy would lie and say he was going to miss me, too.”
A low rumbled laugh started deep in Nick’s chest. “But how can I miss you if you won’t leave?”
Arms wedged between them, Jayne shoved him away and went back to cleaning up the kitchen. “Jerk.”
“I’m kidding!”
He laughed, reached for her again, but she stayed him with a pointed finger and a glare. He tried a couple more times, but Jayne wasn’t having it, and finally he gave up and went off to shower, still laughing.
Why the hell did she have to go and tell him that? She sounded like a complete idiot and felt even worse, but maybe if she acted like it hadn’t happened, he’d forget about it.
When the kitchen was back in order, she pulled the first book off the top of her to-be-read pile and curled up at the end of the sofa. She read the first page three times before giving herself a mental shake and forcing her mind to concentrate on the words.
