God help whoever bought that.
“Tea?”
“Derek?” she calls out with a hint of panic. “What are you doing here?”
I smile to myself. “Shopping.”
“Here?” A laugh fills the air. “Not likely.”
“What are you doing?”
“Just looking at something.”
I lean over but I can’t see anything but the top of her head behind a table and chairs. “Okay. I have to talk to you, could you stand up?”
“I’m good, go ahead and talk…”
It would make things a little easier if she would look at me. “I can wait.”
“Really, it’s fine. What’s up?”
“It’s more of a question…”
“Yes?”
This is ridiculous. “Teagan, I’m talking to the top of a table, please get up.”
She groans. “I’d rather not.”
“Why?”
“Because. That’s why.”
“Really, Tea?” I squat down, ready to battle her and let her know she’s out of her mind, but when I see her, I almost fall to the floor laughing. Teagan has managed to get her hair stuck to the underside of the table. “Because why again?”
“I hate you. You had to look?”
“Of course I did.”
“This is mortifying.”
“How, pray tell, did you manage to do this?”
She glares at me. “I was checking something written under here and then somehow I turned and my hair got stuck. Can you help me?”
I ponder that for a minute. Right now, she’s literally trapped. She can’t run, unless she wants to be scalped, and would need to hear me out.
“Of course.”
She releases a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“After we talk.”
“Derek.” Teagan’s voice is low.
“Teagan.”
“You’re going to help me once you get what you want?”
I shrug. “No, you don’t have to agree to what I want, but you have to listen.”
“When I get out of this,” she warns, “I’m going to kill you.”
“All the more reason to keep you trapped.” That was definitely the wrong thing to say. I’m pretty sure she’s ready to lose her hair at this point. I better make it quick. “My point is, I need your help, if you’re not homicidal by the end of this.”
“Help with what?”
“I need to move out of my parents’ house and I’m supposed to meet the Realtor in an hour. I was hoping you could come.”
Her eyes narrow a bit. “That’s what you wanted to talk about?”
“Yeah.”
“Not…”
“Not what? Is there something else you’d like to discuss?”
Like the kiss that has kept me up every night. The way her lips felt with mine. How long I’ve wondered what it would be like and now it’s all I can think about.
“No. House hunting sounds fine—great even. So, you want me to go look for a place for you and Everly?”
“Yeah.”
“But regardless of my answer, you’ll release me?”
Like I’d leave her here? How the hell would that go over in terms of ever seeing if that one kiss was a fluke or real? It wouldn’t. And I have to know.
“Well, that depends, now, doesn’t it?”
“On?”
“On your answer.” I smile, and she groans.
I didn’t say I wouldn’t have fun with it, though.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Teagan
Seventeen years old
“This is a hammer,” Derek says with a smirk.
“I know what a hammer is.”
“Well, I don’t know what you know. Do you know how to use it?”
I know I’d like to hit him in the head with it, but that would probably be frowned upon when you’re working on rebuilding a barn that was burned down.
“Yes. I do.”
Derek challenged me to do something for someone else without anything to gain. I know Mr. Mitchell needs his barn back after the storm took part of it down so he can care for the horses he helps, which is why we’re here. I called all the football guys and organized the whole thing.
There are about twenty kids, but the best part was that when the town caught wind of what we were planning, the adults lined up to help as well. Then, Mr. Harvey donated lumber and others helped out financially.
I can’t explain the joy I feel inside knowing we may actually build this thing today.
It was nothing compared to the look on Mr. Mitchell’s face, though. He had tears in his eyes and kept shaking his head in disbelief.
“Okay, killer, let’s see what you’ve got.” Derek takes two steps back with hands raised.
I really question our friendship some days.
I take the nail, lining it up, and pull the hammer back. Please don’t let me hit my finger.
“Today, Tea.”
I turn and stick my tongue out at him before going back and hitting the nail.
Well, attempting to, because instead of it going into the wood frame, it falls to the floor.
“Crap.”
He laughs. “You have to hold it until you hit it. The nail doesn’t stay there because it knows it’s about to get hammered.”
“I knew that.”
He raises one brow. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I didn’t want to hit my finger.”
Derek takes the nail between his finger and thumb. “Then worry about hitting mine.”
My eyes widen because there’s no way I’m going to hammer his hand. It was bad enough worrying about hurting myself. “You’re nuts.”
“No, I trust you.”
Now he’s really crazy.
Our friendship has saved me in so many ways. I don’t worry anymore about Kelly and Lori, who have told me that my being friends with the animal-whispering nerd has officially left me out of the cool crowd. I told them that was perfectly fine with me and then reminded them that all of us have secrets.
I am not weak. I’m strong and have power as well.
Derek gave me that back.
Not by doing anything magical either, just by being my friend. While
