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Chapter 25

TWENTY-FIVE

June came in with even more heat, if that was at all possible.

There was a crew working on the roof and Archer was in his harness along with them. The Widow's Walk needed to be fleshed out, and he was afraid they'd mess up his plans. Micromanaging was Archer's middle name when it came to his artistry.

Which was why I'd called him in to help.

I grabbed two bottles of water from the cooler and went down to the beach with the walkie we were using. "Get down here, asshole. Let them do their jobs."

Archer shielded his eyes and looked out on the water. He pulled his walkie out. "They're messing up the foundation?—"

"Don't care. You can't do anything until they're done."

He held up a middle finger and reholstered the walkie. I thought he was going to ignore me, because he went to talk to the hulking Lucky before finally making his way to the ladder. Thankfully, Lucky Roberts was one of the more easygoing members of the crew taking care of the house.

Gideon was lead, but Lucky seemed to be his second-in-command. They'd brought in a few of their own heavy hitters on the Gideon Gets It Done crew, but the project was massive enough that they also were using some day laborers. There was an overwhelming amount of people on my property every damn day.

And it still seemed as if nothing was getting done. Mostly because there were far too many fires to put out.

The windows were going to take until fall to be ready, which pushed back a lot of the timetables. But Tarrow had agreed to do the glasswork. It had taken me three meetings to prove my worth, but in the end, I'd badgered him enough to actually take a look at the house. I knew that was all I needed to do.

She was a stunner and somehow stately at the same time.

Archer stopped to talk to one of the other people on the crew. I couldn't keep all the damn names straight. Nor did I want to. If they were doing their job, that was all that mattered to me.

Archer was wearing his usual jumpsuit that made me itchy and hot just thinking about it.He unzipped it as he skidded his way down the hill to the beach.

I tossed him the bottle. "You're driving the crew crazy."

"And you're not?" He drank half the bottle then pulled off his battered LA Dodgers cap off and dumped the other half of the bottle over his head and shook like a dog. "I swear, this heat is unnatural. If I wanted to be this sweaty, I'd be on a beach with a willing woman."

I pulled off my sunglasses and wiped them on the hem of my shirt. "Ass."

He shrugged and gave me his usual shit-eating grin. "Where's the fair Dahlia today?"

My mood darkened. "Not my day to watch her."

"So, you don't know then?" He stole my bottle and took another long drink. "You want to talk about it?"

"No."

"So surly. Even more than you usually are."

Probably because Dahlia had been MIA for the last three weeks. She chalked it up to working on the specifics of the supplies we needed for the flooring, furniture, and the like. But then I would find out she'd been on site on the days I was gone.

As if she was making sure not to see me.

Archer clapped a hand on my shoulder. "If you won't let me play on the roof, and I'm still waiting on the stone to come in..."

"What kind of trouble are you going to get me in?"

"We're in the middle of nowhere. There isn't any real trouble we can get in."

"That doesn't stop you."

Archer grinned. "Let's get cleaned up and we can go check out that bar on Main."

"The Spinning Wheel? That's not on Main."

"No. The wine place. We can have a bro-date."

I rolled my eyes.

"You gotta get out of this house, man. And so do I."

"Fine."

"I get the first shower!" Archer hightailed it up toward the Airstream. Unfortunately for me, the trailer had a pullout bed in the living quarters, and he'd been camping out with me.

And he was not a great roommate.

I jogged after him and scooted Gizmo back into the trailer. I'd taken to keeping him with me since the banging going on at the house didn't agree with him. Not that I told Dahlia that. She was already upset about him being in my care.

"What's up, Holy Terror?"

Gizmo blinked at me then climbed my leg as per usual. I didn't even feel the pricks from his killer nails anymore. I scooped him close to my chest and his purr increased. "Let's find you some food, hey?"

His tail twitched, then he curled it around my wrist as I took him into the kitchen. The top cupboard was now his with a stack of cans that I took from the mansion each time Dahlia refreshed the food. I‘d started buying some on my own and found he was a poultry fan. I dumped a can into his bowl and set him on the counter to dig in.

I checked emails on my phone while I waited for Archer to steal all my hot water.

My chest tightened when I saw Dahlia's name on one informing me of the furniture order for the tower room and primary bedroom. I transferred her the funds she needed and tossed my phone on the shelf.

I was the one who'd pushed her away, but it pissed me off that she still listened.

Our few interactions had been nothing but professional.Just as it should be.

I raked my fingers through my sweaty hair. And yet I missed her, dammit. Missed her smell, that sarcastic wit, and most of all, her skin.

