Oscar hung around until well after dark.I offered him the couch, and he took it.I was going to have enough nights alone.Having one with a friend was just what I needed.
But that meant he was up when I was making coffee the next morning.He offered to disappear, but I told him it wasn’t necessary.Even though I missed having time with Reegan.I would have to get used to not seeing her every day when she went home.
Oscar followed me outside to have coffee with Reegan, hanging back while I explained his presence to her.“Oscar tried to fix my broken dryer last night and crashed.He was going to duck out and pretend he was never here, but I told him he could join us.”I gave her a quick kiss and a mug of coffee.
“Of course.It’s good to see you again.”Reegan smiled at him, a look of tentative sadness keeping her smile from reaching her eyes.
“You, too,” Oscar said, taking the seat next to me.“Have you enjoyed our little town so far?”
Reegan chuckled.“Definitely.I love it here.”
“It grows on you, that’s for sure.”
“It does.I don’t have this view back in MacKellar Cove.”
“We’re pretty lucky,” Oscar said.He pointed across the bay.“That’s my house over there.The green one.I see a little more of the lake where I am, but it’s not as good for swimming.Not that it stopped my boys when they were younger.”
“How old are they?”Reegan asked.
“Eighteen and twenty-one,” Oscar answered, then told her all about his sons growing up.
I stayed quiet while they talked, wondering why it felt like Reegan was pulling away from me.We’d barely had time together since she met Evie, but she kept saying she understood.If she understood, why wasn’t she looking at me or speaking to me?
My alarm went off, letting me know it was time to get moving.“I have to go get Evie.”
“It’s moving day, isn’t it?”Oscar asked.
I stood and nodded.“It is.”
“You’re taking her today?”Reegan asked.
“Yeah.I thought I told you that.”
She shook her head and handed over the mug that had become hers in the two months since we’d met.
“It’s only an hour away, but it’s going to take a while to get her settled in.”
“You’re going to make a dozen trips to the store, too.There are so many things you don’t think you need until you get there and realize how little is in that room,” Oscar said.“Is Hannah going?”
I nodded and rubbed my neck, watching Reegan for her reaction.
She didn’t react.
“Evie wanted both of us to take her.I’m picking them up in an hour, then we’re heading down.”
Reegan smiled up at me, not getting up from her seat.“It’s a big day for all of you.”
“It is.”I bent down to kiss her.“Will I see you tomorrow morning?”
She smiled sadly.“I’ll be here.”
I nodded, then carried our mugs back to my house.Oscar said goodbye to Reegan and followed me.
“Did you piss her off?”he asked once we were inside.
I shook my head.“I don’t know.She seems off to me, too.”
“Maybe it’s just you going with Hannah.”
