Nate leaned against the doorjamb to her bedroom. “Want me to come with?”
“Yes... but, no. Susie’s going to throw enough of a fit when I show up in Dallas. She’d go ballistic if you did too. Plus I feel like you’d just be bored out of your mind.”
“So why don’t I stay here and knock some things off your to-do list?”
“You don’t mind? I feel awful.”
“Don’t. Aunt Susie needs you, and I’m happy to help out here while you’re gone.”
She hadn’t been kidding about the place needing a good spruce-up. Maybe because he hadn’t been back for a few years, the wear and tear seemed even more evident. Guilt needled him for staying away for so long.
He straightened away from the doorframe. “Just tell me everything that needs done, and I’ll get to work on it right away. By the time you get back, this place will be more spruced than you could possibly imagine.”
She gave him a tired smile. “You’re sweet.”
“And manly. Let’s not forget that.”
“Oh, I don’t think any of the women in this town would ever let us forget that.” She stepped into Nate’s arms for a hug. “Thanks, honey. Really appreciate this. Anything you can do will be a big help.”
He rested his chin on the top of her head. “Hey, just because I’m a sensitive literature teacher with a passion for poetry doesn’t mean I don’t know how to get my hands dirty. My one disclaimer is I may not be up to speed on the art of entertaining bed and breakfast guests.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that.” She slid from his arms. “Nobody even made a reservation this week.”
“Really? That seems unusual.”
She lifted a shoulder on her way past him to grab a toothbrush holder and travel-size toothpaste off her bathroom counter. “It’s been a bit on the slow side lately. Anyway, if anyone tries making a reservation while I’m gone, just say I’m technically closed.”
She tossed the toothbrush and toothpaste at her open suitcase from the bathroom—and missed—then opened a drawer and pulled out at least a dozen miniature shampoo bottles guests must’ve left behind through the years. “Or actually, go ahead and say I’m permanently closed, since I’m sure at some point I’ll be convicted for murdering my sister.”
Nate shook his head as he fetched the toothpaste off the floor on the other side of her bed. “Maybe it’s a good thing Grandma and Grandpa aren’t around to see that.”
One of the bottles fell out of her hands. When she bent to pick it up, three more bottles fell. “We’re probably what drove them to an early grave to be honest.”
Nate gathered the bottles and handed them back to her. It was a car crash that drove the grandparents he never met to an early grave. He knew that. Just like he knew his mom would give up everything to take care of her baby sister no matter the cost. Sort of like a quirky redhead he met not too long ago trying to make things perfect for her sister.
He shook away the thought. He really needed to stop thinking about her.
“Thanks again, Nate.” His mom dumped the miniature bottles onto her bed next to the suitcase. “I’m sure you’ve got a ton of things you could be doing right now to get settled in Buffalo, but I really appreciate that you’re staying.”
“Hey, you know I love you, and you know I adore Aunt Susie. Kill her a little for me too when you get out there, will you?”
“Ha! Will do. I’ll write out a to-do list before I leave. But don’t feel like you have to do all of it. Just do what you can. Like I said, I’ve got a dozen different projects going on right now. I’m sure Gus will help whenever his back isn’t giving him issues. He’s pretty good about showing up for supper in the evenings, no matter how his back feels. I usually set out an extra plate for Georgie, too. Oh, and some workers should be here sometime this week to start on the glass cottage. Theymight have some questions about the furnace and chandelier. Just call me and I can talk to them over the phone.”
“Sounds good.” Maybe. A glass cottage? Chandelier? What? He’d figure it out. “Just put whatever you need on the list.” The busier he stayed, the less time he’d have to think about the loss of his mentor. Or what to do about his dad’s ongoing calls. Or why he was picturing having a redheaded daughter someday who looked just like her turquoise-eyed mother.
“You know what?” Nate backed out of the room. “I think I’ll get to work on the new mailbox right now.”
“Can you please just tell me if Nate Lambert is on the premises?” Life would be so much easier if McKenna could talk to someone—anyone—other than this guy named Gus.
She’d tried half a dozen times last night before going to bed at the hotel in Omaha. Another half dozen this morning once she arrived at the airport for her, of course, delayed flight. And now this was at least the dozenth time since getting rerouted to Atlanta and waiting hours upon hours for her connecting flight to Nashville.
“Who’d you say was calling again?” Gus replied with a heavy Southern drawl. She noticed he had a way of cranking the dial up and down on that drawl each time she called.
“Same person who’s been calling all day, Gus.McKenna.Is Nate there or not?”
“Can’t say for certain. McKenna? McKenna, McKenna... You know, that name does sound familiar.”
“Considering you’ve heard it the past seventeen times I’ve called, I reckon it would start ringing a bell by now.”
