“Whoa, stand down,” Drew replied quickly. “I was just curious.”
I suppose I was being a little snippy. But he deserved it.
“As a matter of fact, I was going to do a drive-by tomorrow to try to get a completion date out of the contractor. I think Nora is getting a little sick of having us underfoot.”
“Oh, okay,” Drew’s voice relaxed a little.
“Should I be worried?” I asked cautiously. “Did Arlo call you about a problem instead of me?”
“No, not at all.”
We both went silent, and even though the AC was now cranked up, I still felt feverish.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I finally asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he replied cryptically. “I guess we’ll talk again at some point.”
And didn’tthatsound fantastically ominous.
“Fine, if you’re not going to tell me what’s going on I’ll drive over now and find out for myself,” I huffed and disconnected the call.
I eased onto the road and could feel a furrow creasing my forehead.
“What the hell did he do now?” I muttered to Winston, my ever-attentive bestie. “He can’t just buy his way back into my life, you know? Sure, it was nice that he offered to be your hero, but we don’t need him. It’s you and me, kid.”
Even as I spoke the words I knew that I didn’t believe them.
“Okay, so I miss Drew, and hearing his voice has reopened the wound that was just starting to heal over.” I shook my head. “No, that was a lie, because I wasn’t even close to healing. But I am getting closer every day that he’s out of my life, and sooner or later, I will start to believe it.”
Which was why his attempt to butt back in had me talking to myself and gesturing wildly with one hand while the other gripped the steering wheel.
No, I was talking toWinston. “Talking to a pet is completely normal and not at all something a crazy lady would do. Right, Win?”
By the time we got to my part of town I’d worked my way out of my Drew-stress and felt totally fine.
Until I pulled up to the house.
“Whatthe …”
It was my grandfather’s house, but I almost couldn’t recognize it with no blue tarp covering the left half of the roof and utter absence of stray wood and cinder block piles dotting the yard. The driveway was blissfully empty—not a beat-up van or pick-up truck to be found—which meant that I could pull all the way up to the back door and without having to step over an abandoned table saw or random nails.
The house wasn’t just devoid of crews, it looked … perfect. Like, ready for a party-perfect, with flawless emerald sod in the front yard instead of dirt, and new shrubs beneath the windows. There was an overflowing planter I’d never seen on the front porch, bursting with orange and purple blooms. The front steps were in one piece – I wouldn’t have to worry about falling through them now – and the lower brick facade was pressure washed and restored to its original glory.
“Dude, you’ve gotta see this,” I said to Winston as I hurriedly unzipped his bag. I held him up and panned around the yard. “Can you believe it?”
Based on the phone call I knew exactly who I had to thank for the eye popping improvements, but I needed time to take them all in before hearing his voice again.
Because this gesture was a whopper.
I tucked Win against my body, fished out my key and opened the front door.
“Oh my god,” I sighed as I looked around the gleaming space. “Howdid he do this?”
It looked like a model home. The floor was installed and even more beautiful than I’d envisioned, and the walls were not only intact, they were painted the most perfect light sage.
“I know, right?” I said when I noticed Winston’s little head craning around the room. “It’s gorgeous!”
I walked through the space that was both familiar and foreign. Every change felt thoughtful, down to the drawer pulls on the kitchen cabinets. I’d been stuck between two choices and Drew had obviously been forced to make the final call in order to get the kitchen finished.
