Page 115 of When We Were Us
CHAPTER FIFTY
hank
Tucker runsaround us as we leave the porch and cross back to the truck. I open the tailgate and spread out the blanket. Because Wren is only dressed in shorts and a tank top, I throw the other half of the blanket over her legs and hand her the jacket, then sit down next to her.
“Won’t you be cold?”
“Nah. I’m good.” I help her drape the jacket over her shoulders and she slips her arms in. It’s big on her, and I can’t help the pull in my gut seeing her in it. I’d like to see her in nothingbutit. I’ve imagined her barefoot in the kitchen at her grandparents' place in nothing but my T-shirt at least a dozen times since before I started work on the house.
“It’s so peaceful here,” she says quietly, and I nod. “It’s easy to forget how bright the stars are when you’re surrounded by city lights all the time.”
“I bet.” I can’t stop the next words from coming out. “Do you miss it?” I ask, my pulse starts pounding heavily in my ears. “Home?”
“I’m not really sure Californiaishome anymore,” she says, quietly.
My heart rate picks up at her admission. She’s already expressed she’s not going back to working with Derek. After dissolving the partnership, things definitely won’t look the same for her. Especially now that her clients’ loyalties are being tested by that asshole.
We’re finally getting along—hell, we’re great, and there’s been more flirting than I think we ever did as kids—but staying in Timber Forge has never been Wrenley’s first choice. She’s also never definitively told me that she’d stay. And it has to be her decision.
I will my voice to come out steady and try to not read too much into her words as I ask, “No?”
She’s quiet for a long time before answering, “I imagined I would come back here for a few weeks, clean out my grandparents’ house, get it on the market, and go back to California.”
“And now?”
“Now, things are different.”
“How so?”
She shrugs and tilts her head back to look at the stars again. “Did you know Finn wants to buy my grandparents’ house?”
I blink at her profile. I hadn’t expected that. I scrub a hand down my face. Finn buying the house doesn’t necessarily mean things between us have to change, but it still makes my gut go tight. If she settles on Finn as a buyer, then the only reason she came back here can be resolved soon.
Hell, if she didn’t have to list the house, entertain offers, or decide on which offer she’d take, then she could move back to California next week and do everything electronically. With technology being what it is today, people do that every day. Still, I don’t see how Finn—recently separated and working part-time—can afford Vern’s place by herself.
“I uh—” I clear my throat. “No, I didn't know that.”
“Yeah, she wants to turn it into a B&B.” She still has her head tipped back and eyes trained onthe sky. Her voice is soft when she says, “Her and Hudson.”
That really catches me off guard. “Hudson?”
She nods, turning to look at me.
“She said Hudson wants to invest in some capacity, kind of like a silent partner. She’d like to renovate a little, and Hutch is willing to do the work.”
Well, that answers my financial questions. My brother definitely has the money, and I’m glad that he wants to help Finn. I admit that I feel left out of the loop. My brothers and I are usually pretty tight with this kind of stuff, so it stings a bit that I know nothing about it. But right now, what Wren thinks about it is more important. So, I table that for now.
“You really didn’t know?”
“No.” I watch her for a beat or two. “How do you feel about it?”
Tuck jumps up, his paws on the tailgate next to Wren’s leg. She ruffles his fur and leans down to plant a kiss on his nose. When she straightens, she says, “I think that if anyone can make it great, it’s Finn. She’s got an eye for this kind of stuff, and she’s really close to getting her degree in hotel management and tourism.”
“Yeah, Hudson did mention that to me the other day,” I say, but I hadn’t thought much of it other than I was happy for her.
She nods. “Yeah, it’s great.”
“How do you feel about selling in general? We’ve never really talked about it before.” I’m trying for nonchalance here, but the thought of all this being over if she leaves feels like a lead weight in my gut.
