Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

T ully

Midlife crises were tiring. Didn’t help that some of that exhaustion was from straining my ears to hear if Colson came home last night. Now that I knew he lived on the property, I couldn’t help but flick glances back to the roofline of the carriage house that I could see from my bedroom at Mom’s house. Every time a car drove past the front of our property, I poked my head up to see if it was Colson’s black truck coming down the drive. It did not escape my notice that my behavior was reminiscent of all those years in high school when I held my breath until Colson appeared. This time however, there was a lot more trepidation mixed with the excitement.

Mom was eating a bowl of oatmeal when I finally dragged myself out of bed and forced myself into a pair of jeans and a clean shirt. I had a meeting with Emmerleigh at a house she was building right along the coastline for some famous guy moving to Blueball. She’d texted me to see if I’d come by and give her some ideas for higher-end renovations, since that was right up my alley.

“No Crazy Beans coffee and muffin?” I asked, breezing by Mom at the dining table and heading for the kitchen to snag some fruit for breakfast.

“Not today. Colson must still be at work.”

I buried my head in the refrigerator and rolled my eyes. It still chafed me that my mother and my ex-husband were on friendly terms. I mean, I was grateful Colson had been looking after her all these years, but I was also…jealous of their closeness? Feeling guilty that I wasn’t the one to take better care of my own mother? And maybe even feeling a little warm and fuzzy around the edges that Colson still loved my mother and what that said about him as a man. I grabbed an apple and bit into it, turning for the coffee pot and blessing Mom in my head for always having a pot ready.

“I’m headed out to meet up with Emmerleigh Slaywright at a jobsite.”

Mom pushed back her chair and came into the kitchen, bringing her empty bowl to the ancient farmhouse sink. She hadn’t let me remodel the kitchen over the years, saying everything would be vintage and in style again if she just waited long enough. “Oh, that’s lovely, honey. Em is such a sweet woman. And strong.” Mom clucked her tongue. “Maybe you two can work together.”

I swallowed my bite of apple, considering it. “I haven’t really made plans for the rest of my life.”

Mom studied me. “Is Hollywood what you still want? Or are you just running after old goals and dreams?”

I leaned in to kiss Mom on the cheek and headed for the door leading to the garage. “That’s an excellent question,” I said over my shoulder. “I’ll let you know when I know.”

Despite Mom’s huff of frustration with me, I did think it over on the drive to Em’s jobsite. I pulled up to the structure of a house built into the cliffside that was already magnificent even though it was obviously still under construction. I climbed out of my car and ducked between the construction fencing to get a closer look. With turrets, gables, and dark rock accents extending two stories into the tangy coastal air, the whole thing had a goth Victorian vibe I was loving.

A woman with long auburn hair pulled into a ponytail came bounding down the front steps and immediately offered me a smile. “Hey! You must be Tully. I’m Savannah. I work with Em.”

We shook hands. I instantly liked Savannah when she gripped the hell out of my hand and I felt calluses lining her palm. No twatapotomus here. “Nice to meet you. This place is gorgeous!”

Savannah lit up. “It really is. We’re pretty proud of it. Em mentioned she wanted your input on the inside. Want to follow me?” She went back up the steps and I followed, head on a swivel as I took in all the details. I was impressed with Em’s work. She wasn’t a builder who took shortcuts.

“Em! Tully’s here!” Savannah called into what would soon be the kitchen. A large island was centered in the room, plumbing and electrical already installed into the wood framing.

Em and a rather tall broad woman were standing by the expansive window that looked north, showing off the cliffside. Em came over and gave me a hug, surprising me.

“I’m so glad you made it.” She pulled back and then made a face, her head dropping to her torso. A dark stain spread out from her left breast.

The other woman guffawed, her thick German accent delighting me. “ Verdammt! Next thing you know, that husband of yours will be here, insisting you’re working too hard.” She waggled thick eyebrows at me. “Although I wouldn’t mind a bit of a beer break, you know?”

Savannah shushed the woman. “It’s not even noon, Pip.”

Em waved them both away, her cheeks tinged with pink. “Ignore them. They bicker all day long.” She gestured to her chest. “And ignore the milk too. Just another reason why my company is named Matriarchy Builds. We’re an all-woman company and sometimes milk happens.”

Savannah interrupted, reading off her phone. “Warrick said he’s on the way with Vivi so you can feed her.”

My brain froze at the mention of Warrick. “Wait. You’re married to Warrick?”

Em smiled so brilliantly I envied her. Clearly she was madly in love with her husband. Who just so happened to be Colson’s older brother.

“I am. We got married six months ago, and we had Vivienne two months ago. I’m sorry you missed the wedding reception.”

My head was bobbing in a nod, feeling all kinds of awkward. “I’m not sure I’d have been invited to that.”

Em put her hand on my arm and steered me out of the kitchen. Pip and Savannah were, indeed, still bickering. “Oh, please. Gigi would have invited you in a heartbeat. She thinks you and Colson still have some things to work out.” When I opened my mouth, she put up her hand, stopping me. “I’m not getting mixed up in any of that. That’s your business with Colson. I just want your brilliant mind to look at this space and brainstorm with me.”

I kept nodding and it was starting to give me a headache. “That I can do.”

