Page 81 of Take My Heart
I almost say no, but don’t want this guy thinking I’m alone here. He’s probably not a murderer, but you never know. I’m a city girl. I trust no one.
‘He’s busy right now, but I’ll tell him you stopped by. Could I have your name?’
‘It’s Nash.’ He offers me his hand. ‘Nash Wheeler. I’m Brody’s cousin.’
‘His cousin,’ I say, noticing the resemblance. I open the door more and shake his hand. ‘Nice to meet you.’
‘Are you a friend of Brody’s?’
‘No. I mean, kind of. I’m staying here for a few weeks.’
He nods. ‘Yeah, that’s right. Nick mentioned Brody had a girl staying here. You’re the one who got stuck in the storm?’
‘Yeah. My car went in the ditch. Actually, it’s not my car, which is even worse. Anyway, I’ll tell Brody you stopped by.’
‘Is he here? I need to talk to him about the house.’
‘He’s out plowing. I’m not sure when he’ll be back.’ I step aside to let the guy in. ‘Come inside. It’s freezing out there.’
He comes into the house, looking surprised when he sees it. ‘Did Brody hire a maid?’
I laugh. ‘No. I cleaned it this morning. It’s how I relax. I clean.’
‘If you want to come relax at my apartment, you’re welcome anytime,’ he jokes.
‘I might take you up on that. Do you live around here?’
‘No, I live in Chicago, but I’ve been doing some work here the past few months. My wife and I have been staying in the house I’m renovating. It’s next to the orchard. Brody’s parents own it. They’re letting Callie and I stay there for free in exchange for me doing the repairs.’
‘How long have you been married?’ I ask, thinking he doesn’t look much older than Brody.
‘We got married last fall. We’re having our first kid in a few weeks.’ His face lights up when he says it. ‘That’s part of the reason we’re here. My wife’s family died a few years back and she was struggling not having her mom around during the pregnancy. So we’ve been living up here so Callie could spend time with my Aunt Martha, Brody’s mom. She’s been great.’
‘What about your parents? Are they back in Chicago?’
‘My dad and brothers are. My mom passed a while ago. Callie and I were going to head back to Chicago last Saturday, but then the storm hit and kept us here. Now Callie’s freaking out she’ll have the baby here, but I don’t think she will. Her due date is still a couple weeks away.’
‘How exciting. Congratulations!’
‘Thanks.’ He laughs a little. ‘We’re both a little nervous to be parents, but we’ll figure it out. So anyway, I just came by to drop off some supplies. I can just leave them in the garage.’
‘What supplies?’
‘For the house. I told Brody I’d give him whatever leftover supplies I have at no charge. I’ve got some trim pieces, a few boxes of tile, leftover plywood, and some other stuff. I was hoping he’d be here to go through everything, but since he’s not, I’ll just leave it and if he doesn’t want it, he can donate it.’
‘Is this stuff from the house you’re living in?’
‘No, I finished that up in December. This is from one of my other renovations. I do construction. My whole family does. My dad owns the company. I was in Chicago last week and went to some of our job sites and picked up whatever supplies we had left over to bring back here.’
‘Are you helping Brody fix up this house?’
‘That was the plan, but he keeps putting it off.’ Nash’s phone dings and he checks it. ‘I need to get going. I told Callie I’d be home by now. I’m going to go unload the truck and head out. It was good meeting you.’
‘You too.’
He goes to the garage and opens the door. I look out the window and see him taking long pieces of trim from his truck and carrying them to the garage. If Brody’s getting all this stuff for the house, why isn’t he fixing it? He’s had time to work on it. This week was the first big snowfall of the year. What’s he been doing the past few months that’s kept him from working on the house?
Nash finishes unloading the truck, then leaves. I return to the bedroom and get to work painting the walls. It’s a boring white paint, but it’s better than the light blue that was on there before. And it covers up all the nicks and scrapes that were on the walls.
