Page 161 of The Right Kind of Wrong

A soft knock on her door pulled her attention. “Oh, hey, Gumby.”

He was standing in her doorway, dressed like the rest of the guys in a jumpsuit that was covered in various, unidentifiable types of grime. She always made sure not to think too deeply about it. “I won’t keep you long,” he said, “but I wanted to check in with you about something.”

Blake smiled instinctively. Gumby had given her a lifeline that maybe not even he had realized at the time, and she’d always be grateful for that. “What can I do for you?”

He took off his baseball cap, wringing it in his hands. “I’d like to get my finances in order. For real this time,” he said in a soft but determined lilt. “You’ve already done so much to streamline things, but I’m starting to think about the future a little more. And, well, it wasn’t ever on my list of priorities before now.”

Blake tried not to think the worst, but usually, people made big decisions because of health issues or when something was going wrong in their life. “Is everything okay? Are you okay?” she asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

Gumby was just one of those genuinely good people. Always lending a helping hand. Always giving more than he took from this world. The idea of anything bad happening to him made Blake feel a little sick.

Especially because, as far as she knew, he didn’t have any family.

Her nerves settled only slightly when he waved her off. “I’m fine. It’s actually. Well . . .” He trailed off, not meeting Blake’s gaze at first. When he finally found it again, his eyes were determined, even if his hands were still choking his hat. “I want to ask Denny to move in with me. And I want to make sure that I’m doing things the right way.”

Blake’s mouth dropped open. Not in a million years would she have guessed that Gumby was Denny’s secret boyfriend.

But, she realized, she was wildly delighted by the idea.

And heartened, more than anything, that Gumby felt like she was a safe person to tell. “I promise I won’t say anything to Monroe or Denny about this. Just for the record,” she said first. “And I’d absolutely love to help get anything in order that would make you feel more comfortable with the decision. It’s a big one.”

Thoughts of her own future, where she and Monroe could maybe live together one day, flitted through her mind.

Because of that future possibility, and her genuine happiness for Gumby, she was trying to keep the cheesy smile off her face, though she didn’t think she was doing a very good job.

Because . . . wow. All that the last eight months had really proven to her was that plants still bloomed, even in the darkness.

Gumby cleared his throat, trying to temper his own smile, too. What a lovesick fool! Blake was loving every second of it. “I was thinking that maybe we could up your hours to full-time, if you’d like. Give you a raise that’s commensurate with that fancy new degree I know you just got.”

She’d mentioned to Gumby, at the beginning of the summer, that she was taking classes to finish her undergraduate accounting degree. On the off chance, mostly, that it would make him feel more comfortable hiring her.

Grinning, she told him, “My diploma’s in the mail.”

Blake Bettencourt: college graduate.

It had a nice ring to it.

It was another line item on the long list of ways her life had gotten better since she’d put Noah in the rearview mirror.

“Well, think it over, okay? I’m sure you’ll have lots of options, but I’d love to have you here, if you’re interested in staying.”

Blake held her hand up to her heart. “Thank you, Gumby. I’ll let you know soon, okay?”

She already knew what her answer was going to be, but it never hurt to sit with a decision, just to make sure she’d considered all the options.

Gumby nodded. “And you can call me whatever you prefer, but the people close to me usually call me Ben.”

Blake’s smile threatened to overtake her entire face. “Okay, Ben.”

He walked out of her office, whistling a tune quietly. Blake wasn’t sure, but she thought that it sounded an awful lot like “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

Yeah, there was a lot of that going around these days.

Blake got home just as her sister was pulling up to the curb in front of Monroe’s house.

Which wasn’t ideal because she couldn’t check in with Monroe first, but if Monroe had thought this was in any way a bad idea for Maisie, she wouldn’t have agreed to it.

Regardless of how much she loved Blake.