Page 18 of Hold the Line

He scratched his beard. “Why not? You’re good-looking, gainfully employed and, as far as I know, bathe on a regular basis. If you asked her out, I bet she’d say yes.”

I turned back to the wood pieces on my worktable. Phoebe Kelly was a nonstarter. Watching her grandpa twirl her around the dance floor at Joy’s a few nights ago had only served to remind me how far apart our worlds were. There wasn’t a bridge long enough to close that gap.

Not that it had stopped me from wanting to experience a moment of twirling Phoebe around a dance floor for myself—to know what it would be like to live snatches of time that were nothing but smiles in the arms of a loved one. Soft, pink moments that were so commonplace, it probably didn’t even register how rare they were for others.

But thinking and talking about it was a waste of breath.

“I wouldn’t know the first thing about taking a woman on a date, and I’m not dating anyway. I’ve got other things I’m working toward. Even if I wasn’t…yeah, not happening.”

He went quiet for a beat, and I braced myself for what he was going to say. Chris was always honest and could be as blunt as a baseball bat to the temple when he thought it was needed.

“They took four years from you. That time is gone. Wasted in a cage. Sometimes, I think you forget you’re allowed to live how you want now. Why are you locking yourself down voluntarily? I don’t get it, Deke.”

“Don’t expect you to get it. I’m glad youdon’t.”

I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy, let alone my best friend. I was glad Chris had lived a life so good and clean he couldn’t begin to fathom the way I was moving forward with mine.

Sighing, he came closer, bending his head to look at the planters I was making. Constructed of reclaimed barn wood, they were about two feet tall and square. I’d added thin, crisscrossing strips of teak to the sides to make them more interesting. I didn’t know if Phoebe would like them, and it wouldn’t make up for the ones I’d broken, but I had to dosomething. I repaid my debts and repaired what I broke.

“These are incredible,” Chris said. “Really, don’t let Tills see them. She’ll want a pair of her own, and that’ll only lead to tears.”

I chuffed. “She wants some, I’ll put fake plants in them. No tears.”

“Nah, you need to focus on work you’re getting paid for.” He clapped his hand on my shoulder. “We both know you wouldn’t let me pay you if I tried.”

“Damn right. I’m using your shed for free.”

“It was full of junk you cleaned out for me. That’s all the payment I need.” He propped his hip on my worktable and leveled me with a hard gaze. “Friends do shit for each other and don’t keep score. When are you gonna get that through your thick skull?”

“Might be a while.”

He groaned. “How’d I know you were gonna say that?”

I smirked. “Think we’ve had this conversation before.”

Until I felt like we were on an even playing field, we’d probably keep having it. With all Chris and his family had done for me, it’d be a long,longtime.

Chapter Nine

Phoebe

Thiswasthethirdtime I’d come home to a surprise since Deke had moved in, and this one…

Well, I was speechless.

On either side of my doormat were two of the most gorgeous planters I had ever seen, with absolutely no explanation of where they’d come from. Except I knew, without a doubt, they’d come from Deke.

I crouched to run my fingers over the crosshatched details and smooth rims. Some of the wood looked aged while the rest was newer with a darker hue. I had never seen anything like it.

“Beautiful,” I whispered.

These had to have cost a fortune. The craftsmanship was so intricate and skilled there was no way they were from a factory.

I would have liked to have said I wasn’t going to accept them, but I loved them so much I was considering bringing them inside so I could look at them all the time.

I wasn’t giving them back.

But I also couldn’t allow him to give me something so beautiful without letting him know how much I loved them. He might have been tired of me knocking on his door, but he was going to have to handle it one more time.

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