Then he quiets. “Do you want to do this again?”
I blink. “What?”
“If you ever need help with the yardwork, or want a friend to have dinner with, you can text me. Now that you've got my number and all.” His grin is a lazy Sunday morning, slow and sweet.
“Which I won’t freely use.”
Noah cocks his head to the side. “Why not?”
I open my mouth, then close it again, then manage to sputter, “I am trying to be appropriate.”
“Birdie. I would never expect anything else but that from you.” His voice is gentle. “But know you can text me about plants. Or lasagna. I won’t read into it unless you want me to.”
And just like that, he stands, stacking our plates withoutanother word, leaving me in the kind of silence that has a heartbeat. I hear his voice traveling from the kitchen out onto the patio. “I’ll pop these in the dishwasher, grab my boots, and let myself out.”
“Oh. You don’t have to do that. I’ll take care of it.”
His face appears through the screen door, lips set and serious. “Let me help you.”
I’m thankful for the darkness and the fact that he can’t see my obvious blush. “Thanks for helping with the garden.”
He gives me a look that Viv would best describe as a smolder. “Anytime, Birdie.”
Chapter Ten
“You finally tackled those weeds in the butterfly garden!” Harper bursts through the door and grabs me in a back-realigning hug. “I’m so proud of you! I was getting ready to call one of those landscapers who keep leaving their obvious flyers on the doorstep myself. It was really getting out of control, you know.”
I open my mouth to let her know who took care of that task, but before I can say anything, she’s already releasing me to race back to the front door where she’s deposited a grocery bag. Frank is barking and attempting to prance around her feet, begging for attention. “Thank goodness I brought drinks to celebrate!” Harper pulls two probiotic sodas out of the bag. “Two grams of sugar per can and enough fiber to keep you regular all week. It’s a celebration for both ends!”
I again try to interject that there is no reason to celebrate, and I’m a weak woman who can’t bear to cut the plants that most remind her of her dead husband. Worse than weak, I’m a woman who had another man come cut said bushes and then invited him for dinner, where he sat in the same spot as her dead husband.
“I drank one of these on the way over here, and I really need to pee!” Harper is already halfway down the hall, waving a half-empty lemon soda can in the air.
I haven’t said a single word yet. I’ll tell her later, I decide. No sense ambushing the girl mid-bathroom emergency.
I grab the bowl of popcorn and call out, “Harper! Honey, it’s starting!” I manage the bowl, her weird fizzy drink, and her favorite white cheddar seasoning with the balance of a seasoned circus act as I shuffle toward the living room.
Harper flops onto the couch beside me just as the camera pans to Matt on the bench, bouncing his knee. “Do you think he eats protein bars during the game too, or just before?”
I smirk. “I guarantee he’s had four already. So, discussing his snack preferences while watching him on TV—that’s what we call family dinner now?”
“If it includes popcorn, then yes.” She grabs a handful, then her voice shifts slightly. “It’s kinda weird, though. Watching him play without him texting us afterward.”
I nod. “He’s busy. Growing up.”
“Do you miss him?”
There’s no point sugarcoating it. “Everyday. But you know how it is. You’re both growing up, becoming your own person. It means I’ve done my job right.” I shift, trying to sound casual. “You guys are always going to be the biggest priority in my book, though.”
We fall into a comfortable rhythm, cheering at good plays, criticizing the refs. But it doesn’t last long.
“So…” Harper starts, without looking at me. “How’s The Dead Husband Society going?”
“We talk every day.” I keep my eyes fixed to the screen as Matt makes an impressive pass up the court. “It’s been nice. Unexpectedly nice.”
She nods slowly. “I think it’s good you have that. Even though I never would want you to have that. But now that everything’s happened, it’s good that you do. Sometimes, it feels like life’s changing so fast, you know?”
I glance at her, trying to read her tone, but she’s staring at thescreen again. So I reach my hand across, placing it on hers. “I know.” Sometimes that’s all there is to say.
