Page 54 of Her Property

“Hey, when did I tell you the next door neighbor was handsome?” she asked. Cat thought she had editorialized her story when telling Laura over the phone last week. In fact, she knew she had, so Laura wouldn’t start asking questions she didn’t want to answer.

“You didn’t,” Laura replied.

Cat scrunched her brows, now thoroughly confused.

“I know he’s handsome because I saw him myself.”

Cat nearly spit out her cold coffee all over her friend. “What?! When?” Cat’s heart thudded in her chest like a caged animal.

“He came by Alfred’s place this morning. I told him to wait until nine to get here.”

Cat’s eyes just about bugged out of her face as she stood up. The wall clock said it was 8:55am.

“Laura! Are you insane?! Jake and Alfred can’t stand each other!”

“Don’t you think it might help for Jake to see Alfred vulnerable like this? Showing our human sides can make people like you more, you know.”

Cat’s palms were sweating. “Laura! Did Chase put you up to this? This sounds like something Chase would suggest”

“No,” Laura said, her face serious now. “Cat, he really wanted to see you and he said…” she glanced over Cat’s shoulder. “Well, I’ll let him say what he wants to say.”

The back of Cat’s neck tingled, and she knew Jake was standing right behind her. When she turned, her insides just about melted out of her.

My god he cleaned up good. He was wearing a thick gray cable-knit sweater and jeans with none of the usual paint splatters at all. He filled up the whole doorway with his broad shoulders.

“I brought these,” he said, holding up a gorgeous bouquet of fall foliage.

Cat swallowed stiffly. “Thanks, but—”

“They’re for Alfred.”

Cat could hear Laura snicker behind her. When she turned around to glare at her, her friend gave a choked little cough.

“I’m going to go check in on Chase,” Laura said, waving her phone in the air. When she went out the door, she paused at the sight of something outside. Raising her hand to her mouth, Laura looked at Cat. Then she hurried off out of sight.

“What was that…?” Cat said. She strode to the doorway and stuck her head outside. There on the table next to the door was an enormous gift basket three times the size of Alfred’s bouquet, filled with gourmet food and wine. And more flowers.

“That’s for you,” Jake said from behind. “I couldn’t decide and… I figured you might need some better quality sustenance around here while you wait for Alfred’s recovery.”

Cat tore her eyes from the basket, even though she’d spotted several things she’d like to wolf down right at this moment. She’d only picked at the snacks the nurse brought her this morning. But now was not a time for eating.

She steeled herself. Now was a time for telling Jake to get out.

She opened her mouth to do that when Jake stepped towards her, closing the distance between them. He stopped a couple of feet away, as if unsure of what to do next with his body.

He looked her in the eyes and Cat took in a breath at the pain she saw etched across his face. He looked as if he’d had about as much sleep as she had over the past few days.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “For everything. For overreacting when you went out of your way to help me. For being a stubborn ass after you were so kind. I just… I had a lot bottled up. Years of stuff. And I let out some of that pressure on you.”

“Yes you did.”

He lowered his head. “I came to tell you I’m handing everything over to Alfred. I’m going to sell the camp. The cabin too.”

Cat took this in, searching his eyes to see whether he was still mad. “If you’re doing this out of anger, it’s not going to be any kind of resolution for you.”

Jake shook his head. “The feud between our families has gone on too long and it’s hurt so many people. Enough is enough. I’ll find some other way to make things right between me and my… the memory of my brother. And my mother too.”

“No,” came a gruff voice from behind them.

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