RJ, or who I assumed was RJ, grabbed the box from him and practically ran outside.
“That was very nice of you.”
“Well, I just want to show my appreciation for all you’re doing.”
“That’s what paying us is for,” he grinned.
“I know, but I came from a town just like this, where you always had coffee on for anyone that stopped by and some coffee cake to go with it.”
“Where did you grow up?”
“West Virginia.”
“Coal country.”
I nodded. “For a while, it was thriving.”
“What happened?”
“The factory was bought out and the town died. Anyone that stayed behind, which was most of the town, had to scrape for food or any jobs that would come their way.”
“That’s terrible.”
I nodded. “I remember working at the gas station when I was a teenager. The owner knew everyone in the town, along with their financial situation. One day, there was a kid that came in to do some shopping. The mini mart inside was basically the grocery store. Anyway, this kid came in to get two cans of soup, and my boss asked if he was sure his mom wanted two cans instead of just one. You know, that’s the difference of fifty cents, but my boss knew that fifty cents would literally make or break this family. The kid went and put back one of the cans and paid for the can of soup, then ran back across the street to go home. It was one of the saddest things I had ever seen.”
“That’s terrible. We’re a small town, not a lot of jobs, but I don’t think anyone has it that bad.”
I nodded, feeling like I had just brought down both of us. I slapped a smile on my face and turned to him. “Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for the work you’ve been doing on the house. Oh, and I met your brother this morning.”
“Which one?”
“Andrew. He seemed a little skittish.”
“Andrew?” he asked incredulously.
I nodded. “Yeah, he kept backing away from me like I would attack him.”
His brows furrowed and he shook his head. “That’s not like Andrew at all.”
“Well, maybe it’s just me. Anyway, he was helping a woman pick out paint samples. I told him he should come help me pick out samples for here. He was very good at it.”
He frowned for a moment and I worried that I had offended him in some way, but he just shrugged. “So, we think the kitchen should only take another day to tear apart. I have all the cabinets ordered, but a few things are on backorder. It might take an extra week to get in, but we can start on other things in the meantime. Have you thought about what you’d like to do with the master bedroom?”
After walking through the house with him, and explaining what I had come up with for the master bath, I felt like it was all finally coming together. After snatching one of the last remaining scones, Eric went back to the kitchen and got to work, while I decided to do a little work on the outside. It was getting colder by the day, and with the light snowfall the other day I wanted to get as much of the dead shrubs and fallen branches picked up before winter hit. It wasn’t long before I was lost in my new job.
Andrew
After smelling what Sofia was making for dinner, I decided it was best for me to slip out now before the table was set. I couldn’t eat it. I had already seen the strange concoction on the stove, and food poisoning wasn’t on my list of accomplishments for the night. I pulled on my coat and shoes, then headed for the door.
“Wait! Where are you going? Dinner’s almost ready.”
“Uh…” Joe walked out with pleading eyes, begging for me to stick around. But as much as I loved my brother, there was no way I could do it. “I already told Eric I would go over to his place tonight. He’s having issues with Kat, so I thought I would smooth things over.”
“What kind of issues?” Joe asked accusingly.
“You know…baby issues. Something you should actually be thinking about. You know, it’s not safe for Sofia to be walking up and down the stairs all the time. One slip and…” I shrugged, like that said it all.
Joe looked down at the floor for a minute and then nodded. “He’s right. I didn’t even think about that.”
“Think about stairs? Are you kidding?”
“Well, he has a point. What if you fell down the stairs when I wasn’t around? Who would help you?”
“That’s what cell phones are for.”
“But you shouldn’t need a cell phone. You need me here by your side to make sure that you’re safe at all times.”
“You can’t possibly be here by me at all times. That doesn’t even make sense!”
And with that, I slipped out the door. I had successfully distracted both of them, and I was now free to make my escape. I ran down the stairs, starting up my truck and pulling out like I was afraid Joe would come running out and stop me. I pictured him grabbing onto the tailgate as I dragged him down the road, and chuckled to myself.
Pulling up to Eric’s house, I could already smell the homemade meal cooking inside. I thought briefly about knocking first, but it didn’t really matter. Kat was already knocked up, so sex was a non-issue. Or so I thought. I flung the door open, only to be treated to a rather scandalous view of Eric fucking Kat up on the counter. Spinning, I ran out the door, slamming it behind me.
“Fuck, that’s just nasty.”
I shivered violently
