Page 9 of The Chad Next Door
“Hi, I’m Eleanor. You must be the woman who bought the old Keller house.”
That name sounds vaguely familiar, so I must be. Plus, with a town this small, I would imagine there aren’t a lot of newbies moving in. “Hi, yes, I’m Hope Duncan. This is…” I gesture to Link and Zelda, who have strangely remained glued to the side of the car instead of joining me on the sidewalk. It might not be unusual for Link to keep his distance, but I have never seen Zelda be shy. “Link and Zelda.”
Eleanor’s smile shifts a little as she takes in the kids. “Oh my, well, those are certainly interesting names, aren’t they?”
“They come from a video game,” Zelda says, finally stepping back into her fearless attitude. “But you’ve probably never heard of it.”
“Zelda, remember you need to be polite,” I growl under my breath.
Thankfully, Eleanor waves my warning away and returns to her full smile. “Oh, she’s right. I don’t really know anything about video games. You and your husband must love them, though!”
It would be a good idea to nip this one in the bud before the whole town starts thinking anything but the truth. I don’t want to have to correct a thousand different people when I could potentially start it all right here. “Oh, I’m not married. And they aren’t mine.” I wince as soon as I say those words. “I mean, yes, they’re mine. They’re my niece and nephew.”
Did they notice? Link has been completely focused on the curb by his foot, and Zelda hasn’t lowered her chin—she must find people who don’t like video games to be inferior. It would explain a lot of her feelings about me, that’s for sure. But I don’t want them to think I don’t want them. I do! I absolutely do. Even if I have no idea how to be a parent and less than a month ago I was a starving grad student living in a sketchy apartment with a guy who literally never left his room except to go to the clubs until long after I had fallen asleep.
“Well,” I say when Eleanor doesn’t seem to know how to respond to my clarification. “We should probably get some groceries. Wait, did you say there isn’t a lake here? In…Laketown?” That was one of the reasons I picked this place (along with the proximity to Aunt Phoebe, but we’re not counting that). I was hoping to give the kids something fun for the summer.
She laughs like I’ve just told the funniest joke she’s ever heard. “Oh no, dear, we’re drier than the Sahara Desert.”
Her analogy doesn’t quite work, considering the skies have been threatening rain since yesterday, but I understand her meaning. There isn’t a lake in Laketown, which has me wondering if I’ve brought us to a backwards place that isn’t as charming as it seemed on paper.
“It was nice to meet you, Eleanor,” I tell her, debating if I mean that as I reach for the kids and start shuffling them toward the door.
“Let me give you my number, honey.” I’m about to refuse when she adds, “I can send you all the school information. The bus runs right past your lane every day.”
Okay, that would actually be really useful. Though Link gets a mild look of terror in his eyes as Eleanor types her number into my phone, Zelda actually looks excited. She must have been so bored the last few weeks with nothing new to learn. I hope, if I do send them to school, she’ll be able to help her brother settle in and make some friends.
“Thank you,” I tell Eleanor sincerely. “I haven’t even had a chance to look at the school stuff. It’s been a little chaotic the last few weeks.”
She may not know any of the details of our life, but as she looks us over again, Eleanor seems to sense that we’re all new to this arrangement. “We here in Laketown look out for each other,” she says, pointing to my phone. “Whatever you need, I can point you in the right direction. Just give me a call!”
As she waves and walks away, toward what looks like a little bakery, I hold back a sudden rush of emotion. She is the embodiment of what I was hoping for from a small town, and I seriously hope she’s not the only kind one. It’s hard to be completely hopeful when Grizz is the only other person I’ve met so far, but I pray he’s the exception to the Laketown rules. I only have room for one gruff and grumpy guy in my life when what I really need is all the help I can get.
I take a deep breath and put on a brave face. Help or no help, I can do this. “Okay, kiddos, let’s go get some food!”
Chapter Five
Chad
I should have stayed home. I really have no reason to come to town—my fridge is stocked, the house is solid, there’s a whole bookshelf of books waiting for me—but here I am, slowly wandering the tiny hardware store as if there’s anything in here I don’t already have stocked in the garage. With how much I have in my house to occupy me, you would think I spend all my time here instead of Sun City.
But I only made it two days before I started going stir crazy, so here I am.
Looking for a way to fix my neighbor’s window.
“Can I help you with anything, Mr. Briggs?” A woman in her late twenties approaches me, though she’s been watching me since the moment I stepped through the door. She pretended not to, but it’s not like this store is very large. I watched her just as easily as she watched me, and I get the feeling I should do my best to avoid her. She wasn’t running the store a year ago when I bought the house, so the only way she would know me is through gossip, which tends to move quickly in this town.
As she smiles at me, waiting for my response, I give her a quick examination. Comfortable clothes fit for her occupation while still being flattering, low maintenance hair style, no wedding ring or sign of one existing anytime recently. She must have recently moved to Laketown and is here to stay unless she finds love with someone passing through.
Someone like me.
“I think I’ve got it covered, Miss…”
“Oh, I’m June!” She thrusts out her hand, revealing calloused palms that speak of a considerable amount of hard labor. She’s not just a pretty face to sell tools, then. Good for her. “And you’re Chad, right? Sorry, that must feel strange, having everyone know your name when you don’t know anyone yet.”
I take her hand, still a little wary, but at least she understands the frustration of being in a small town. She must have moved from somewhere much bigger. I wonder what brought her here. It could have happened anytime in the last year, really, and for someone as young and friendly as her, my first guess would be that it was to get away from someone. Likely a romantic partner. It would have to have been a serious relationship for her to up and move to a tiny town like his.
No. Don’t start digging, Chad. You’re on vacation.
