“Of course I don’t!” she declares like I’m crazy to even ask. She runs her hands through her hair, but it does nothing to tame the mess it’s in. “You were a complete bag of ass toward me my entire life.”
“That’s true,” I agree, and she freezes and blinks. “I didn’t know you’d be here. If Jude had told me that, I wouldn’t have asked to set my trailer here. I might not have even taken the job.”
“Because why would you want to hang around Larry from the Three Stooges, right?” she snaps.
“No. Because I know I was an ass to you and I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable in your own home,” I reply and once again she looks shocked. “I’m an adult now, Winnie. I’m not that much of an asshole anymore. I just want to do this job, and living on site makes it much easier.”
I can tell she doesn’t believe me, not fully. Probably because she doesn’t trust me and that’s fair. I’ve been back in her world for about fifteen minutes and her memories—wounds, really—have been reopened. But my memories of her are coming back full force too, and I didn’t tease her because I hated her. I liked pushing her buttons. Teenage Winnie was beautiful but timid, and annoying her or insulting her brought out a fire in her…I liked it. Until she broke my nose. But something has to give here. Either she lets me stay and do this job, or I call Jude and tell him what’s going on and why I can’t. I am not just going to bail on him. And my only hope is he talks her into leaving or letting me stay, because I need this job.
“Look, I don’t want to upset you, but if you keep insisting I leave, I have to call your brother because he’s the one that hired me and quite frankly,” I pause, “he’s the only one who can fire me. I don’t have anywhere else to go. I made plans based on this job.”
Her expression softens. When she sighs this time it’s definitely more resignation than anger. “Fine. You can stay and do whatever it is you’re going to do as long as you can work around me. Because I’m staying here. I have to because…this is where I want to be.”
Okay, that makes very little sense but whatever. “I can try to work around you, but it’s going to be loud and dusty.”
“Great.” She replies with nothing but sarcasm. She turns to head back into the house but pauses and glances at me over her shoulder. “If you tell Jude I’m here, I will make your life a living hell. And I’ll enjoy it. Like I said, he’s a fixer and I don’t want him rushing over here and trying to fix me.”
She heads back inside and slams the oak door again.
What the hell have I accidentally walked into? Jesus, this is not the Winnie Braddock I knew as a kid. This woman…well she’s beautiful but she’s clearly broken. Like in a million pieces and I have no idea why.
My phone rings. I look at it in my hand and see Jude’s name on the screen. I hold my breath and hit accept. “Hey, buddy! I just got to your place.”
“Is everything all right?”
Umm…not really. Your sister is here and she’s kind of spinning out of control.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Because you called me,” he replies, his voice confused and sleepy. “Like a couple minutes ago.”
“I did?” I lie like I’ve always lied, perfectly. “Shit. I must have pocket dialed you or something. Sorry about that! I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“I have a toddler. I haven’t slept since he was born. No worries,” Jude jokes easily. “Don’t worry about it.”
“You have a kid, huh?” I say. Jude didn’t mention personal stuff when he called me yesterday. He just said he saw my flyer by the grocery store and recognized my name. He said he wanted a guy he could trust working on the place. That made me feel great. But then again Jude always trusted me, even when I was untrustworthy.
“Yeah, he’s the best,” Jude replies. “And I married the most incredible woman. Zoey Quinlin. You remember her?”
Zoey Quinlin? The hot redheaded pastor’s daughter Jude and just about every other guy had a crush on. “Seriously? Yeah, I remember her. She was a great girl.”
“So are you starting work today or tomorrow?” Jude asks again.
“Probably tomorrow,” I explain. “I just set the trailer up and I’m going to do a walk through later today. Will likely start in the kitchen.”
“Cool.” Jude sounds nervous. “Keep me posted, okay? The place is ancient and you’re bound to run into unexpected problems.”
“I’ve been working on renovations for years now. I’ve seen it all,” I tell him as I walk around to the door of my trailer and unlock it. “Besides, your family takes really good care of this place. I’m sure it’ll go smoothly. Does the rest of the family know about this or are you surprising them?”
“It’s not exactly a surprise, but I haven’t really mentioned the details of what I’m doing to my family,” Jude explains, which is why Winnie was thrown for a loop. “And I haven’t mentioned that I’ve hired someone to start on it.”
So that’s why Winnie doesn’t know. But why doesn’t she want him to know she’s here? “So what are your sisters up to these days anyway?”
“Dixie and Sadie both live here in San Fran. Dixie is dating our goalie and works for the ALS Foundation. They just got engaged, God help him.” He chuckles. “Sadie is a nurse. She’s dating one of our coaches.”
“Is Winnie dating one of your trainers or something?” I say jokingly.
“Thank the hockey gods, no,” Jude replies and lets out a heavy breath on the other end of the phone. “She’s had the same boyfriend for like a decade. A Toronto guy. She lived here for a while, but just moved back there.”
