The Fix (Carolina Connections #1)

by Sylvie Stewart

  I had no fucking clue what to do so I just shut up and hoped she’d clue me in.

  “But I have more than just me to consider – I have Rocco. I can’t just let someone jump into his life, play with him, build him a treehouse and then just disappear. He won’t understand that.”

  “Who’s disappearing?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Laney, there is no guarantee in any relationship. I don’t know for sure what will happen between us down the road but I can tell you that I am more than into you, if you can’t tell that already. I can also tell you that while I’m seeing you I’m not even remotely interested in seeing anyone else – and I hope you feel the same way.”

  She nodded but still looked unsure.

  “But I understand that you’re a mom and that has to come first. I just really want us to be able to spend time together and see where this goes.”

  “Can I have some time to think about it?”

  My mouth said, “Of course.” My dick said, ‘No fucking way!’

  She gave me a small embarrassed smile and stood up. “Thanks, Nate. I’m so sorry about…this.” She waved her hand awkwardly in the general direction of my lap.

  “He understands,” I said, and that got a laugh out of her. “Let me drive you home.”

  The ride back to her house was mostly silent and I did not have a good feeling about the way we were leaving things. I felt like I was missing some crucial piece of information but I couldn’t put my finger on it and I hated the uncertain feeling.

  “Will you still come over to start the treehouse on Saturday?” she asked. “I know I’m sounding like a complete contradiction right now, but Rocco is so excited.”

  “Of course. I can’t wait.” I pulled into her driveway and got out to open her door.

  She stepped down. “Hopefully you guys can finish it before it’s time for you to leave. Thanks, Nate. I’ll call you.” And then she kissed my cheek and ran to her front door.

  I waited for the door to close behind her before I pulled out of her driveway. That bad feeling I had was turning worse.

  ***

  By Friday morning I still hadn’t heard one word from Laney and I felt a heavy weight in my gut. My only solace was that I’d at least get to see her tomorrow. I’d visited a couple sites already today to meet with some contractors and I was pulling up to the Old Oak Ridge site wishing I could just drive down the street and knock on her door. But I’d promised to give her time and I knew she was at work anyway so it made little difference.

  As soon as I got out of my car I noticed Doug and Gavin walking my way.

  “Nate!” Doug called. “I’ve got Gavin on framing but Mark mentioned he might pull him for some of that siding work. You know anything about that?” Both men approached and I adjusted the bag I was carrying.

  I threw out my hand. “Don’t worry about it. Stay on framing, Gavin.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Doug said distractedly and hurried away to address one of the contractors who’d just pulled up.

  “How’s it going, Nate?” Gavin asked with his hands perched stiffly on his hips.

  “Alright I guess,” I responded. Gavin continued to stand that way and then I caught him clenching his jaw like he was mulling over a difficult problem. “Something wrong?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me.” His voice was curt.

  “Tell you what?” I was pretty sure I knew which direction we were headed.

  “Dammit, I knew this would happen!” His voice had risen by this point and we were getting a few glances.

  “What exactly has happened, Gavin? I’m at a bit of a loss here.”

  He looked at me like I was stupid. “Laney. She’s been in her room crying the past two nights and it didn’t escape my notice that the timing just so happened to coincide with the early end of your date the other night. So what the hell did you do to my sister?”

  I was dumbfounded – it took me a few moments to speak. “Gavin, I didn’t do a thing. I thought things were going great and she’s the one who put a stop to it. I’ve been the one waiting for her to call and tell me everything is okay.”

  “Well shit!” He pulled his hardhat from his head and smacked it to his thigh. “Now I’ve got to wade into this like some fucking girl and find out what the hell is wrong.”

  “Don’t worry about it – I’ll get to the bottom of it. You can keep your man card. She’s been hesitant about getting involved with me and it has something to do with Rocco and not wanting to have men going in and out of his life. But I swear I have no intention of ditching them, Gavin.”

