Page 11

Kieran

“Guys, I’m h—” Lena’s voice called from the front door. “What happened here? Kier?”

I made my way from the kitchen to the living area sheepishly, my face burning. “Coming.” I found Lena standing in the middle of the living room, a small messenger bag slung across her shoulder, looking around.

“So…”

I shrugged and grimaced. “I’m sorry. I got carried away.” As she looked around, I saw the room with fresh eyes. I’d moved the couch from the center of the room to the wall, moved aside two bookshelves and then reorganized them, and repositioned the entertainment center to give the new couch position better visibility.

“Did you get bored or something?” She didn’t sound mad, more amused, a small smile on her face.

“Something like that. Are you… mad?”

She put her bag on the floor near the front door and stepped out of her shoes. “I’m not mad.” It sounded like there was a “but” coming.

I looked at the floor before glancing back up at her. “It’s just that I started thinking of the flow of the room, and it seemed like this would work better, give you more floor space with the couch against the wall, and better access to your bookshelves. I spent an hour or so sketching it out just for fun and the next thing I knew, Ellis was standing in the kitchen, giving me a death stare and telling me that getting paint samples from the hardware store was going too far.”

Her smile widened a bit. “I’m not surprised he’d say something like that.”

“I’m really sorry. You’re always saying how disorganized you feel and you’re so busy with work and the side job and since I’m here, I just thought I could help. I’m sorry.”

She took a seat in an armchair and reached for me. “Come here. Sit down.”

I sighed softly and closed my eyes for a second, bracing myself for her to chastise me, before I sank into the couch.

She reached over and took one of my hands in hers. “Listen,” she said gently.

“I know.”

“I’m not mad. But you’re here to rest. I want you to rest. You don’t need to rearrange my furniture and reorganize my shelves. I didn’t invite you here to sneak free labor out of you. Rest and recovery. That’s the assignment. That’s your only job while you’re here.”

“What about figuring out my next move?”

She gave me a knowing smile. “That will come in time. I’m not worried about it. I just want you to relax and recover from that job.”

I pinched my lips together and nodded. “Thank you. I really am—”

She held up a hand to stop me, grinning. “If you apologize for this one more time, I’m kicking you out.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Got it.”

“Now… Ellis is working tonight. What do you say we go into town and have dinner? We can bring him some takeout while we’re there. Maybe he’ll even give me a new tattoo while we’re at it.”

With a relieved smile and a nod, I gave her a thumbs up. “Sounds like a plan.”

Lena showered and changed before we left for dinner. As she drove us into Pine Bluff, I looked around in a way I hadn’t had much of an opportunity to when I was driving the night before. It was a cute town, I had to admit. Lena and I had met in college and I’d never come home with her for a holiday or a summer visit, so Pine Bluff was all new to me. It wasn’t unlike Port Grandlin, in that it was a small downtown area surrounded by suburbs sprawling out in all directions.

She parked us in a central parking lot and took my hand. “Let’s walk. It’s such a nice night.”

I squeezed her hand gently. “What kind of food are we in the mood for?”

“Ellis likes tacos. Would you be in favor of hitting a taco truck or opposed to it?”

“In favor, definitely.”

“Good.” We walked a few blocks, still hand-in-hand, and the tension in my chest unraveled a little. Besides that one hookup Jackson back in Port Grandlin, I hadn’t had a lot of physical touch since I’d moved to Virginia for the show. Too bad the chemistry just wasn’t there with Jackson, I thought. Or maybe it isn’t. If he and I had really hit it off, we would’ve had to deal with a lot of headaches when I quit my job and moved away. Maybe it’s for the best.

As we walked, we passed several people who greeted Lena with big smiles and waves, kind words of greeting, even one much older woman who wrapped her in a quick hug.