It was just biological. Had to be.

Archer shut off the water and came out a few minutes later in a towel. "Even left you a little hot water."

"You're all heart."

"I am." He grinned then took the handoff, as Gizmo found Archer to be his second favorite person. He tucked the cat onto his shoulder as we shuffled around each other.

I took a quick shower and got dressed.

When I came back out, I found Archer scrolling his phone with the cat looking over his shoulder. He'd swapped his usual scruffy shorts and T-shirt for a white button-down shirt and dark-washed jeans.

"Well, shit. Did you dress up to go out with me?"

Archer looked up from his phone. "You know I like to make you feel special, baby."

I shook my head, but I ducked back into my bedroom to swap my T-shirt for a black button-down shirt. "Should I put on cologne too?"

Archer's cackle made me smile for the first time all day. He really was a good friend. One of the few I hadn't dusted over the years. I stopped at the sink and turned off the water—damn cat—and pulled one of the cat's favorite catnip snakes out of the cabinet.

Gizmo immediately leaped off Archer when I waved it at him and tossed it on my bed. He trotted after it and settled on one of my pillows like the little prince he was.

We took Archer's beater truck he'd bought in his second week in town. The stonework on my place was a long-term project, but there was a fair bit of downtime while waiting on renovations to move along. Archer was happy to do some of his own sculptures in between.

All in all, he was happy to be freeloading.

I didn't mind it. He kept me from spiraling as I had been on the west coast.

Watching him work stirred something in me I'd thought was long dead. But before I could actually pick up my torch, the impulse had scattered like sand on the shoreline.

"So, you really think you'll be good living in this little-ass town forever?"

"Sure, why not?"

Archer draped his arm on the top of the steering wheel. "I don't know. We can drive through your town in like seven minutes. Quite a bit different from living in Los Angeles."

"I like the quiet."

"There's quiet, and then there's tree frogs in the trees quiet."

"Freaking you out?"

Archer gave me a sidelong look. "Maybe. Maybe if you had someone to distract you."

"Don't start that shit again." I shifted in my seat and looked out the passenger window at the shops on Main.

"You know I'm not the settling down type, but you are a different animal. You never really liked the hook up life, Dev."

The days I'd been the Devil of New York felt like a million years ago.

"And what the hell are you going to do out here once the house is done?"

"What's with the deep dive?"

Archer shrugged. "I've seen your blueprints. Eventually, there's going to come a point where you don't have a room to remodel."

"That won't be for a good long time. At least not at the rate it's going."

"Excuses, Dev. You have three acres. You could at least make yourself a studio."

"That's over."

"You keep saying that, but I don't believe you."

"Drop it, Archer."

He sighed. "Fine. But don't call me when you're walking around that big house in the middle of the night like some Victorian bride who lost her man at sea."

I glanced at him. "That's oddly specific."

He colored. "I may have found a diary in the floorboards of the Widow's Walk."

"You what?"

"I know. It was waterlogged, but I found it jammed in a hollowed-out space when I was taking measurements."

"Now you sound like Dahlia. I suppose you've seen Harriette too?"

"Not yet, dammit."

Hmm . That was interesting. Usually when we got close to anything that belonged to Harriette, there was some crazy poltergeist action. Not that I ever said that word aloud, but what the hell else could you call it?

Archer backed into a space in front of the park. There were a helluva lot of people out tonight in Crescent Cove. As we got out of the truck, I noticed the tents and food trucks lining the park trail.

"Oh, hey. There is culture in small town, USA." Archer slammed his door and met me on the sidewalk.

I didn't get into the town proper very often, but it seemed as if summer was one of the busier seasons. Between the active tourist things on the lake, house rentals, and the bed and breakfasts, there was no end to the people who'd been pushing through since the end of May.

Whereas everything used to shut down at dusk, they had extended the hours for Crescent Cove's version of nightlife.

"Is that an honest to God Cuban truck?" Archer rubbed his hands. "This is better than the wine bar."

We hit a few of the trucks and ended up with plates full of Cuban, Mexican, and even a Greek gyro. Archer was unapologetic with his love for any form of alcohol and had a wine frosty in his other hand.

There wasn't a seat to be had on the benches, so we just kept walking the path as we ate. There was a volleyball tournament going on by the water. Blankets were spread out along the grassy hills above the beach, and evidently, there would be an evening movie projected on a screen near the water at sunset. The ducks were eating like kings thanks to the influx of children running around.

"What I want to know is where is the street painter?"

"Huh?"

Archer gestured with his sandwich. "This is a goddamn Rockwell painting."

"Stop."

