Exhausted, I remove my jacket and boots before shuffling toward where she is.
I’ll have to go out again tomorrow once the snow finishes for good, but the town streets are mostly cleared, with the heavy layer of salt turning the currently falling snow mostly to slush that I’ll clean up early tomorrow.
“Hey,” Hallie says, sitting up from the couch with a soft smile, her voice low. “You’re home.”
I give her a grunt of a response before collapsing onto the couch in an exhausted heap. “Yeah, sorry, that took longer than expected.”
“No worries, Emma and I watched a movie and talked. She went to bed super easy. There’s dinner on the stove, if you want it. I taught Emma how to make chili, since you had all of the essentials in the pantry and freezer.”
Relief fills me at the idea that I won’t have to figure out a meal, so without another word, I nod, then turn toward the kitchen.
“I’ll, uh, get out of your hair. Let you relax,” Hallie says as she stands. I look over my shoulder at her and see her all casual and sweet, her hair over one shoulder, a too-large Three Kings Tree Farm sweatshirt hanging on her body, and a pair of leggings beneath it. I know when she leaves, she’ll be slipping on those shoes that are somehow even less suited for the weather than usual.
Knowing a new fall of snow began right as I came home, I speak without thinking. “You in a rush to get to your place? The snow started again; it should be coming down for the next bit. If you give it an hour, you’ll avoid the worst of it.” She stares at me for a moment, and I add, “Plus, I’ve been alone, blowing for most of the day. I could use the company.”
Hallie rolls her eyes but nods, and I move to where there’s a pot on the stove and spoon some of the delicious-smelling food into a bowl before sprinkling on a hefty layer of cheese.
I grab my bowl and some water and bring them into the living room, where a movie I kind of remember her and Wren watching plays in the background as I sit before the coffee table and dig in. When I look up, she’s standing at the entryway, arms crossed on her chest, and watching me with a hesitant look, so I pat the couch next to me. As if that’s all she was looking for, she moves through my living room and sits beside me.
“Tell me about your day,” I say, taking a bite of food.
“My day?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Emma’s day, I mean,” I clarify, realizing it sounds weird to ask about Hallie’s day. “She helped you get settled into your place?”
“Yeah, she was a big help with unpacking. I’ve still got a few things to do, but I was getting bored, so I imagined she was too.”
I sit quietly as she continues to explain the day and my daughter’s antics, and I smile as I listen, refilling my bowl once and returning with a beer for me and a hard cider I know she drinks and may have stocked up on for her. When she seems to be done with her recounting, and I’m beyond full, I sit back with a deep sigh. My body melts into the soft fabric, face to the ceiling, before I speak without really thinking.
“Maybe this is what I need.”
“A hot meal?” she asks with a laugh.
“A woman to come home to.” I’m not sure what makes me say it, though I assume it must be the consuming exhaustion that fills me. My eyes drift shut, and I block out the fact that it’s probably weird to say that to my little sister’s best friend.
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you date someone,” she says, and when I open an eye, I see she isn’t looking at me aghast but more inquisitively.
I shrug. “I don’t.”
A loud laugh leaves her. “Kinda hard to find a woman to make you a hot meal to come to if you don’t date,” she says in a teasing tone, poking me in the side. I sit up, reaching over to grab and then throw a toss pillow at her, and she lets out a laugh that fills the small space. When her giggles fade out, and she doesn’t fill in the silence, I explain myself.
“I’m too busy. I don’t have free time for myself, much less another person.” She tips her head, reading me in a way I find uncomfortable, before shaking her head.
“No, that’s not it.”
I let out a laugh. “I’m sorry?”
She shrugs. “That’s not the reason. You might tell yourself that, and you definitely tell everyone else that, to get them off your ass, but that’s not it.”
“What…are you an expert in human psychology or something?”
She shakes her head and grins.
“No, I’d just been your sister’s best friend for almost my entire life, which means I can readherlike a book. Unfortunately for you, you and your sister not only look alike, but you act alike. You both have very, very obvious tells.” She reaches across the space between us and smooths over a line between my eyebrows, the light touch spreading fire where it goes. “This one, for one. And you refuse to look at someone when you’re lying to them.”
“You pay a lot of attention to my sister, apparently.”
“I take note of the people I care a lot about. Now tell me the real reason.”
