Typical...
“Damn you.” He parked at the end of the street and sat there glaring at her beat-up Honda, which was in the drive. Who did she think she was? Did she really believe she had the right to malign his reputation? He’d done enough to damage his own reputation when he’d gotten involved with her six years ago.
She destroyed every life she touched. Instead of being angry, he should be thanking God he didn’t have a child with her, he decided.
Putting the transmission back in Drive, he rolled closer to her house. He wanted nothing more than to go and knock on her front door and tell her exactly what he thought of her. His assistant was right. He’d been far too nice. There’d been so many times he’d bitten his tongue when he’d simply wanted to tell her to get the hell out of his life. He was dying to say that now.
But any interaction would make things worse. She was trying to engage him. So, resisting actual contact, he pulled to the curb only long enough to put the water heater in the bed of his truck. Then he waved at Prinley Pendergast, who’d come to her door across the street holding one of her children.
When she didn’t respond, just peered out at him as if he might inflict bodily harm on her neighbor, he hopped in his truck and drove off.
He was almost home when he got a text from Noelle. He glanced at it while he was waiting at a stop sign.
What the hell? Did you take my water heater?
His fingers itched to reply. But he kept driving, and when he eventually reached home and parked next to Lourdes’s rental car, he was immediately distracted by the sight of her sitting on his porch all bundled up in the snow gear he’d let her use when they cut down the tree.
Dropping his phone in his pocket without responding to Noelle, he turned off the engine and opened his door. “Isn’t it a little cold to be sitting out on the porch?”
“It’s California,” she said. “I’m making it work.”
With all that down in his jacket, and his hat and gloves, he figured she wasn’t in any real danger.
“Good to see you out of bed,” he told her, “even if it is to sit outside in the cold for no particular reason.”
“I’m trying to reset.”
“And that means...”
“I’m starting over. Embracing the future.”
“I see.”
“You don’t have any Christmas lights up,” she said, studying his eaves. “There aren’t any decorations in the yard, either.”
“There won’t be decorations in my yard until I have kids,” he said. “No point in doing that sort of thing just for myself. I wouldn’t pay any attention to them.”
She zipped his coat up a bit higher. “Does the same go for lights?”
“I don’t feel as strongly about lights. If they’re important to you, we can put them up at the farmhouse.” Anything to make her feel better...
Folding her arms, she sank back, all but disappearing into his coat. “I’m not convinced I want to go to the farmhouse.”
He froze for a second, then locked his truck. Now that he knew Noelle had a key to his house, and she was acting vindictive, he wasn’t going to create an opportunity for her to vandalize his vehicle. He’d get the locksmith out tomorrow, as soon as he finished up with the HVAC guy over at the rental. “What does that mean?” he asked. “Have you decided to go back to Nashville?”
“No. Definitely not.”
He experienced more relief than he should have, which bothered him almost as much as the anger he was feeling toward Noelle. “So you’re going to Angel’s Camp? Or somewhere else?”
“Actually, I was hoping you’d consider taking me on as a roommate.”
He nearly dropped his keys. “You want to stay here?”
She met him halfway down the walk. “Why not? I’ll continue paying on the lease, of course. And if we start to feel crowded or irritated with each other, or I’m not getting enough work done, I’ll move.”