  His hand pulled through his dusty hair and his shoulders dropped. “Damn, I think I get it now. It actually makes sense if you think about it. Rocco getting attached and then when you leave for Texas I guess that would suck for the little guy. It probably is for the best to just cut your losses.” He dropped his hand to his side and put his hardhat back on with the other one. “Shit, I feel like I’m growing a vagina here. I gotta get back to work. No hard feelings, man.”

  He waved and left me standing there feeling like the most oblivious fucking moron on earth.

  ***

  At 6:30 that evening I was standing on Laney’s front porch pounding on the door. “Laney, I know you’re in there. I saw you peeking through the curtains!” I continued to pound on the door knowing that I was being a bit of an asshole but not caring one bit. My girl was in there and I needed to see her.

  “Nate, please go away. I’m not ready to talk yet,” she hissed through the door. “And stop pounding. I don’t want to scare Rocco.”

  “Open the door and Rocco will be fine. Come on, Laney. Please.”

  I heard a frustrated huff but the door opened a crack and I saw her beautiful face. I also saw the dark circles under her eyes and I cursed myself for the tenth time today.

  “Laney, baby, please let me in. I need to talk to you – to explain.”

  Her will seemed to give out and she let the door fall open as she stepped back. I came through the doorway and wrapped her in my arms like I never wanted to let go. And in that moment it was the God’s honest truth.

  “Where is Rocco?” I asked, careful not to say too much if he was close by.

  “He’s in his room watching cartoons on the iPad.” Her voice was quiet.

  I kissed the top of her head. “I think I get it now, Laney, and I am such an idiot,” I declared.

  She sniffed and said, “That’s usually a title I reserve for Gavin but go on if you must.” I loved that even when she was sad her sass came through.

  “I don’t know how I didn’t see it before, but like I said, I’m an idiot. You think I’m moving back to Austin, don’t you?”

  She pulled away from me cautiously and looked up into my face. “Well, yeah, eventually.”

  “Baby, I’m not going anywhere. I’m here in North Carolina to stay. It was always my plan to come back – my dad’s heart attack just sped up the timing.”

  “But…but you kept saying all these things about ‘temporary’ stuff,” she said, her eyes becoming wet.

  “I just meant that the apartment was temporary. I don’t want to live in that shithole any longer than necessary.” I smiled at her. “As soon as I have the time I’m finding a house or a condo or something.”

  “Oh.” That’s all she said, eyes still teary.

  “You forgive me for confusing you?” I leaned down and couldn’t help but kiss her quickly on her sweet mouth. She just nodded, looking a bit dazed. At that moment I just wanted to take her in her bedroom and show her how sorry I was but I knew that wouldn’t happen for several reasons, Rocco being the main one.

  And despite my desire to pull her into my arms and assume that everything would work out perfectly, I knew I had to say one more thing. “But you know as well as I do that there are no guarantees in life. And I understand that you need to consider Rocco in all of your decisions, but I’m just asking for a chance, Laney.”

  Evide
ntly over her shock, she finally smiled up at me and ran her fingers down my jaw. “By the way, if I have any say in it, I prefer the scruff.” Then she reached up to me for a kiss. We wrapped ourselves around each other for several moments before cooler heads prevailed and we remembered the five-year-old down the hall, not to mention the open door behind me.

  “Oh, I almost forgot.” I turned around and retrieved my bag from the front porch where I’d left it. “Call Rocco out here. I’ve got some treehouse plans to go over with him.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Go About Your Business

  Laney

  I was feeling like I’d just won a free lifetime supply of doughnuts, along with a magical guarantee that they’d never go to my ass, as I watched Nate and Rocco at my kitchen table going over treehouse plans. I was also feeling a bit foolish for spending the last two days wallowing in misery when I could have just opened my mouth and asked Nate outright about his plans. Damn that Fiona for always being right. I resolved from here on out to voice my doubts and be clear about any reservations I had.