"What? Do I lie?" Suddenly, he stopped and turned. "However, you do have some very beautiful women in this town."

I followed his gaze and the bite of gyro I'd been chewing turned to dust. Dahlia was on a blanket with Avery, TJ, Shelby, and a preteen girl. A tall guy was stretched out at the edge of the blanket with his head on Shelby's lap.

The lawyer husband-to-be, I imagined.

"C'mon. I want to say hi."

"Archer, c'mon."

"Who's the short one with the dark hair? With the shorts."

"Back it up there. TJ will eat you up and spit you out, pal."

"My favorite kind of woman." His eyes crinkled at the corners from years in the sun.

"Arch—"

He wasn't listening in the least. Just great.

TJ would be starting work in July on the house, once we had the structural stuff done on the inside of the mansion. All I needed was Archer to put his damn foot in his mouth.

"Dahlia, you didn't tell me you had so many lovely friends."

Dahlia grinned up at him. "Hey! Long time no see." She shifted over on the blanket. "Wanna sit?"

"Don't mind if I do." He sat on the side closest to TJ. "I'm Archer Baldwin."

"That's nice for you." TJ picked up a piece of cheese from the spread they had in the center of the blanket.

The little girl giggled. "Aunt TJ, don't be mean."

"I'm not mean, kid. I'm allergic to blonds."

Archer whistled. "I'm only blond in the summer, does that count?"

"Nope."

Avery sat up and criss-crossed her legs. "Don't mind her. I'm Avery, that's Shelby and Dex, and the freckled one is Berry."

"Hi!" Berry inched over to him. "How do you get your hair to do that?"

Archer patted his fluffy blond hair. "Do what, princess?"

She made little wings with her hands. "It's all feathery like a bird."

TJ snickered. "John Hughes called from 1984. The casting call is cancelled."

"Ouch." Archer folded his hands over his heart and fell over onto his side, half on the blanket and half on the grass. "Beautiful and treacherous."

Laughter rolled out of Berry. "You're funny."

Dahlia glanced over at me. "You're welcome to sit."

"Thanks." I sat on the edge of the blanket a few feet from her. The breeze kicked up and her honey scent slid over me, and the pang in my chest deepened. I wasn't any good for her, but damn, did I miss her. "I wired over what you needed."

"Thanks. I got your email." She hooked her arms around her knees. She was wearing overall shorts with a lemon-yellow tank and her hair was loose and curly. "How's the roof going?"

"Good."

Archer arched his brow at me, then he rolled onto his back and put his arms out dramatically.

I ignored him to focus on Dahlia. "Are you coming by this week?"

"Why?"

"Gizmo misses you."

"Oh." Her face softened. "I'm pretty sure I've been replaced. Especially since you've been taking him to the trailer."

I flushed. "How do you know that?"

"Litter box is pretty damn clean, Nolan."

"Right. I couldn't leave him there with all the noise, then..."

"I get it. I miss him terribly."

"You can visit whenever you want."

"Maybe I will."

Archer put a hand on his neck.

Dex rolled onto his side. "Is there really a ghost out there at your place?"

Berry's eyes widened.

"Don't you get her wound up." Shelby poked Dex in the shoulder.

"What? I'm just curious."

"You have a ghost?" Berry crawled over to me and Dahlia. "For real?"

Dahlia grinned. "Harriette is her name."

"So you think," I muttered.

"Don't mind him. He's just mad that Harriette doesn't like him."

"She hasn't been around, actually."

"Really?" Dahlia frowned. "At all?"

"It's been pretty quiet. Then again, we've been mostly working on the kitchen and roof lately."

She laced her fingers over her sandaled feet and tucked her chin on her knees. "Did you try and get into her room?"

"Still won't budge."

She sighed. "But you checked recently?"

"No. Not in a while, but I had someone come in and clean the tunnel."

"And nothing happened?"

I shook my head.

"Maybe we could try again?"

I wanted to see her, but I also didn't want her to get hurt. But I found myself nodding. "Yeah, we can try."

"We can?" Her head popped up.

"Yeah. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Five-minute warning on the movie!" A woman with red hair had a bullhorn as she walked down the beach. "We're watching Spider Man: No Way Home !"

"Stay for the movie?" Dahlia asked.

I glanced at Archer, who was laying on the grass with his head propped up. He nodded.

"Yeah. I can stay." I rolled onto my hip to sit beside her.

"Good."

I mirrored her with my arms looped around my knees and relaxed for the first time in days. It boggled me how just smelling her scent and feeling her heat had me wanting to inch closer.

To never fucking leave her side.

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