Page 57 of Welcome Home, Katie Gallagher
Family. It had been so long. My grandfather had died when I was little, Dad when I was fifteen, and Mom hadn’t been the same afterward. She’d been more of an absentminded roommate than a mom. It had been Justin for ten years, and now not even him. I hugged Mr. Cavanaugh tightly and nodded. I had to get out of here before I broke down again. Waving to both men, I turned and walked to my car. Chaucer and I needed to put our heads together. I’d really been looking forward to sleeping in a bed. Damn.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Aiden
"Come on, Pops. I’ll buy you lunch, and we’ll try to figure out how to fix what I just screwed up.” I got her fired. She’d finally received some good news. The house was hers. And I went and got her fired.
“Wait until Chuck sobers up. He’ll probably forget he did it.” Pops pointed at a sandwich shop.
I veered for the door and held it open. “There’s got to be a better place for her to work, anyway. The truck is freezing in the winter, and she has to deal with crazy customers daily.” We sat at a table in the back. “Any place looking for a cook?”
Pops sank into his chair. “I can ask around. I feel like we’re nothing but bad luck for that girl.”
Propping my elbows on the table, I nodded my agreement. “She needs a job. She needs furniture. Walls need paint.” I scrubbed my hands down my face. “Mo. Does she need help in her shop?”
Pops shook his head. “Nobody’s hiring at this time of year.”
“Crap.” I stood to order our food. “Do you want your usual?”
Pops nodded, looking as dejected as I felt. We spent an hour brainstorming, texting friends, making phone calls. By the time I drove Pops home, we had a plan for one problem.
I pulled up to Katie’s place at about six, my truck bed piled high with furniture. Chaucer came bounding down the stairs while Katie stood in the doorway, watching. I hopped out and waved at the back of the truck.
“I come bearing gifts from yon Cavanaugh.” I cricked my finger in invitation.
Descending slowly, she said, “What is all this?” She walked around the truck to stand beside me.
I breathed a sigh of relief. She was still talking to me. “My grandma redecorated twenty years ago. She and Pops put the extra furniture in the attic and the basement. Pops and I went through all of it this afternoon, picked the best pieces, and polished them up.”
I watched her looking at the dark wood dressers and tables, bed frames and chairs.
“These might not be your taste, but it’ll give you someplace to sit or sleep until you can replace them with pieces you like.”
Her smile could fuel a power plant.
“Really?” Her eyes twinkled.
It wasn’t fair. How could anyone say no to her? When her smile dimmed, all I could think about was how to get it back. Shit. I was whipped.
“But, this should all go to you or your sister or your brother. Not me.” She bit her lip and my body twitched in response.
“None of us need furniture. Hell, I live in a tiny apartment downtown. Mo’s house is fully furnished.” I gestured to the ornate dark wood. “This isn’t her style, anyway.”
Katie stepped closer to the truck bed and ran her fingertips along a curved chair leg. “But it’s all so beautiful. How could someone not fall in love?”
I watched her closely. “I don’t know.”
She flung herself at me, squeezing tightly. “Thank you!”
I let my eyes drift closed, absorbing the feel of her, the scent. When she let go, I hung on for one moment more. “So, I guess I’m unloading all of this?”
She clapped, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Yes! Make haste.”
“Okay, I’ll haul them to the porch. You decide where you want them inside. This stuff weighs a ton, so no changing your mind a million times.” I hopped up and handed a small end table to her. She carried it to the porch and came back for more.
While she took chairs and mirrors, I hauled dressers and tables. The headboard and footboard were particularly heavy. I was not looking forward to dragging those upstairs. I should have asked Bear to help, but as I was trying to keep him far away from Katie, that seemed counterproductive.
A little after seven, just as the final piece of furniture was put in place, I got a call about a theft. It was a family friend who had asked for me, so instead of staying, having dinner, and finishing that bottle of wine, I was leaving. Damn it.
