“Where to, Joey?” he asked, using the nickname I always hated, one he’d given me from the start.
“My bedroom,” I replied, shoulders sagging in defeat. Some good things could come out of their help. For one, I wouldn’t have to deal with Dad, and Linc and I would have our own beds again. It beat sleeping on an air mattress.
“Obviously,” he grumbled. “But do you mind telling me where that is?”
“Straight back to the left.”
“You took the smaller room?” Dan asked, eyes wide.
I wanted to whack him over the head with common sense, but I couldn’t. Clearly, he didn’t have kids. “Yes.”
“Huh, I figured the loft would be more your style. It has beautiful views. It’s the selling point of the house.”
Luke disappeared inside, the screen door slamming behind him in the distance, making me jump.
“Yes, my son loves it up there,” I lied.
He was actually petrified of it, but I didn’t want to share anything about us with him.
Once Luke was out of sight, Dan was back to checking me out like he had when I picked up the key with Linc, teeth sunk in his lower lip.
I fled to the storage container, not sure I could carry any of it by myself but unwilling to stand there a second longer while he helped himself to my body with his eyes.
I grabbed my office chair, pushing it along, deciding I’d figure out how to maneuver it inside once I got to the porch. Its steel frame was heavy as hell, but I’d find a way.
Dan rushed behind, following close at my heels. “Let me help you with that!”
I ignored him, pushing it along over the gravel and onto the sidewalk. Dan stayed close, not once reaching for the chair. He didn’t want to help move furniture; he wanted me alone.
Luke appeared, plucking the chair from my grasp without a word, turning towards the house again, not even grunting at its weight.
When I went to head back to the container, Dan was already rushing over, popping in and reappearing a moment later with Linc’s headboard. He was struggling, dangerously close to dropping it, a fall that wouldn’t end well for the lightweight plank piece.
I flew to his side, grabbing the other end, desperate to save it. “You don’t need to do this,” I assured, letting him lead the way. “Luke and I can take care of it.”
He ignored me, quickening his pace, practically dragging me along towards the house.
We passed Luke on the way in, the two men side by side for a moment. The difference was stark, Dan’s clean-cut ways nothing like the burly bearded ones of Luke, his exposed arms covered in ink while Dan’s were milky white. The size variation was more troubling; Luke’s build was more extraordinary when compared to another man.
I struggled up the porch steps and inside while Dan shuffled along, the screen door clicking loudly behind me, smacking hard into my ass with a thump. “We’ll leave this here.” I gestured to the right, ready to leave the headboard in the living room. I wanted him out of the house as soon as possible.
“Isn’t Landon’s room upstairs?” he asked.
“It’s Lincoln,” I growled. “I’ll take care of it.”
If he kept up his crap, we’d be moving sooner than I thought, and surprisingly not because of Luke Barrett.
“Nonsense,” he muttered, leaving me trailing at the other end of the headboard as he hurried towards the stairs. It felt like I was bearing the brunt of its weight; my side was hauled high while he barely skimmed the floor.
The journey upstairs wasn’t any easier, and I could hear Luke making trip after trip downstairs before we reached the top. We rested the headboard against the far wall, beside the air mattress Linc refused to sleep on, not that I minded sharing mine with him downstairs.
I wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be down for cuddles. He was already calling me “mom” once in a while, ripping my heart in two. I wanted to be Mommy forever.
Dan scanned the space, eyes glossed. “This was Mother’s room when I was young. We switched when I was in high school. I have so many great memories up here.”
“That’s nice. I hope Lincoln makes some too.” I forced a smile, keeping things cool.
Anyone that called their mom Mother was too creepy for my liking, but I was glad he had happy memories in the space. It was a sunny loft with a bay window facing the sea, a calm blue shade coating the walls.
He chuckled, biting his lip again as he ran a hand through his hair. “I hope he doesn’t make those kinds of memories for a long time. Maybe until he’s married.”
Great, I needed to disinfect every square inch of the room.
“Oh.” I spun on my heel to head downstairs, done with him and the conversation.
He leaned against the wall, in no rush, continuing to eye me. “I haven’t been in here with a beautiful woman in years.”
I ignored him and took the stairs two at a time, toppling into Luke at the bottom, slamming against his back, a blockade of strength stopping me in my tracks.
He turned to face me, smiling. “Jeez, you don’t have to jump me, Joey. Just ask.”
“Not funny, Barrett.”
His eyes skimmed my face. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I lied, pushing away from him once Dan’s footsteps sounded on the stairs. I exploded through the screen door, ready to kick them both out to take a shower, Dan’s words clinging to my skin like wet paint while my body hummed from the contact with Luke.
My heart pounded in my ears, almost drowning out the crash of the waves as I hurried towards the container.
Luke followed close behind, maintaining his distance but not giving an inch for Dan to slip into.
When I stepped into the container's privacy, tears were prickling. I hadn’t spent
