Page 16 of Flare Up
She barely got a chance to say goodbye to Grant. Since he’d driven over separately and it didn’t take four of them to pack one bag, he’d gone home. Or out. Or wherever he’d gone. And she’d gotten little more than a wave and a see you later as he left.
Wren heard footsteps in the hall and then Patty poked her head through the open doorway. “How are you girls making out? Do you have everything you need?”
“I do. I’m all moved in.” And she’d already asked them about their usual schedule, so she’d be able to stay out of the way. Not that Patty would mind, but she wanted to be as unobtrusive as possible.
“Make yourself at home, Wren. I mean it. Decorate the room however you want. And feel free to have friends over, if you want.”
She wasn’t really planning on staying there long enough to redecorate the room. And she hadn’t had company over since the last time Grant visited her first apartment, so friends probably wouldn’t be an issue. But she appreciated Patty’s desire for her to feel welcome and smiled.
“Thank you, Patty.”
“And let me know if you need anything at all.”
“I will.”
After giving her daughter a bright smile, Patty went back downstairs and Cait dropped into the armchair. “She’s going to drive you crazy, you know.”
“Or maybe I’ll drive her crazy.”
“I know you both well enough to tell you I’m right on this one.”
Wren sat on the edge of the bed. “My mom was out cycling with a friend and got hit by a truck when I was sixteen. So while Patty might eventually drive me crazy, I think it’ll be cool to have a mom figure for a bit.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” After a few seconds, Cait’s expression shifted from sympathetic to confused. “How did I not know that?”
“I got pretty good at saying a lot of words and deflecting and redirecting without people realizing I never actually answered the question.” She smiled apologetically. “I’m going to try not to do that anymore, though. There’s no sense, because I’m not hiding anything, and I really want to be better about letting people in.”
“What about your dad?”
Wren shrugged. “I don’t really know. I know Everett is my mother’s maiden name and our father’s first name was Dave. Other than that, I know my mother decided after having two children with him that he was a no-good bum and that was the end of that. When my mom died, Alex was in college, so I lived with a friend’s family until I was old enough to rent an apartment.”
“Grant told us about your brother. And I know you probably hate that he did, but that’s what we do. So you were totally alone in the world after your brother turned on you?”
She was about to correct Cait—it had been her own fault, not Alex’s—but she didn’t say the words. Having all of these people reaching out to help her after what she’d done to Grant had her doubting her conviction about that situation.
“I didn’t mind it,” she said. “I like a quiet, simple life and I didn’t have to worry about anybody but myself.”
“Then you met Grant.”
“Yeah. Then I met Grant.” Wren couldn’t hold back the sigh when she thought of the first time he’d gone into the coffee shop where she worked. “It was the smile that did me in. I mean, he’s hot, of course. And he’s confident and strong and all that, but I was doing a pretty good job of resisting him, until he smiled.”
“He didn’t tell Gavin about you at first. That he liked you, I mean. He didn’t want to be a thing before you were ready, and he knew you wanted to take it slow.”
“Very slow.”
Cait laughed. “He said he almost went broke going to that coffee shop to see you and he doesn’t even like fancy coffees.”
“He did an amazing job of being patient and persistent at the same time,” Wren said, but it took an effort to maintain the smile.
She’d really blown it. She’d let fear take over and she’d lost the best thing that had ever happened to her.
“We need a girls’ night out,” Cait said abruptly.
“What?”
“Fun. We all need a little fun. How about this Saturday? Do you have to work?”
“No, but—”
