Page 21 of Autumn Leaves and Pumpkins Please

I make a rash decision. “You know what, I’ll see you in a few.” I disconnect the call with Everett, then start to head back to my house as I ask my phone to dial Mrs. Colson so I can let her know I’ll be by after lunch. Luckily, she’s very understanding as always. When I pull up to my house, Everett’s truck is already there, but he’s nowhere in sight which means, he already started moving the wood. I throw the truck in park and climb out. Jogging over to the bed of his truck I grab a couple of boards and head around back where I find Everett neatly stacking the wood in my work shed.

“I could have taken care of this Jayse. You didn’t have to come back.” Everett takes his baseball cap off his head and wipes the sweat with the back of his arm.

Placing the wood neatly in the stack I tell him, “I know, but it didn’t sit right with me. Mrs. Colson was very understanding.”

“I didn’t know you were doing work for her.”

My head bobs up and down. “I am. Her bathroom needed fixing really bad. I’m getting it taken care of.”

Everett eyes me. “There’s no way she can afford that kind of money.”

“I didn’t say I was charging her,” I counter.

He chuckles while scratching at the stubble on his jaw. “You never fail to remind me that some of us never change.”

“Shut up and help me move this wood.” We work in silence for the next fifteen minutes until the wood is in the shed. “Do you want something to drink?”

“You got some water?” Everett asks.

I nod my head. The temperature isn’t exactly warm, but we did work up a sweat moving the wood around. “Yeah, come on inside and sit down for a few unless you need to be somewhere.”

Everett glances at his watch. “No, I have a few hours before I have to do anything else.” We head inside and I grab us bottles of water as we take a seat at the table. “So, do you want to talk about Capri?”

Everything in my body stops. The arm that was bringing the water to my mouth stops midair. My eyes flash to him and he’s got a smirk on his face that I’d like to wipe right off him, but in all honesty if anyone is going to understand what I’ve been through, it’s Everett. However, I can’t just come out and discuss this so I’m going to play like I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about. “What do you mean?”

His eyebrows raise as he begins to laugh. “You only looked over towards her apartment about twenty times as we moved the wood around.”

I shake my head and the denial comes to me instantly. “I did not.”

“You did. Plus, you’ve been seen all over town with her. You might as well tell me what’s going on.” My mouth opens and closes multiple times before Everett speaks again. He must realize I’m at a loss for words. “I get it. Losing Diana killed me. Luckily, I got to keep Cayley, but you...you had to lose both in one sweep. The only life you’d ever known had suddenly vanished. I can’t even imagine how you must have felt.”

I sigh heavily. “For years, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do, who to be. I’ve been so lost. I honestly never thought I’d find someone I’d even want to try with again. In my mind it was always Bradee and I. We were the end game. She was all I had ever wanted until we had Sam. My life was perfect in my eyes when the fire happened…” My throat clogs and I look away.

“And everything changed. Not only were you injured, but you had lost everything that actually mattered.” Everett has always been a great listener. He’s great at filling in the blanks when I can’t speak.

My head nods yes. “When I first started noticing Capri, right after she moved to Blue Ridge, I often felt so guilty. In my mind, I shouldn’t be able to move on with how much I loved them. I fought it with everything I had. Then I started working on Bee’s Batter and everything changed. Whatever had drawn me towards Capri to begin with was only growing stronger while I was around her. It got to the point where I couldn't deny it. Now, I’ve let her in.”

“How far in?” he asks.

It’s no secret about me and my time spent in the cemetery. “I took her there last night.” I don't have to explain where “there” is. Everett just knows. His eyes widen. “She knows everything.”

Silence settles between us as we stare at each other across the table. “I know it’s hard, but it’s also time. This will be good for you, and you deserve it. Let this happen. Don’t try to run and don’t try to push her away.”

“I’m working on it and so is she but she has a past, too.”

Everett nods his head. “Don’t we all?”

After Everett leaves, I peek around the house before heading to my parents and Mrs. Colson. Everett’s words hold a place in my head, running around in circles. I don’t want to ruin this thing between Capri and I, but sometimes we can’t stop our bad habits.

NINETEEN

Capri

My phone starts ringing, pulling me away from the painting. As I lay the paint brush back down, I realize how achy and stiff my body is, especially my fingers, from how long I’ve sat here working on this painting. It’s always like that for me. I get lost in the colors and images in my mind that move on to the canvas. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve lost most of my day in this same position. Forgetting to eat, drink, or even move.

I grab my phone off the windowsill and see it’s Warbee. Thinking that she needs someone to work at the bakery I answer it. “Hey, Boss, what’s up?”

“Nope, I’m not calling as your boss. I’m calling as your friend. You are coming with Teaganne and me,” Warbee announces.

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