“I need to make some calls,” I said, feeling a little queasy. I had to find another place to stay, and quick.
“Sure. Brian’ll stop by soon to take you to his place and show you around.”
Two weeks ago, I’d been more than willing to follow Brian anywhere. But not now, not when I’d come crawling back to Poplar Springs to try to put my life back together. My night with him had been an escape, a moment out of time. But the thing about fantasies is that they weren’t supposed to intrude into the real world. Now I was expected to live with him? I couldn’t.
I retraced my steps to the back of the building, went out the door, and leaned against the warm brick as I called everyone I still knew well enough in town who might have a spare room. The list wasn’t long, and I exhausted it quickly. My acquaintances were sympathetic, but no one had space for me. The only one who did had three cats, and I was allergic. I couldn’t spend my time in Poplar Springs with chronic hives. Getting a hotel room wasn’t an option. Not only would it cost too much, but I doubted I’d be able to get a room for more than a fewdays with the rodeo right around the corner and lots of visitors expected. Everything rentable was probably sold out.
My parents were the only option I had left. With a sinking heart, I brought their number up on my phone and stared at it. I couldn’t, I simply couldn’t make myself press the “call” button. I gulped in a breath of air and tucked my phone away just as the backdoor opened and Aurora came out followed by Brian.
“There you are,” Aurora said, smiling. “Brian’s here. Brian, you remember Caitlin, I’m sure.”
“I do. Howdy.” Brian tipped his hat to me, and I almost expected the worddarlingto appear at the end of his greeting. I managed a nod since I was temporarily speechless.
“I’ll let you two work out the details.” Aurora opened the door to return to the diner. “Can you start tomorrow at six, Caitlin?”
“Sure.” I found my voice. “Thanks for everything, Aurora.”
“You’re helping me out, hon. Bye.”
I waited until Aurora was out of earshot, and I was turning to Brian to apologize when he spoke first.
“I’m sorry about this,” he said. “I agreed to put up Aurora’s best friend before I realized it was you. I thought she was talking about Miranda Andrews, since I know Miranda comes back to town now and then. It never occurred to me that she was talking about you since I got the impression you had no intention of returning here.”
I waited for him to follow up that speech by revoking the invitation, but he didn’t.
“I get it if you want to stay elsewhere,” he continued. “Your parents maybe? Unless that relationship is still…fraught.”
Fraughtwould be putting it mildly. Every word and action were landmines waiting to explode in my parents’ house. But Brian had never known the full extent of it, and I wasn’t about to clue him in now. My life was enough of a mess without sorting through all my dirty laundry.
“It isn’t sunshine and roses, but I’d stay there if I could.” I hated lying to him but it seemed better than the alternative. I wasn’t prepared to air my childhood trauma standing in the back alley of a diner. “But they downsized last year and no longer have a guestroom.” The part about moving was actually true, though I didn’t know if they had a guestroom or not since I’d never been to their new home or even exchanged any words with them. Still, it sounded like a plausible excuse, and it would prevent him from pitying me. I didn’t want that from anyone, but especially not him.
“My place it is then.” He sounded falsely chipper. “And I’m not charging you rent.”
“Why would you do that?” I asked, stung at the idea that I needed charity or was looking for a handout. “Of course I’ll pay. I insist on it. Aurora will take it out of my salary.” I’d already arranged that with Aurora when I thought I’d be renting a place from her.
“I don’t charge friends,” he insisted.
“I’ll pay whatever price you and Aurora agreed on. I’m not mooching.” And I needed to feel that there were some boundaries in place between us. I’d be his renter, nothing more.
He didn’t like it. I could tell by the rigid set of his jaw, but he didn’t argue again. “It’s not far, so you’ll be able to walk to work. I’ll ride with you and show you the way right now, and you can get settled.”
When we got in my SUV, I saw him glance into the backseat that was piled with my belongings. I didn’t blush easily, but I felt heat rise through my cheeks when I recalled what we almost did on that seat.
“Take a left on Main,” he said. “My place is on South Chaska Street.”
I made the appropriate turns and in under two minutes, I pulled into the driveway of a small two-story house. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it appeared to be well-maintained and had flowerbeds with red and white geraniums around the small porch.
“I’ll help you carry your stuff in.” He grabbed a duffle bag and a laundry basket from the backseat and headed for the door, unlocking it one-handed. “Your room is top of the stairs on the right.”
The steps were right in front of us, so I started up, but I caught glimpses of a living room on one side, and a combination kitchen and dining room on the other. At the top of the stairs, I saw a closed door on the left and two open ones on the right. The first was a bathroom and the other was a small bedroom.
The room contained a bed, dresser, and chair that looked like they’d come out of someone’s grandparents’ house. They were antiques, pretty and well cared for.
“Hope this is okay,” Brian said, entering the room behind me and putting the items down.
“Brian, are you sure about this? I can see you’re uncomfortable with having me here, and I…” I trailed off because I’d been going to say that I could find some other place, but I couldn’t.
“It’s fine,” he said after a slight hesitation. “But I warn you that I’ll be a crappy host. I won’t have any time to spend with you because my first priority is my job, especially with the rodeo only two weeks away.”