I got ahold of my head and forced myself to study the interior around me. We were in a living room. A large fireplace would clearly take up most of the far wall and the expansive glass sliders would open up to the view of the ocean. It would be a spectacular room, the focal point of the whole house if we did it right. My heart rate kicked up like it always did when I started envisioning spaces and let my mind wander into the impossible. It was my goal to make the impossible remodel possible. And fucking spectacular. I began to rattle off ideas, my hands painting the picture right along with my words. Em followed me, the two of us traversing the house and tossing ideas back and forth until both of us were starry-eyed and buzzing with excitement.

When we made it back to the kitchen, Em grabbed me by both arms. “Tully. Hear me out. I’m sure you can go anywhere you want, but if you want to stay in Blueball, come work with me.” I jolted at the offer, but she gripped me tighter and rushed on. “Join my company or work with me as an independent contractor. Doesn’t matter to me. I just want your creativity on these home builds I keep getting. It’s not a flashy job like your show, I know. But it’s an honest living with a decent paycheck.”

Savannah and Pip passed us, two interior doors carried between them. “If you went with me to karaoke, you could find a man. Guaranteed,” Pip was saying to the redhead. “And not those forsters you always date.”

Savannah rolled her eyes and adjusted her grip on the doors with a grunt. “They’re not idiots. Okay, fine. Some are, but karaoke is not the key to true love.”

“It’s the key to good German beer. What more do you need?” Pip’s voice trailed off as they moved down the hallway to some of the ground-floor bedrooms.

Em bit back a smile. “Plus you could work every day with those two. Who wouldn’t want that?”

We both laughed and something inside my chest shifted. Warmed. I could see myself here, with these three women. I could see us being friends. True friends, not the kind of friends who’d dump me as soon as life handed me lemons. It wasn’t what I envisioned just a few weeks ago, but Em was right. This would be honest work, utilizing my skillset for homeowners, not some network executive with more zeroes on his bank account than morals.

“I’ll seriously consider it,” I said quietly, giving Em a head nod. She nodded back and let go of me. “I’ll call you in the next day or two?”

“Fine by me.” She leaned in and dropped her voice. “Warrick’s going to be here any minute, so if you want to avoid that awkwardness, you’d need to get out of here.”

I gave her a grateful wink and hightailed it out of there, pulling onto the road that wound along the cliffside right as a monster of a truck pulled up to the jobsite. I blew out a long breath and headed toward downtown Blueball. In a small town like this, I knew I couldn’t avoid seeing Warrick or Colson for long. But until I knew what I was doing with my life and could stand confidently on those plans, I felt like a conversation with Warrick would be rife with questions I couldn’t answer. He’d always been nice to me, in a little-sister kind of way. Even through our divorce, he made sure to let me know that if I ever needed anything, I could call him. I never did, feeling like I lost all right to lean on Colson’s family when I divorced him.

The afternoon was spent driving around town aimlessly, pulling over to the curb when I saw a house with a for sale sign in the front yard. My mind was moving in a direction I wasn’t sure my heart was on board with yet. Could I make Blueball home again? What would it be like to run into Colson and his family on the regular? Could I do that to myself? Could I do that to him ?

I stopped at Grass to pick up dinner for me and Mama. The smell of barbecued meats filled my car. An unfamiliar sedan was in our driveway when I pulled into the garage. I rounded the house and stared at it parked outside the carriage house. A woman exited the house, her long dark hair and flowered dress catching my eye. She was gorgeous in a girl-next-door kind of way. I’d always wanted to be super feminine like that, but it just wasn’t me. I felt at home in jeans and a shirt, sawdust and a power tool my constant companion. I squinted, making sure the corner of the house kept me hidden while the woman got back in her car. I ran inside Mom’s house and closed the door before the car drove past on its way to the main road.

“Who was that?” I asked, darting a look outside the front window while trying to stay inconspicuous.

Mama had her hands on her hips in the living room, watching my antics with a frown of her own. “Are you spying on Rosemary?”

I put the bags of food down right there by the door. “Rosemary Roberts?”

We’d gone to school with her. She’d been a year younger than us, quiet, but well liked. She’d left Blueball for college but had come back right before I left Blueball. I’d lost track of her after that, just like everyone else from this town.

“Yes. She’s the principal down at Blueball Elementary, you know. Nice girl.” Mama sat back down on the couch, like this conversation was over.

I stalked over to her side and had a seat with her, asking the burning question. “Is she dating Colson?” She’d been in the carriage house, but I didn’t see Colson’s truck. Being in his home when he wasn’t there spoke of familiarity. The kind that made my stomach twist painfully.

Mama’s head whipped my direction. “Are we really doing this?”

“What do you mean?” Anxiety took my appetite away. I just needed her to answer the damn question.

Mama shook her head and stood back up. I didn’t like the expression she was making. It made me feel like a little kid who’d just done something stupid and she was disappointed in me.

“You’ve been divorced nineteen years, honey. What did you think he was going to do? Pine for you forever?”

She turned and walked away, whistling some inane tune while my gut decided to eat itself. I’d known Colson would move on. Of course I did. I’d moved on. I dated plenty of guys after our divorce. I just…wasn’t prepared to see one of Colson’s girlfriends. Fuck, I wasn’t emotionally prepared for any of this. Being fired. Moving back home. Working with Colson. Building a new life in the one place I said I’d never move back to. All of it seemed out of my control and it was seriously pissing me off.

“You gonna come eat this delicious dinner or what?” Mama called from the dining room.

I flopped back on the couch and folded my arms across my chest, pouting. “I’m not hungry!” I shouted back.

Great. Just a few weeks back in Blueball and I’d reverted to my teenage self, bad attitude and all.