Page 52 of Recipe for Rivals
Jack grunted. “Didn’t want to be too greedy. I went first thing this morning. Had to make three trips to get everything I bought, but Tucker doesn’t mind.”
“You need your own truck,” Tucker shot back gruffly.
Apparently, by the sound of their struggling, the bed frame was heavy. Made sense, since it was solid wood. I glanced around the room, trying to see it through Dusty’s eyes, and felt the merest hint of shame at my fall in life. It wasn’t overwhelming, so I snuffed it like a birthday candle flame, pinching it away between two fingers. The sparse room was temporary. It was a fresh start, with white walls and fresh carpet—I was convinced Gigi had it redone when I accepted her offer to move in, even though she’d insisted otherwise—and a few boxes of my things. The kids and I had stuffed my Highlander with as much as we could when we moved, and it was brimming full, but once we arrived and spread everything out, it was clear how much we didn’t have.
Little things, like a toaster. Bigger things, like dressers. It was lucky Gigi had a spare one, but her offer to outfit this whole apartment with furniture was too much, especially when I wasn’t sure if we’d even be here next year.
“Knock, knock,” Dusty said, backing into the room. He had one side of the headboard and Tucker had the other. Jack followed them in with some other pieces and I got out of their way.
“Which wall do you want it on?” Jack asked.
I pointed to the place my air mattress had been. “That one is fine. Are there more pieces in the truck?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I helped them bring everything in. My phone started ringing when they went back for the mattress. It was Ashley, Pete’s mom, so I answered. “Hello?”
“Hi, Nova. It’s Ashley.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes! Yes, of course. Sorry, I should have led with that.”
Relieved, I leaned against the kitchen counter. “Should I come get Ben now?”
“That’s why I’m calling. There’s this new pizza place in Beeler the boys wanted to try—mostly Jake, but you know what I mean.” She laughed. “Anyway, do you mind if we take them? We can drop him off on the way home.”
“Has he been good for you?”
“Are you kidding? Ben is a dream. Pete hasn’t been bugging us all day. Jake actually made progress on the mudroom he’s making for me, thanks to the distraction.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” And a little jealous that her husband seemed to be such a great guy—building her things, wanting to go to dinner with the family, coaching their son’s flag football team. It was so ridiculous, I could recognize that, but it didn’t stop the tendril of jealousy from making its way through me.
I wanted to be strong and happy with my new direction, but sometimes I also wanted to curl up on the couch in someone’s strong arms and complain about the PTA president bugging me for cookies again. But not Carter’s arms. I wanted the scenario, but I didn’t want him anymore.
The revelation felt like a weird punch to the gut. My body was weightless.
“Do you mind?” Ashley asked, dragging me back to earth. “You’re welcome to join us.”
It was probably a good idea if I ever wanted to make friends in this town, but I didn’t want to spend the money after buying that bed today. “We have dinner plans, but you can take Ben. I can Venmo you.”
“It’s on us. Thanks, Nova.”
“Thank you,” I countered, and we both hung up.
“All set in here,” Dusty said, coming out of my bedroom. Henoticed Alice peeking over the counter, her fingers gripping the edge. “You want to jump on it a few times, little lady? Give it a good test for your mom.”
He didn’t even ask me first. I guessed if the bed broke, he’d fix it.
“Mom?” Alice asked, her blue eyes round and excited. I was glad she still remembered the proper order of things.
“Sure,” I said, resigned. “But grab Peaches. You know she won’t want to miss it.”
“I’ll supervise,” Dusty said, following her back. “It’s a solid bed.”
How much of my phone conversation had Alice heard? I glanced at the clock. The outing had taken all afternoon, and I needed to start our dinner now. I pulled my pan out of the cupboard and threw on a pound of ground beef.
Alice’s giggles came from my room, and my chest squeezed. I turned the burner on low and went to check on them. All three tall, muscular men were standing around the bed like a set of bodyguards, arms crossed over their chests, heads bouncing along with Alice’s movement.