4. Nash

Chapter 4

Nash

“ H ey, Pumpkin Jack, why don’t you come help me with this,” Hayley calls as she hefts the liquor order on top of the bar and begins to unload it.

I grumble as I make my way around the bar to help her get the rest. I hate it when our delivery guy just drops it off in the back and doesn’t tell me. “Hey, yourself,” I grump at her for calling me Pumpkin Jack. She knows I hate fall, so she teases me about it every chance she gets. Hayley and I get along well, and we have fun working together. Sure, we have our typical sibling squabbles, but co-owning the pub has been good for us. I couldn’t have afforded the pub on my own without her help. When we each turned twenty-five, we got an inheritance from our maternal grandparents. The local run-down pub was circling the drain, so Hayley and I put our money together to buy and fix it up to what it is today. And I’m proud as hell of what we’ve built. I also invested money in a few properties around town and set up a property management company. I’ve kept it private for a reason. This town made its mind up about me years ago, so there is no need to try to change it. Now, I live a simple life above the pub and invest as much as I can back into my business. I value my solitude more than anything. I work several days a week as the local horse farrier and at the pub in the evenings. I own three busy businesses and don’t have much of a social life, so it’s good that I get to do what I love every day. Plus, staying busy keeps my mind off Everly being back in town. But if I’m honest with myself, Everly rarely leaves my thoughts.

Working with the horses is my greatest passion. The pub is fine, but taking care of horses is where I come alive. I’m a rancher in my blood through and through. I’ve built a great list of regular clients who trust me with their horses. I’ve even had some younger locals express interest in apprenticing with me, which I’m considering.

“You mad at me?” Hayley grins and cocks her head. She knows what she did. Bringing Everly out to the ranch when she knew I’d be there. It’s unspoken that I don’t go out there while she’s there. I’ve seen Everly duck into the coffee shop if she sees me coming, and she hasn’t stepped foot in Bookers despite Hayley co-owning it with me. Those two are thick as thieves, and it’s not lost on me that she has not come in here. They always meet at the library, which I also don’t get to go into anymore since she’s back and apparently working there. That’s been an issue because I miss Anne Marie, the librarian who has been running that joint since I was a little kid. Anne Marie has been my go-between, holding papers for tenants to sign so I could keep the anonymity of my property management business, but now I have had to get creative. It irritates the hell out of me that we don’t talk, and she evades me. And it hurts. Because it’s a reminder that no matter how much I love her, she avoids me.

“You know it’s about time you both grow up and bury the hatchet? Also, you should know she was checking you out when you were with Dad and Willow. She called you a hot cowboy and said she was going to buy a horse because of you.” She cracks up with laughter at her own statement and waggles her eyebrows at me.

“Jesus, what are you talking about?” I mutter. But that got my attention. What? Why would she be checking me out? What’s up with that? She acts like I don’t exist and she wants nothing to do with me. I shot my shot all those years ago, and she walked away, turning me down. She went with him . The town douchebag. And now that I know how he treated them all those years, it makes me livid with pure undiluted rage when I think about what it must have been like for them. I should have had my shit together back then, and maybe she would have chosen and trusted me. Instead, I was a piece of shit she couldn’t trust, and I can’t blame her. Every decision since that night has been to make me a better man who can be depended on.

“She didn’t even know that you’re a horse farrier. It seems that the two of you have a lot of catching up to do.” She gives me a dubious look, then she turns serious. “She’s been back for months now, and Mom and Dad want everyone to be able to come to Sunday dinners. She’s been lonely, Nash. Please work it out with her. We finally got them back.”

I’ll admit that dug at me when she said that. We finally got them back. They got them back, not me, not yet. I don’t want Everly to be lonely. Far from it. I’ve been giving her the space she seems to need so I don’t make her feel awkward. Because every time she’s seen me or been around me, she seems to want to go the other way. It also physically hurts me to see her and not have her in my life. But I’ll take that pain if it means she’s safe now and happy back home in Cozy Creek.

And the fact that I love Everly so much, and then she has this cute miniature version of herself who runs around, hanging on every word when I teach her about horses. She has the same eyes as the ones I fell in love with all those years ago. How can I not want them both to be happy and have everything they deserve?

“Fine, she can go, and I won’t.” I shrug nonchalantly as I unpack the liquor order and turn to stock the shelves, hoping she’ll leave it at that. But I know that I’ll probably still show up. For some reason, I’m finding it harder and harder to stay away from Everly and her ridiculously cute kid. She’s like a magnet that pulls at my heartstrings every single time I see her or feel her near me.

“Come on, don’t be like that,” she says, looking disappointed. “I just wish things could go back to the way they were when we were all friends.”

“That’s up to Everly.” I turn and break down a box and stack it next to the bar.

She furrows her brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“If she wants me around, fine. If not, it’s not a big deal,” I murmur as I continue to unpack boxes, breaking them down and stacking them in a neat pile.

