Then she walked back toward the kitchen. I assumed she was going to make herself one, which she should, since she took the time to make it at all.
I grabbed half of the cut wrap from the plate and looked at it—she appeared to have used the grilled chicken to make a chicken salad. I hesitated, then bit into it…then stilled, chewing slowly to savor the flavors. “This…this is pretty good.”
I heard her chuckle behind me. “Don’t sound so surprised.”
A ghost of a smilealmostgraced my lips. “Thank you…”
“No problem.”
As I started to eat, my eyes flickered to the papers she brought over, and I slid them closer to the edge of the table, reading over the top page again. Between taking my time with the wrap and reading, I became distracted, drowning out the sound of running water and Haley’s shuffling footsteps behind me.
Twenty or so minutes later, she appeared beside me just as I stuffed the last bite of the wrap into my mouth. I mumbled a barely coherent “thank you” when she took the empty plate as I blindly reached for the pen lying on the coffee table and scribbled my signature across the line of the first paper she brought.
“I’m gonna head out,” she said softly.
I glanced over my left shoulder toward the door where she was slipping her shoes on. I stood, rubbing the back of my neck as I walked toward her. “Thank you…for bringing those by.”
“Sure.” She chuckled as she pet Maverick, who flopped onto his back at her feet again.
“And for making me lunch.”
Haley stood upright and smiled. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you on Monday?”
“Yeah,” I answered with a nod. “I’ll be there.”
Then she was gone.
I watched her get into her car through the window panel by the door, feeling a little like a jackass for my lack of enthusiasm while she was there—I wasn’t even sure how long she stayed. Thirty minutes? Forty-five? When she backed out of my driveway, I let out a breath, and I turned, taking two steps before I froze.
My kitchen wasspotless.
The dishes were gone from the sink, and the counter was cleaned off and wiped down. Clothes that had hung on the backsof the stools along the counter were gone, and when my eyes shifted, I noticed them in a pile, draped over the edge of the washing machine in the laundry room just off the kitchen. Maverick’s toys that had been scattered across the floor from the kitchen to the living room were picked up and put in the large basket where I usually kept them.
Haley cleaned up my house. And I hadn’t even fucking noticed. And she did it without a damn word.
No questions.
No barbs.
No judgment.
Just silent empathy.
I blew out a breath as I looked around…and then I grabbed the broom from the small closet to finish what she started.
The following night, I walked along the sidewalk on Heritage Ave, just around the corner from the boardwalk. When I reached the door, the bell above it rang as I opened it, and I stepped inside. My eyes scanned the area until they landed on the table full of familiar faces, and I started making my way toward them.
Lucas was the first one to notice me, and he grinned. “Hey, big guy!”
“Hey, Blake!” Callie greeted me from beside him.
Gabe turned his head, surprise in his eyes as he smiled.
“There he is!” Wes stood, his chair scraping along the floor. “Beer?”
“Yeah,” I replied with a nod. “Thanks.”
Wes clapped my shoulder with a grin before heading off toward the bar. Morgan patted the empty seat between her and Gabe that my brother had pulled up for me. “You hungry?” she asked, sliding one of the bar menus in front of me as I sat down.
