Page 58 of Hello Handsome
I lifted my lips to the side. “These days, it’s hard to tell.” Gray was a good guy, the best, in my mind. But he’d still broken my heart.
Maybe a broken heart was inevitable when it came to love. At least that had been my experience so far. I wasn’t sure. But I kept hoping I’d find someone who would protect my heart. I’d take care of it until then.
36
GRAY
Seeing Aggie…it was poison and an antidote.
I needed her presence like I needed oxygen. But being around her, knowing she kept parts locked behind a wall I forced her to build… it was like gulping air only to find it filled with smoke.
But if I couldn’t have her as my life partner, I’d give everything to have her as my friend.
The sun was already set when I reached the house again, moonlight bouncing off the cardboard-covered furniture in my side mirrors. The yellow bulb over the door cast a shadow on the sidewalk, and I heaved a sigh, knowing I couldn’t leave all this furniture outside.
I got out of the truck, heading down to the workshop to get the dolly. I’d need it for the dresser and pieces of the bed frame.
Fletcher would probably cuss me for doing it on my own–he was a big fan of the partner lift.
As I walked out of the dusty shop back toward my truck, dolly rolling over gravel behind me, I saw headlights coming down the drive. My eyebrows drew together as I squinted at the vehicle.
Who’d be visiting me this late in the evening?
As it got closer, I recognized the white outline of Fletcher’s truck. Abandoning the dolly, I walked over to his truck and leaned my forearms on the open window on the driver’s side. “Hey, Dad,” Fletcher greeted me, smile as warm as the air blowing from his vents. It was a nice contrast to the sharp wind outside.
“Fletch, what brings you out here?” I asked.
He tipped his head toward the back of my truck. “You already got something? I figured you’d have to special order it or something.”
“Doesn’t always work that way out here,” I reminded him. For how fast everything happened in the city, red tape made problems–like not having a bed set or updating your driver’s license–harder to solve.
“Fair.” He lifted a corner of his lips, then said, “You were gonna haul this inside on your own, weren’t you?”
I lifted my hat off my head and scratched. “Nope. Not me.” Fletcher laughed, cutting the engine. “Let me help.”
“Is that why you came out here?” I asked over my shoulder as I went to get the dolly.
“Not really, but we can talk about that after,” Fletcher said.
I wanted to ask him what was going on, but he’d tell me when he was ready. I said a silent prayer everything was okay and got to work.
This furniture was lighter than the handmade stuff, and between Fletcher and me, we got it all inside quickly. As I poured us each a glass of water, I asked him, “Tell me what you came for?”
Fletcher drained his glass. “Liv found something in Mom’s bible.”
My lips parted, that sore part of my heart that missed Maya extra tender now. “What was it?”
“A letter… for you.”
I blinked, not quite comprehending.
“In her bible.” He opened his jacket, getting a yellowed envelope from his inner pocket and then passed it to me. Sure enough, that was my name in her handwriting. I covered my mouth, looking between the envelope and my son.
He nodded, clapping my arm. His dark brown eyes looked so much like hers in that moment. So kind and caring. No wonder he made a great doctor—he took after his mom. “Call me if you need me,” he said.
“I will.”
A gust of wind whipped into the house as he left, and I shivered even when the door shut.
