I shook my head. “Nah, I came to grab Eastley. It’s time she got a look at the house.”
Asia eyed her friend. “A look at the house? What house? Whose house?”
Eastley gave her a sheepish grin. “I forgot to tell you I’m moving into Quentin’s extra bedroom.”
“Uh, who the fuck is Quentin?”
That caused both Eastley and me to laugh. “Bishop.” Eastley jabbed her thumb in my direction. “You thought his first name was Bishop?”
Asia eyed Eastley, then me. “No offense, hon. But I never really thought about whether Bishop was your first or last name. All I know is that it’s what I call you.” Her attention fell back on Eastley. “But it’s interesting that you know his government name.”
She waved Asia off. “Whatever, man. Anyway, I’ll be back.”
Asia nodded. “This is good. Thanks, Bi—Quentin. Please take her somewhere quiet and calm. Because if she jumps one more time when somebody laughs too loud, I’mma be the one taking a Xanax.”
We arrived at my house. It was a one story, slate blue cottage with white trim. The front porch was wide and made for sitting. I’d helped with building it when I was in the throes of my grief from losing Teagan. I needed something to do with myself and something other than my loss to concentrate on.
“It’s so cute,” she said with a grin.
“Yeah, well don’t get too happy. The outside’s the best part.”
We stepped inside. “Oh. Okay. Is brown your favorite color?” she asked after taking in the space.
It was an open floor plan, so when you stepped into the house, you could see the great room and the kitchen. The walls were painted beige, and the kitchen cabinets were white oak. She was right. It was a lot of brown.
“Nah.” I laughed. “The painter told me he would give me a deal if I chose a color he already had on hand. He had a hell of a lot of agreeable beige.”
She laughed too.
“One day I’ll get around to repainting it or having it repainted. Right now, it’s not really a priority. Let me give you a tour.” I showed her the kitchen, the pantry, the powder room, the laundry room, the door to my bedroom, and finally her bedroom.
She looked around the guest bedroom. “Beige paint aside, it’s really nice, Quentin.”
It was a good-sized room with two windows on the back wall that looked out onto the lake.
“It doesn’t have a bathroom. You’ll have to use the bathroom in the hallway.”
“That’s okay.”
“But the big closet kinda makes up for that.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I bought it as a single dude. I wasn’t thinking about en suite bathrooms in the guest room.”
She gave me soft eyes. “I know. You had other things on your mind.” She walked over and peeked inside the walk-in closet. She left the closet, going to stand in front of one of the windows before turning to face me. “It’s peaceful here. I think I’ll be able to reset my nervous system here, . . . hallway bathroom and all. Thanks for offering it to me, Q.”
“You’re welcome. And if the beige isn’t calming, we can change it.”
She cocked her head to the side. “I’m not trying to be a pain. You shouldn’t have to change your house for me.”
I stared at her silently for a few seconds. “Goin’ along to get along is what had you feeling stressed the hell out at KD’s place. What would be the purpose of me moving you in just to put you in the same predicament? We’re painting the walls. Choose a color; I’ll start next week.”
“Don’t you guys have the Heritage Ride next Saturday?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we do. I’ll start when we get back.”
She hesitated. “You have work. You’re gonna come home from work, all tired and exhausted, and paint a bedroom?”
I grinned at her concern. “First of all, my work isn’t all that exhausting, E. Secondly, it’s a bedroom. It’s gonna take, what, a few hours, tops?”
“I’ll come over here and tape off the room. That part always takes forever.”
