“It’s good to see you, too.”
As she walked away, Conrad could have sworn she winked at Kenzie.
* * *
Kenzie followedHarrison through his front door, grateful to get out of the cold wind. She glanced around at the dozen or more dusty moving boxes that filled his living room. “This was all upstairs at The Cave?”
When he’d told her that he planned to spend his afternoon unpacking, she had offered to help.
“I’ve still got climbing gear and furniture there.” Harrison unleashed Gabby, who bounded off to explore. “I brought mostly personal stuff. I figured I couldn’t wear the same pair of jeans forever.”
“Yeah, probably not.” She slipped out of her parka, which he took and hung in an almost empty coat closet near the door. “Thanks. Where do you want to start?”
“Music.” He ran a hand through his hair, glanced around. “I never do anything without tunes. One of these boxes has my sound system. I labeled it so I could set it up first. Now I just have to find it.”
Kenzie walked among boxes, turning them to read their sides. “Here it is.”
Harrison whipped out a pocket knife, walked over to the box, and sliced through the heavy tape to reveal a lot of bubble wrap.
He pulled out a black box that at first reminded Kenzie of an old-timey clock radio and carried it over to an end table. “I can connect my phone to this via Bluetooth or play CDs on it. It comes with wireless speakers for different rooms of the house, but I won’t bother with those until I move into my new place.”
“Fancy.” Kenzie didn’t have anything that sophisticated. She walked into the kitchen for a glass of water. “What kind of music do you like?”
“Classic rock, metal, adult alternative, post-grunge, dubstep, country—pretty much everything but mindless pop,” he called after her. “How about you?”
“Mindless pop.” She smiled to herself when he laughed at her answer. “I’m not picky, as long as it’s music and not just noise.”
“Got it.”
She opened a cupboard near the sink and found it full of hobnail glassware in turquoise blue. She took out a glass, felt its weight. “This is so cool.”
Mrs. Beech’s house was an antique shop.
She filled the glass with cold tap water and drank, setting it down on the counter just as the Lumineers’Opheliabegan to play.
She found Harrison standing in the middle of the room, looking rugged and handsome, hands on his hips, a smile on his face.
“How’s that?”
It took her a minute to realize he was talking about the music.
“It’s perfect.”
They got to work, Gabby supervising while Kenzie opened boxes and announced the contents so that Harrison could carry the boxes to the appropriate room—towels to the bathroom, clothes and sheets to the bedroom, cooking stuff and cleaning supplies to the kitchen.
He looked into a box that held flatware and utensils. “I’m not sure I need any of this. The house came with almost everything.”
Kenzie opened another box. “Files and magazines—and, oh! Your old high school yearbooks. You kept them.”
She reached in, took one out. “West High School Eagles.”
She walked to the sofa, sat, and started thumbing through it. “What grade were you in back in 2000?”
He stepped out of the kitchen. “A junior. What are you doing?”
“Trying to find you.” She turned to the juniors’ section.
“Oh, God.” He scooped the puppy up and sat beside her. He turned a few pages and pointed. “That’s me.”