  I also owed Fiona a phone call to tell her to call off the cookie dough, wine, and ice cream brigade she was currently preparing. She was having her weekend with Terrence but since she’s the best friend a girl could have, she had been checking in with me and was planning to stop by tonight before Terrence arrived.

  “We’re going to head out back and take some measurements if that’s okay,” Nate said, stacking the papers and rising from his chair.

  “Of course. But, Rocco, you’re getting ready for bed in half an hour.”

  “Aw, man, can’t I stay up later since Nate’s here?” my kid asked, just like any other five-year-old would when presented with the opportunity to do something fun with a friend. No nose twitching, no shyness, no worried look in his big brown eyes. It appeared that Nate was in and at that moment I didn’t care one bit that he was thirty-one instead of five.

  ***

  “Just because we’re building this treehouse doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore your house. I think tomorrow I’m going up on your roof to check things out. I’m also going to have to take a look in your attic,” Nate said as we were saying our goodbyes later in the evening.

  “Are those euphemisms? I love it when you talk dirty,” I said, trying to keep a straight face.

  “They can be,” he replied with a grin. “But actually I’m just giving you advance warning. I believe your attic access is in your bedroom closet and I wouldn’t want to have to turn you over to one of those cable TV shows, if you know what I mean.”

  Shitballs! My secret wasn’t so secret anymore. “Please don’t tell me you’ve seen my closet.”

  “Okay, I won’t tell you.”

  Double shitballs! My hands started itching to do a little cheek rubbing. Nate grabbed both my hands before they could reach my face.

  “I’ve decided to find your ‘storage system’ cute instead of scary.”

  “Oh God, you’re probably one of those people who doesn’t even have a junk drawer, aren’t you?”

  That was met with silence. Who was this guy? Oh, that’s right, I forgot – he’s Superman’s brother. Of course superheroes didn’t have junk drawers.

  “I have four junk drawers” I confessed.

  “And, like I said, it’s cute. I think. But I had to give you fair warning about the closet since I will actually have to fit a ladder in there tomorrow.”

  He finally released my hands and I used one to smack him on the arm. “Ha ha. It’s not that bad, you big jerk”

  Rocco was safely tucked into bed, for the moment at least, but after the near miss with the little night stalker last time, neither Nate nor I were willing to enter the bedroom tonight. At this rate, we’d never get to do the dirty. We were leaning against opposite walls in the front hall saying a rather extended goodnight.

  He came in for an embrace. “I’m picking up lumber on the way over tomorrow so I’ll be here about 10:00. And, Laney, we’ve got to figure out how to have a real date night one of these days.” He smiled at me and gave me a sweet kiss. I wanted to drag him back in and have my naughty way with him, so I was already flipping through my mental contact list to figure out how to organize some extended alone time for us.

  “Definitely. I’ll get to work on it.” I smiled and kissed him back. My kiss may have been a little less sweet than his.

  ***

  Well, it looked like I owed my vagina an apology. Before I could even ask Gavin to babysit I’d gone and pissed him right the hell off, removing any possibility that he’d grant me a favor anytime soon. And the worst part was I’d thought I was doing something nice.

  “Not interested” Gavin had said over his shoulder as he tried to walk away.

  “What do you mean? You’re the perfect person for this and it’s just one night a week and one game on the weekends.”

  “I don’t care, I’m not doing it! And stay the fuck out of my business, Laney!” He’d hitched his workout bag onto his shoulder and stormed out the door before I could stop him. That went well.

  It was Saturday mid-morning and Charlotte had dropped by earlier to give me a plant she foolishly assumed I wouldn’t kill. Yeah…anyway, during the course of our conversation she’d mentioned that Aiden was signed up for rec league baseball and the coach had just dropped out. She asked if I knew of anyone who could fill in – her husband not being available since he travelled a lot for work. And, in her words, “He’s about as athletic as a Basset Hound in a patch of sunshine.” Sometimes I just loved the crap out of her Texas. So, naturally, I told her about Gavin. It was like kismet, or so I’d thought. Apparently it was more like the worst misfortune to hit Greensboro, so fierce was Gavin’s dismissal of the idea. Now he was pissed and I was evidently never having sex for the rest of my life.

