Page 59 of Forty and Fighting Dirty
“We got a few deliveries at the house today,” I rushed to say. “A new kitchen faucet and some fixtures for the upstairs bathroom. I was thinking we could check them out. You can let me know if they work. I can grab some takeout on the way.”
She brightened. “Let me text the babysitter to let her know I’ll be a little while longer.”
We walked out of the community center together, winter wind making us both sink into our jackets the moment we left the shelter of the building. I itched to move closer to Piper, and Itold myself it was because of the cold. We got in our own vehicles and headed for Lovers Lane.
I stopped off for some Thai food, and by the time I got to the house, the lights were on and Piper was inside. It was still a disaster zone inside, with the walls patched and the floor sanded smooth but not yet refinished, but the moment I stepped through the door and heard Piper’s voice call out a hello from the living room, saw her jacket hung over the stair rail, an emotion clanged through me like the tolling of a big bell.
I’d always wanted this. A home to come back to, a wife, a family. As far as I was concerned, it was a fairy tale. But as Piper glanced up from the box she’d opened, a kitchen faucet in her hands and a wide smile on her face, I wondered if I’d been wrong.
What if every day could be just like this? What if I could walk into a home with plans for the future and someone to make them with?
I didn’t need a ten-acre property up on the hillside, decorated perfectly with ten-foot ceilings and huge windows. I could be happy with a creaky house, crooked floors, and walls that needed patching.
“It’s perfect!” Piper exclaimed, brandishing the faucet. “Let’s see what else came. I also got a few notifications today, but I’m not sure what they are.” She moved to the other boxes I’d brought indoors when I stopped by the house at lunchtime, ripping them open with a utility knife and the kind of enthusiasm that made her glow from within. “Oh, gorgeous,” she said, pulling out dark yellow fabric.
I crept closer. “What’s that for?”
“Curtains for the upstairs bedroom. It’s small and it has that pitched roof, so I wanted to make a statement.”
“The red thread.”
She beamed up at me. “Exactly.”
We opened the rest of the boxes, finding cushions, wall art, and two big flat-packed bookcases.
“I was thinking we could make these look built in,” she said. “We’ll paint them the same color as the wall and add some trim up top.”
“Sure,” I agreed. “But let’s eat first.”
We sat on the unfinished floor and tucked in to our dinner. I leaned against the wall with my legs stretched out, and Piper sat cross-legged, her eyes scanning all the new items. She hummed when the first bite of green curry hit her tongue, lifting the container in her hands. “This is good,” she said.
“Little hole-in-the-wall place over on Alpine Way.”
“I need to get to know this town better,” she said, scooping more food onto her fork. “I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time.”
“This will come together quickly,” I said, nodding to the house. “You’ll have plenty of time in the new year.”
She smiled. “I can’t wait.”
Our eyes met, and my chest grew tight. I swallowed thickly and tried to deflect from the emotion crowding out my lungs: “I’m glad you decided to set aside your hatred for me.”
She gave me a flat look. “Who says I did?”
I laughed. “I can tell, Darling.”
Humming, Piper hid her smile with another bite of food. In the evening light, her eyes were dark blue and glimmering whenthey flicked back up to meet mine. “And how about you? You’re the one who hides behind the King Rhett persona.”
“King Rhett?”
“Shaking hands and kissing babies and all that.”
I huffed, letting my head thump against the wall when I leaned back. Light from the foyer shone on Piper’s face as she glanced over at me. Her knee was close to my leg, and I longed to inch closer so I could feel the warmth of her body under my palm. Suddenly, I didn’t want to wear a mask. It was so much effort to pretend to be someone I wasn’t, and what was the point when Piper could see through it?
“I haven’t always had that reputation,” I started. Piper met my gaze and waited for me to continue. I stabbed a piece of chicken and ate it, then said, “I was a troublemaker when I was younger.”
“Oh?”
“Angry,” I clarified. “I was an angry kid.” My throat tightened, but I wanted her to know. I wanted her to see right through to the real me, so that she could turn her back on me once and for all, like everyone else. Then I’d get over these ridiculous feelings. “Home life wasn’t good. My dad knocked us around—me and my mom. My mom felt weak and scared, and she took it out on me when no one else was there to hear.”
