“He hasn’t had a guitar at the station for a while,” she says. “You should hear him.”
“If you like country music, you should come out with us,” Cass says.
“I’d love that. Send me the details.”
“Dustin will probably invite you himself,” Emberleigh says. “He always invites the crew.”
“Cody, Patrick, and Greyson will all be there,” Daisy says.
So, Greyson and I will be out in public.
Only, no one can know we’re together.
Chapter 28
Greyson
To love at all is to be vulnerable.
~ C. S. Lewis
My house is too quiet. Too big. Too empty.
I pace from the living room to the kitchen and back—again.
Hallie and Mia have dentist appointments today—on our day off—one we’d normally spend together.
I’m lonely.
I’m never lonely.
Lonely has been my happy place—until now.
Now my house is an echo chamber and my head is a shooting range. I have to get out, so I call Mrs. Kinkaid, even though I’ve got an appointment before lunch—my panel interview with FEMA.
Since I’ve been spending all my free time with Hallie, it slipped my mind to cancel the interview. I figure I’ll go through with it. I’m not necessarily even considering takingthe job. I’m just following through with the application process. The final call as to whether I take the position will be up to three things: if they select me, if Hallie ends things between us, and if I say yes.
As much as we love to talk about our impenetrable bubble, Hallie and I don’t know where our future is headed. She may come to a juncture and realize she has to kick me to the curb because she can’t afford to risk Mia’s stability. I understand her reasoning and I support her one hundred percent, even if I get a knot in the pit of my stomach every time I think of us going through a breakup.
Now that I’ve found Hallie, I want nothing more than to make a life with her—and Mia. But that call is not mine to make.
“Greyson? To what do I owe this honor?” Mrs. Kinkaid says when she answers the phone.
“I’m off work today. Just checking if you have anything that needs fixing.”
“As a matter of fact, the light over my dining table keeps flickering. I was going to call Stan out this week to have a look at it. Seems like a fuse thing, but what do I know? I’m not Benjamin Franklin. I stay far away from things that can zap me.”
I chuckle. “I’ll be over in a few minutes to take a look at it.”
“I’ll make you lunch.”
“Can’t stay for lunch. I’ve got an appointment. But you can make me a glass of tea.”
“Done,” she says. “But you owe me lunch.”
“Deal,” I tell her.
I grab my toolbox and head out to the Kinkaid house, grateful for the sunshine and fresh air and something to keep my mind off Hallie. Not that my mind is off her. It never fully is.
