When her gaze landed on the new bench in the hall by the waiting area, she went to it and sat down, draping her arms along the back. “This is nice,” she said. “Where’d this come from?”
“Alex,” I said simply. I wanted Bri to like Alex, but I also knew sometimes she could be a hard one to win over. Sure, she’d apologized that night, but that didn’t mean she trusted him. Not in the slightest.
“He made it?” she asked.
“Yup. Found some wood in the shed and whipped it up a couple of weeks ago.” It had been another one of those things that wasn’t on our list of agreed tasks, yet he’d done it anyway because he wanted to. Just like the lights for the sign. Alex had gone way above and beyond our agreement, simply because he cared. Not only about me but the clinic and the animals here too.
“The clients love it,” Grace gushed.
William nodded. “Better than the old folding chairs in the lobby.”
I laughed. “Yeah, yeah. I know. The chairs are on my list of updates.”
He chuckled. “Just saying. If Alex can make a few more of those, it would be a huge upgrade.” I hadn’t thought about commissioning Alex to make more, but now that William had suggested it, I mentally tacked it to the top of the list. One more thing I needed to talk to Alex about.Soon.
Bri nodded. “Yeah, these are nice, Vaughn. It fits the atmosphere too.”
I smiled. “Yeah, it does.”
“Maybe he should apply for that job at Trace’s shop.”
“What job?” I asked.
“Oh, you haven’t heard? Trace is looking for someone to help build furniture. I guess the guy who has been working for him the last three years is moving back to Oregon or something to be with his mom.”
I turned away to hide my frown. I didn’t want to admit how easily I could see Alex working for a guy like Trace, or worse, how well they’d get along. The guy was twenty or so years older than us, but his personality was similar to Alex’s. Quiet, attentive, and one hundred percent dedicated to his work. He had a reputation in three states for crafting unique handmade furniture. Peoplelovedhis style and barely batted an eye at his high prices. Alex could make good money working for him, and I could easily see him enjoying it.
But I could also see him working at Ruby Red Landscaping. And last night, I’d noticed Alex had started to fill out the application.
Fuck.I needed to talk to him, and soon. I was hoping he’d wait just a little longer before finding another job, because honestly, I needed his help. Melanie would be gone on maternity leave, soon and that meant our office would be shorthanded. I’d interviewed a few people, but none of them seemed like a good fit. Even if this wasn’t ideal for Alex long term, I was hoping he’d stay long enough to help out.Plus, it might give us a little more time…
Bri leaned over the counter, her long dark hair falling onto the desk. “Got a minute?” she asked me.
I wanted to say no, but my next appointment wasn’t for another hour, so there wasn’t anything to keep me here. I reached for one of the coffee cups from the tray and led her to the back room, intending to show her the shelves Alex had installed for me.
“So, I requested Thanksgiving off,” she began.
I raised my brows. “Isn’t that like… forbidden at the hospital?”
She laughed. “Pretty much. But by some miracle, I was approved. I have Wednesday through Sunday off. So I was thinking, we could take that trip to see Mom. I know we hadn’t talked about a date yet, but it would be fun to see her for Thanksgiving, don’t you think?”
Something warm and soothing flowed through me. Bri and I had talked about visiting Mom this fall for months, but hadn’t been able to narrow down a time, thanks to our busy schedules. It had been two years since we’d last seen her, and even though we tried to talk on the phone regularly, it wasn’t enough. Plus, Alex had said he was interested in going too, so maybe having a set date would give us more time to be together.
“Yeah, that sounds nice,” I said. “That week is usually pretty quiet around here, so I should be able to take a few days off.”
She put an arm around me and squeezed. “Good. I think it’ll be good to get away. We can take my car, since it gets better gas mileage than that tank of yours.”
“Bri? Would you mind if I invited Alex?”
Her eyes went wide. “You’ve told Mom about him?”
“Well, no. Not yet, but… I was going to.” I didn’t dare mention I’d already asked Alex if he wanted to go, knowing that would just upset Bri.
My sister didn’t respond for a long time and when I finally turned back around to face her, she was studying me with worried eyes. “You really are serious about him, aren’t you?”
I sighed. “Way more than I probably should be, yeah,” I replied.
She chewed on her lip, and I could practically feel the uncertainty rolling off her in waves. “Well, has he told you more about why he was on the streets?”
