Page 21 of This Heart
Instantly, the dots started to bounce, and his reply came.
Liam: We are here and would love to see you. Stop by anytime.
Me: Great! See you after three.
My heart suddenly felt like it skipped a beat. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because I wasn’t entirely sure I believed my brother when he said that Liam didn’t mean what he said. I didn’t have time to go over it incessantly, so I slipped my phone into my back pocket and distracted my wayward thougths with work.
I pulled into Liam’s driveway and turned off the car. I drew in a deep breath, then exhaled before I got out.
“Aurora! Aurora, is that you?”
Turning, I smiled as I saw Mrs. Randall, Liam’s neighbor, across the street. She was walking over carrying a basket.
“Are you here to visit Liam and Winnie?”
“I am. What’s this?” I asked, pointing to the basket.
She smiled and opened it. “Homemade chicken pot pie.”
“Yum!” I replied. “I’m sure Liam and Winnie will love that.”
She handed it to me and asked, “Would you mind giving it to Liam? I’m in a rush and need to get to an appointment.”
“Oh, of course I will.” I took the basket and watched as she was about to turn around. She paused and leaned in closer.
“You might want to let Liam know he should keep his voice down when talking about what he was talking about with your brother Nathan.”
My interest was piqued. “What were they talking about?”
Her face turned red. “Well,” she said, glancing around, then focused back on me. “About Liam getting L.A.I.D.”
“Laid?” I asked in shock.
That made her face turn a deep shade of red. “Shh! Aurora!”
“They were talking about that where?”
“Well, Liam opened his front door and told Nathan it wouldn’t solve his problems. I’m sure half the neighbors heard. If I’m being honest, I think it would solve them all.”
I pressed my lips together tightly, trying not to laugh. “Well, I’m not sure it’s my place to say anything to Liam, but I’ll talk to my brother.”
She looked relieved. “Oh, good. Thank you, dear. I’m off!”
Turning, I walked up to the door, and it opened before I could ring the bell. Liam stood there, a smile on his face as he said, “Hey.”
“Um, hi.”
He looked past me to his neighbor. “I saw you pull up, and Mrs. Randall was making her way over, so I held back. Once that woman gets to talking, she will talk your ear off.”
“Probably a good thing she didn’t talk directly to you.”
Confused, he asked, “Why?”
Trying not to laugh, I held up the basket and decided to ignore that question. “She made you and Winnie chicken pot pie, but was in a rush, so she asked me to give it to you.”
He took the basket and then motioned for me to come in. I slid past him and set my purse on the table.
“That was nice of her to do that. Winnie loves her chicken pot pie.”