She stares at me for a beat and nods, grinning like she’s got something sneaky planned up her sleeve. Leave it to Hayley to get involved when it comes to Everly and me. Luckily, she changes the subject, but I know she’s up to something.

“What do you think about us hosting a local speed dating event here at the pub? I think it’ll be fun,” she adds.

“Knock yourself out. It can’t hurt to bring more people in,” I agree. But I’m still thinking about what she said about Everly. I’ve looked out for her since she’s been home. Then it dawns on me that she might participate in the speed dating if Hayley is, and I realize I don’t like that either. But that isn’t very likely since she doesn’t come into the pub.

“Are you and Everly doing the speed dating?” I turn to ask her just in case, suddenly not liking this speed dating idea after all. I don’t need some losers around my sister and her best friend. And especially Everly. I realize I just gave her a reason to ask me more questions.

“Um, yeah, probably.” She carries boxes to the back and asks, “Why?”

“Absolutely not,” I say as I follow her with the rest of the boxes .

“What do you mean? It’ll be fun. You should do it too.”

I glare at her like she’s nuts. “No.”

“We’ll see, you big grump,” she calls to my back as I head out and ignore her ridiculous idea. I won’t be doing any speed dating. And like hell Everly will either. I’ve seen these tourist assholes in the pub, and I don’t want any of them around her.

I don’t like the thought of Everly dating anyone. I don’t want another Richie for her. Watching her live through that the first time was awful enough. I fucking hate that guy.

I get to my office above the pub and open my laptop to scan through emails. I’m deleting the junk when I land on one from Everly. My heart clenches for a moment. She has no idea I’m her property manager, and I have to keep it that way. A few years ago, when Everly’s dad put his very old and run-down house up for sale to move to Florida to start a new life with his new family, not bothering to stay in contact with Everly (freaking prick), I privately purchased the property and repaired and updated it. I worked hard to renovate it, but then it sat empty for over a year. I never felt right renting it to anyone. I had been debating on what to do with it. I almost moved into it myself, but when Everly moved back, I knew it was meant to be for her. Then I really wondered if the universe was fucking with me when she reached out to my property management company via email inquiring about renting her old home, having no idea that it was me. And I rented it to her for about a third of what I could have rented it for because I knew she had a part-time job at the library and was in the middle of a divorce. I set up a two-year lease to make damn sure she wasn’t going anywhere and would have a safe home for her and her daughter in her newly remodeled childhood home.

I open the email, then freeze at what I read and scrub a hand over my face.

Oh shit.

To Whom It May Concern:

Can someone please fix our back stairs? I fell down when one of the treads broke, and it’s not safe. I have a little girl who could have fallen. If I’d have broken my leg, I couldn’t walk to work. Please fix the stairs as soon as possible.

Your 2906 tenant,

Everly Sparks

I close my eyes and rub the bridge of my nose. I have so many questions. Is she okay? Why the hell didn’t she call me? Then I remembered of course she wouldn’t call me. She hates me. I resist the urge to call her and make sure she’s alright right here and now. I look at the clock and realize she’s probably going to lunch soon. I can look down Main Street from my office, and I’ll be able to see her when she walks to the coffee shop across the street. I don’t always catch her, but I’ve noticed that she does this regularly at the same time if I just so happen to be working at my desk around lunchtime. I read the email two more times and feel reassured she has no idea it’s me. And why is she walking to work? What happened to her car? I make a mental note to check into that. Secretly, of course .

I know she loved the home that she grew up in. She used to say it was the only piece of her mother she had left. When I cleaned and renovated it, I found things I couldn’t throw away, which I have saved for her in a box. Behind the old fridge was a handwritten grocery list that looked like something her mother had written. It was old and worn, with what looked like doodling from a child on it. It didn’t look like Brian wrote it. Brian didn’t strike me as the type of dad who wrote out grocery lists. I don’t even think he kept many groceries in the house, considering he was often on the road as a truck driver or had his ass parked at the pub when he was home, leaving Everly to stay at our house most of the time. When her mother died, dinner and grocery lists died with her. Stuck down into the trim of the house in the primary bedroom, I’d found a laminated bookmark that Everly had made her mom for Mother’s Day in preschool with a picture of them together before Natalie got sick. Things that her dad probably wouldn’t have saved for her. Brian wasn’t a bad guy, but he wasn’t a great dad either. When his wife died, he didn’t seem to know what to do with that grief or the seven-year-old he was left to raise alone. Since Natalie was good friends with my mom, Everly was out at the ranch when Brian was gone for long stretches of time. When Natalie was diagnosed with cancer, she only had a few months left and was sick a lot. My mom helped her out and kept Everly since Brian was gone. He didn’t seem to care much about being there for his wife during her last months of life. On more than one occasion, my dad had to go get him from the pub and take him home when he drank too much. When my dad realized Everly was left home alone often, he made sure she came out to the ranch more and put bunk beds in Hayley’s room for them. My parents unofficially adopted Everly, and that was that.

