Page 7 of The Good Guy on My Porch

She looked down her nose at me. “Don’t judge.”

“I’m not judging,” I said, though I kind of was judging. “It’s just that this is such an outdoorsy town, I assumed you’d be into outdoor stuff.”

“I know it’s shocking to find out I’m not like everyone else,” she said, sarcasm laced delicately through her words.

“You should come out with me, sometime. It’s pretty here, but it’s breathtaking out there.”

She paused, her mouth open, her lips glistening. I was so distracted I almost didn’t hear what she said. “I’ve got a policy of never turning down a new experience so, I’ll go. When?”

“When’s your day off?” I had a few ideas about some easy hikes with amazing views, something simple so she wouldn’t run screaming.

“Sunday and Monday. You probably work every day.”

“The spa is closed on Monday. We’ll go then, if it’s not raining.”

She nodded, her gaze shifting around the front yard like she was looking for an escape. I was a nice guy, it’s what every woman I’d ever dated had said about me, and I should have let her off the hook, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t give up the chance to spend the day with her, to be in her orbit a little longer.

“We’ll go on a hike and then you can take me to do something that you like and I hate.”

Her smile was brilliant. “Really? What do you hate?”

A feeling washed over me in that moment, the same feeling that had hit me the first time I’d driven into Catalpa Creek, the mountains giving way to the green, gorgeous valley and the town. A feeling of being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. “I hate all kinds of things. What do you love?”

She considered, lips pursed, fingers tapping on her knee as the night got darker around us and her face became harder and harder to see. “What about musical theater? Most of the men I know hate that.”

“I’ve never been. Never had the slightest desire to go.” She was offering me something I’d probably hate and yet I felt like she’d just given me a gift.

“The college is putting on Mary Poppins in a couple weeks. We’ll go see that if I survive your torture hike.”

I stuck out my hand, bumping her arm in the dark and felt her small hand slip into mine. She pulled it away as soon as we’d completed one quick shake and stood. “I’m heading to bed. Have a good night, Oscar.”

“Good night, Dilly.”

I stayed outside for a while after she’d gone in. I listened to her bang around in her half of the duplex, wondering what she did before bed, what her nightly routine consisted of. Finally, when she’d gone quiet and the lights in the front of her house had gone out, I stood and went inside my own half of our duplex.

***

The front porch was occupied when I walked up, take-out container in hand. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Dilly sitting on the top step, but my youngest sister, just two years older than me, her light hair glowing in the early evening sunlight, her smile shaky but hopeful. I bit back a sigh. The whole reason I moved from my one-bedroom apartment to the duplex was because my family had a habit of dropping in to visit without warning. I’d thought moving four hours away from them all would have stopped that habit, but they viewed Catalpa Creek as the ideal get-away from the hectic city life of Northern Virginia and had somehow managed to visit more often than they had when I’d lived thirty minutes away.

I sat next to my sister. I was going to have to install a porch swing or walk around with pollen-covered pants all the time. “This is a nice surprise,” I said. “How are you?”

Molly, my only unmarried sister, who was usually cheery and energetic, couldn’t manage to hold onto her smile. “I just wanted to get out of the city for a bit. Is it okay if I stay with you?”

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a side hug. “You’re always welcome to stay here, you know that.” I let her go so I could face her. “But I can tell you’re upset. Did something happen at work?” Molly was the most career-oriented member of our family and that was saying a lot. She’d been working in politics for years and had high aspirations. I suspected her goal of being elected senator next year was just one step on the way to her real goal of being the first female president.

“Work’s great,” she said, her voice catching. She sat up straighter. “I’m just really tired, Oscar. Maybe we can talk in the morning?”

I led her inside and showed her to the guest room. Getting it ready for company was one of the first things I’d done after I’d moved in. I just hadn’t expected the company to arrive so soon. “Are you hungry?” I asked as Molly set her bag down on the bed.

“No, thanks. I stopped before I got here.”

She threw her arms around me in a hug so tight I almost couldn’t breathe. I hugged her back, fully worried now that something was really wrong with my little sister. “You know you can talk to me, right?” I said. “I want to help.”

She stepped away, wiping her eyes, and turned back to the bed. “I’m fine. Really. I just needed to get away for a while.”

I left the room, feeling like I was letting her down, and took my dinner to the front porch. It was a nice night and I didn’t want to disturb Molly by banging around in the kitchen while she was trying to sleep. It had nothing to do with wanting to be there when Dilly got home. Nothing at all.

When Dilly started up our walk, she didn’t see me at first, she was lost in thought, her frown fierce.

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