“All right,” Adam said. “I mean, I can be a taste tester too.”
Joey laughed and gave him a little shove away. He moved into the living room and sat down on the couch, her giggles making everything in his life better. Jerry had picked up a book and he didn’t even look over to Adam, which was about how Jerry was.
Adam looked at his phone and found several more texts from the members of Country Quad. He automatically turned it more into himself, as if Joey would come look over his shoulder and see it.
She’s going to find out, he told himself, and he decided he definitely better tell her in mixed company if he wanted to keep his life.
“Hey, so what happened with that apartment?” he asked over his shoulder.
She sighed at the same time that Jerry growled, “Don’t ask,” under his breath.
“Don’t ask?” Adam asked, and he twisted to look at Joey in the small condo kitchen. “Did something happen?”
“They rented it to someone else,” she said. “I knew it would go fast. It’s really nice and it’s not very expensive.”
His heart twisted strangely in his chest. “Oh, I thought they were going to wait for you.”
“I guess they’ve had a lot of interest in it,” Joey said, almost matter-of-factly. “It would have been a really nice place.”
“She’s quite upset about it,” Grams said, though Adam didn’t think she was acting that way.
He glanced over to Jerry, who mimed crying. Alarmed, Adam turned back to Joey. He had not detected any trace of tears, but he didn’t spend twenty-four hours a day with her, either. He got to his feet, suddenly unable to keep sitting.
“So funny thing,” he said, his pulse booming against the back of his tongue as he paced toward the end of the couch and looked into the kitchen. Joey had her back to him as she stirred something on the stove.
“I texted your uncles,” he said. “And your daddy—just the guys in Country Quad. And I asked them if there was any way that they could put together a move-in…furniture…kit for you.”
By the time he finished speaking, he wasn’t even sure if he’d gotten the words in the right order.
Joey turned from where she worked at the stove, her face a mixture of surprise and horror. “You did what?”
“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Grams said, and she looked at Joey meaningfully. “I told Joey we should ask on the family text if anybody had extra furniture they weren’t using. Among all of us, surely there’s a couch or a table not being used.”
“Surely,” Adam said.
“Surely?” Joey demanded, “What have you done?”
Adam swallowed and looked to Jerry for help. The older man glared back at him, and Adam didn’t think he’d be getting any assistance there.
“They didn’t rent that apartment to someone else,” he said. “They’re holding it for you.”
“What?” Joey’s confusion really was cute, what with that little frown between her eyes.
“I told them it was a surprise,” Adam said. “Until I could talk to you, and well, now is the first time I found to be able to talk to you about this.”
“And you thinknow’sa good time?” She indicated the unfilled pie crusts and the pounds of butter waiting on the counter. Then she faced him again and folded her arms. “I’m in the middle of baking my weekly orders on my only day off.”
“I know,” he said, swallowing. “Maybe it’s not the best time, but it’s the only time we’ve got.”
“Just listen to him, dear,” Grams said.
Joey looked at the stove, and then her grandmother. “Adam and I are going to go for a walk,” she said. “I’m going to give him exactlyten minutesto tell meexactlywhat’s going on. By that time, these pie crusts will come out, and I’ll be back to finish this pumpkin custard.”
“Sounds great,” Grams chirped as if nothing was happening out of the ordinary.
“Good luck,” Gramps muttered, and Joey picked up her coat and put it on right over her apron. “You’re coming with me,” she said, and Adam wasn’t sure if he was scared or excited.
He quickly put his jacket back on and stepped with her outside.