We were raised together, but I never saw Everly as a sister. I always had a deep connection with her. There’s no denying that. But she was also my little sister’s best friend. Even though she had a big crush on me, I knew she was going to college, and I was the town fuckup at the time. I didn’t want to get in the way and keep her from going to school and following her dreams.

I email her back and hope that she responds and lets me know that she’s okay. I’m playing with fire here.

Ms. Sparks,

I’m sorry about the stairs. They will be repaired as soon as possible. Are you okay? Please don’t ever hesitate to reach out if you need anything further, and I’ll repair the stairs quickly.

Management

I sift through paperwork and hope that message is enough to reassure her and not give anything away. I made a mental note to run to the hardware store tonight before work and get what I need to rebuild the back stairs. I won’t risk her or Willow being unsafe. I’ll get to it when I know she’s at work so she won’t catch me repairing it.

It’s a small town, and my pub is the heart of our town. I can see everyone coming and going out the big bay windows of my office and the pub below. Everly is a creature of habit and takes Willow to school at the same time and then heads to the library. She takes her lunch break and walks in front of the pub nearly every day, so I know that, too. It’s not like I go out of my way to watch her. And this is why it’s impossible to rid myself of thoughts of Everly. She’s everywhere, yet still so far out of my reach.

I glance over at my laptop and back again quickly when I see that another email has come through from her while I was working. I quickly click on it, my heart racing fast.

To the person I was rude to,

Thank you. I’m so sorry that I was rude. I’m just having a really bad week and falling down the stairs was not on my bingo card for life right now. Thank you for fixing the stairs. I feel bad now for being so harsh. I’m sure you’re just doing your job.

Your very sorry and rude 2906 tenant,

Everly Sparks

I want to know what is causing her to have a bad week. I wish we weren’t in the place where I can’t call her or text her and ask. I’ve been looking after her for months without her knowing it, and it bothers me that I don’t know. So I email her back, and despite telling myself I’m nuts for this, I hit the send button anyway.

Ms. Sparks,

I’m sorry again about the stairs. They will be fixed this week. In the meantime, is there anything else I can help with? You mentioned you were having a bad week. I hope it gets better,

A new friend, a.k.a. management

Too much? Probably. I don’t care. It’s been hard not being able to talk to her since she’s been back for several months. She spends most of her time with Hayley, but our unspoken avoidance, which is that we don’t talk and steer clear of each other, is stupid. I’ve never liked any of this. I want to be in her life again. I want her to let me in.

I look down through my large glass windows and see her coming out of the library and down Main Street. It’s hard to miss her. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and she turns heads everywhere she goes. Her long, wavy dark blond hair is pulled up today on top of her head in a messy bun, her bright blue eyes light up a room when she smiles, and she has on her usual bright red lipstick that does things to me every time I see her wearing it. Her purse is slung across her chest, and she has on a light brown sweater, jeans, and brown boots. She smiles and waves to people she knows. And I swear my heart squeezes every time I see it, wishing she’d smile at me like that. She has one of the most captivating smiles, lighting up every room she enters and stopping me in my tracks. She always has.

I watch as she stops to talk to Ruth, the local eccentric inn owner who knows everyone. I see her hug her and continue as she calls back something to her. Everly tips her head back and laughs. Watching Everly come out of her shell since she’s been back has been amazing, like a butterfly coming out of her cocoon. She was hesitant and insecure at first, but slowly but surely, she won everyone in town over with her kindness and smile. She stops to peer in the window of one of the shops and then continues, disappearing into the coffee shop across the street where she’ll no doubt exit with two coffees to go or a tray sometimes if she’s bringing Hayley one, too.

Now that she’s passed back by and I know it’s clear, I lean back, nab my keys, and make my way down to my truck. I drive past her house and notice her car isn’t there. I didn’t recall seeing it at the library earlier either. Interesting. I hurry and purchase all the lumber and hardware that I’ll need to reinforce the stairs before the hardware store closes and tuck it all in my truck bed, then slide the cover over it to hide it. I don’t need Hayley asking me what the lumber is for and then hearing Everly mention she needs her stairs repaired and doing the math. I have a good reason for people not to know my business. Mainly the people who are dicks, like the Sullivans. Richie Sullivan’s father is the town manager, and he’s been known to make the lives of people he doesn’t like a living hell, and businesses aren’t off-limits. He especially likes to sabotage businesses if it’s in his best interest or if anyone crosses him the wrong way. The bullying this man has gotten away with astounds me. I don’t need him to have any information about me or my business to use as ammo. The amount of hate I have for the Sullivans is in abundance. I won’t let them hurt the people I love ever again.