  Nate had shown up at 10:00 as promised and he and Rocco were out back doing lord knows what but it seemed like each time I peeked out the window they both had their hands on their hips and they were gazing up at the tree in deep thought. This project might take a while.

  I still couldn’t quite believe that this guy was so interested in me – truthfully, I didn’t really feel like I had that much to offer. I know if Fiona had been here she would have smacked me upside the head for talking trash about myself, but it was hard sometimes to keep a super confident attitude. I was just going to have to go with it, though, because I wasn’t about to give up a chance to be with somebody who made me feel the way Nate did.

  I couldn’t help but peek out the window again and this time I was treated to the view of his cargo pants stretched tightly over his backside as he leaned down to lift a stack of wood. Damn that man could make me swoon.

  Back to closet cleaning, Laney! Focus!

  A few hours later Nate and Rocco had retreated inside to escape the hot afternoon sun and I was fixing us some cool drinks. Rocco was washing up in the bathroom when my front door slammed so hard the windows rattled. I thought maybe it was Gavin and he hadn’t gotten over his hissy fit, but it was Fiona’s petite form that came storming into the kitchen, stopping a few feet from me.

  Her purse whacked the counter when she threw it down and I was pretty sure whatever was in there was now in pieces. “I’m staying over tonight and I won’t take no for an answer. I’m going to eat all of your ice cream and watch tragically stupid teenagers on reality TV while you, my friend, are going over to your hot man’s apartment and getting your muffin buttered. I do not want to see your face until at least noon tomorrow and it had better look well-fucked. At least one of us should have an orgasm tonight and it sure as hell won’t be me! Now tell Rocco his Aunt Fiona is inviting him to an ice cream party tonight and he can stay up as late as he wants.”

  When I didn’t move she threw her hands out toward me. “Shoo!” I still didn’t move. This was “scary” Fiona – she didn’t come out to play very often.

  “Uh, Fiona, you remember Nate, don’t you?” I motioned hesitantly to the pantry door whe
re he had been spraying WD-40 on the hinges but now stood stock still, the can suspended in air.

  Fiona didn’t even flinch. “Hey there, hot stuff. You get all that?”

  Nate just nodded his head while the rest of him remained still.

  “Can you please excuse us for a moment, Nate?” I asked as I dragged Fiona down the hall to my bedroom and closed the door.

  “First of all, you can’t come in here throwing out f-bombs while Rocco’s at home and you know it. Second, I can’t even believe you just said all of that in front of Nate. Just…oh God.” I covered my eyes with my hand.

  She huffed in dismissal.

  I took a deep breath and shook it off. “And third, what happened? I thought you were doing sexy time with Terrence.”

  She scoffed. “Don’t even talk to me about Terrence.” And then she proceeded to talk about him anyway, as pretty much any girl would do. “What about ‘friends with benefits’ does he not understand? That man wants to, and I quote, ‘take things to the next level’. What next level?! There is no next level! So I sent him to his hotel and told him that until he gets his head screwed on straight he needs to lose my number. I can’t go back to my place in case he decides to show up to plead his case again.” She did a full body shiver. Dramatic much?

  “Wow,” was really all I could say, though. Treading carefully here was essential. Fiona did not do commitment. She didn’t do the girlfriend thing. She was kind of like a guy that way, but every other aspect of her was all girly-girl. I knew she had her reasons so I’d given up trying to convince her to give a guy a chance. But this was Terrence. They would be so good together. Ugh. I’d have to let it go for now but hopefully she’d open the door a crack for him if he just gave her a little time. So it looked like I’d have to give her a little time too. “I’m sorry, Fee.” I gave her a hug and she finally let go of her mad a bit and sagged into my arms with a sigh.

  “I know. Me too. Can I still eat your ice cream?”

  “Every bit,” I said, still holding her tight, my chin resting on the top of her head.